Identification of captured soldiers of the tsarist army based on nationality in Austria-Hungary, 1915: separation of Ukrainians

Abstract

The article summarizes the process of identifying and separating Ukrainians from tsarist army soldiers who were captured by the Austrian-Hungarian forces. In 1915, such efforts were initiated by members of the Union for the Liberation of Ukraine (ULU) who surveyed camp inmates and compiled a list of prisoners willing to move to a Ukrainian camp in Freistadt. The procedure was complex because many inmates supported the imperial ideology, including the Black Hundreds and Little Russians who exerted psychological pressure on the prisoners and attempted to prevent communication between the Ukrainians and the ULU envoys. The compiled lists of Ukrainian nationals laid long-lasting foundations for the ULU’s efforts to unite Ukrainians and establish a community of Ukrainian activists, albeit a small one, who were willing to risk their lives and carry out the difficult task of spreading national liberation ideas not only in POW camps, but also on Ukrainian lands in Russia. Owing to the ULU’s efforts, Ukrainian prisoners were transferred to the camp in Freistadt which was the center of Ukrainian life in 1915–1918.