World War II as an Identity Project: Historicism, Legitimacy Contests, and the (Re-)Construction of Political Communities in Ukraine, 1939–1946

Oleksandr Melnyk. World War II as an Identity Project: Historicism, Legitimacy Contests, and the (Re-)Construction of Political Communities in Ukraine, 1939–1946. Ukrainian Voices. Stuttgart: ibidem-Verlag, 2023. 432 pp. Notes. Bibliography. Photographs. €49.90, paper.

The paper analyses cultural activities of world-famous Ukrainian and American sculptor Oleksandr Arkhypenko in Ukrainian community in the United States. It focuses on the interaction of the artist with the Ukrainian community after World War II and before his death in 1964. The cultural and artistic events in the United States and Canada with the participation of the sculptor and Ukrainian diaspora are considered. The main Ukrainian institutions and figures of national diaspora with whom Oleksandr Arkhypenko collaborated in the United States are identified. The sculptor’s works on Ukrainian themes are highlighted. Little-known publications in Ukrainian media in the USA about the artist are identified. The aim of the work is to trace the main directions of interaction between Oleksandr Arkhypenko and the Ukrainian diaspora in the United States and to determine the place of the sculptor in artistic community. The issue of the artist’s activity in the Ukrainian environment outside of his homeland is actualized in a context of a new wave of mass emigration from Ukraine. The analized issue is also gaining importance to reinterpretate the heritage of artists who emigrated from the Russian Empire. The paper introduces archival and little-known materials into scientific circulation; systematizes and summarizes the experience of Oleksandr Arkhypenko’s cooperation with the Ukrainian community in the United States; highlights the main artistic events and some publications on the topic; reveals the ideas put forward by the world-famous sculptor in the circle of Ukrainians. It is stated that Arkhypenko and the Ukrainian diaspora in the USA mutually influenced each other. The artist participated extensively in the activities of the Ukrainian community in the United States, which became an important life and professional support for him, as well as a basis for preserving and strengthening national identity. At the same time, the Ukrainian diaspora made efforts to involve an internationally recognized compatriot in the implementation of the community’s cultural strategies.

Abstract. The article presents an analysis of the attributes and historical experience of the emergence of the Ukrainian diaspora in post–World War II Australia. The subject is relevant in the current context of Ukraine’s resistance against large-scale russian aggression. Since February 2022, the devastating consequences of the aggression have forced a significant number of people to leave Ukraine. The massive wave of ‘Ukrainian migration’, notable by its scale and impact, allows the author to draw parallels to the migration flows witnessed in ravaged post-war Europe. The article’s author argues that modern Ukraine could benefit from exploring the adaptation, organisation, and formation experience of the Ukrainian communities that evolved into influential diasporas in the United States, Canada, Australia, etc. Once rallied, the worldwide Ukrainian diaspora’s potential to oppose the ‘muscovite evil empire’ holds the promise of becoming a powerful force for defeating the global aggressor. The historical experience of consolidation and affirmation of Ukrainian identity and the strength of Ukrainian traditions, language, and culture constitute a genuine weapon against the influence of the ‘russian world’. The size, influence, and authority of the global Ukrainian community as a whole and of particular Ukrainian diasporas in the major countries of Europe, America, and Australia are a contributing factor to the build-up of concerted efforts of the civilised world on a unified front against the revanchism of totalitarian ideology, the imperial ambitions of moscow, and their attempts to dismantle the democratic values of humanity. The author emphasises that today’s world is undergoing the formation of a new global order, where Ukraine’s victory in the war against the ‘moscow regime’ will emerge as the very achievement for which generations of Ukrainian people fought and fell in Ukraine and across the entire world. Keywords: global Ukrainian community, Australia, Ukrainian diaspora, World War II, russian aggression.

