Jewish–Ukrainian Relations in Inter-War Poland as Reflected in Some Ukrainian Publications

Abstract

This chapter surveys Jewish–Ukrainian relations in inter-war Poland as reflected in some Ukrainian publications. The historiography of Jewish–Ukrainian relations, although quite extensive, has usually tended towards partisanship, caused by the uneasy, and at times tragic, relations between Ukrainians and Jews. To provide an understanding of Ukrainian attitudes towards Jews between the two world wars, the chapter examines the perceptions and images of the Jews in the Ukrainian press in Poland in the inter-war years. The Ukrainian press reflects traditional Ukrainian attitudes towards Jews as well as some images formed specifically during the period under discussion. It also helps one understand how Ukrainians felt towards Jews during the war years in the face of the Holocaust. Since Ukrainians and Jews formed the two largest national minorities in inter-war Poland, their interrelations reflected issues relating to Poles and the Polish state as well. Moreover, Ukrainian–Jewish relations were influenced by problems relating to Poland's most significant neighbours, Soviet Russia in the east and Weimar and later Nazi Germany in the west. Thus, an examination of the Ukrainian press in Poland also throws light on broader ideological and political issues.