Abstract. The article presents an analysis of the attributes and historical experience of the emergence of the Ukrainian diaspora in post–World War II Australia. The subject is relevant in the current context of Ukraine’s resistance against large-scale russian aggression. Since February 2022, the devastating consequences of the aggression have forced a significant number of people to leave Ukraine. The massive wave of ‘Ukrainian migration’, notable by its scale and impact, allows the author to draw parallels to the migration flows witnessed in ravaged post-war Europe. The article’s author argues that modern Ukraine could benefit from exploring the adaptation, organisation, and formation experience of the Ukrainian communities that evolved into influential diasporas in the United States, Canada, Australia, etc. Once rallied, the worldwide Ukrainian diaspora’s potential to oppose the ‘muscovite evil empire’ holds the promise of becoming a powerful force for defeating the global aggressor. The historical experience of consolidation and affirmation of Ukrainian identity and the strength of Ukrainian traditions, language, and culture constitute a genuine weapon against the influence of the ‘russian world’. The size, influence, and authority of the global Ukrainian community as a whole and of particular Ukrainian diasporas in the major countries of Europe, America, and Australia are a contributing factor to the build-up of concerted efforts of the civilised world on a unified front against the revanchism of totalitarian ideology, the imperial ambitions of moscow, and their attempts to dismantle the democratic values of humanity. The author emphasises that today’s world is undergoing the formation of a new global order, where Ukraine’s victory in the war against the ‘moscow regime’ will emerge as the very achievement for which generations of Ukrainian people fought and fell in Ukraine and across the entire world. Keywords: global Ukrainian community, Australia, Ukrainian diaspora, World War II, russian aggression.

Insufficient coverage of the history of Poles in Ukraine during the war and the revolution is largely due to a narrow source base. The Polish press is an important source for studying the history of the Polish community in Ukraine at the beginning of the twentieth century. The aim of the study is to clarify the importance, ideological orientation, thematic informativeness, representativeness and characteristics of the functioning of the Polish press in Ukraine. The research methodology is based on the analysis of the existing Polish press in Ukraine on the basis of the criteria of popularity and publication period, their genre, thematic and ideological orientation, audience, editorial policy, authors, and content. System-analytical and comparative-historical methods have been applied, thanks to which the characteristics of certain periods of the Polish press functioning have been determined. The scientific novelty lies in the disclosure of the source aspect of the study of the Polish press in Ukraine. It was found out that the Polish press in Ukraine in the first decades of the twentieth century is a significant, often unique source of reliable information about the events of Poles' socio-political, socio-economic, and cultural life. Conclusions. The emergence, development and functioning of the Polish press can be divided into three periods: 1905-1914, 1914-1916, and 1917-1921, which are defined by the beginning of its existence, the significance of the events that influenced the development of society – World War I, the Russian February Revolution and the Ukrainian National Revolution. This influenced the content, character and ideological orientation of materials, and the formation of the editorial staff.

The article is devoted to revealing economic, social and ethnic values of male and female students in political science communities in Ukraine (Lviv, Kharkiv, Simferopol) and Moldova (Chisinau) during 2012-2013. This work is a part of a larger study which captures the state of Ukrainian political science during 2012–2013 and provides a better understanding of the political, social, ethnic, economic, gender and disciplinary views of students on the eve of the Revolution of Dignity. The empirical basis of this article is a survey of the students enrolled in three types of academic programs (bachelor’s, specialist’s and master’s degrees) at four universities: Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, V. I. Vernadsky Taurida National University and Moldova State University. The economic values of Ukrainian and Moldovan students assume an active role of the state, but the importance of the latter decreases with the growth of the total income of their family of origin. The “nationalism” of Ukrainian and Moldovan students concerning social values means the inadmissibility of a homosexual lifestyle, while liberals are more tolerant on this issue. Besides Ukrainian nationalists are generally tolerant of women’s right to decide on abortion, although liberals are still more tolerant. In this respect, Moldovan liberals are more conservative. Ukrainian and Moldovan “nationalism” is more tolerant than Ukrainian and Moldovan “liberalism” towards a couple, living together without wishing to get married. The ethnic values of Ukrainian and Moldovan students are more strongly influenced by ideological orientations. On the one hand, “nationalists” tend to deny the problem of racism in society, while liberals are more willing to acknowledge it. On the other hand, liberals are less inclined to believe that there should be only one state language in a country, while “nationalists” are almost absolutely sure of it. The final part of the article concludes that it is necessary to study the economic, cultural, regional and religious factors determining these values of male and female students.

The article is devoted to revealing the gender aspects of higher education in political science communities in Ukraine (Lviv, Kharkiv, Simferopol) and Moldova (Chisinau) during 2012-2013. This work is a part of a larger study which captures the state of Ukrainian political science during 2012– 2013 and provides a better understanding of the political, social, ethnic, economic, gender and disciplinary views of students on the eve of the Revolution of Dignity. The empirical basis of this article is a survey of the students enrolled in three types of academic program (bachelor’s, specialist’s and master’s degrees) at four universities: Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, V. I. Vernadsky Taurida National University and Moldova State University. The answers of the respondents allow to reveal several tendencies. Firstly, male and female students often face various forms of discrimination during their last years of study. Secondly, the percentage of female students who have faced various forms of discrimination in academia is higher than that of male students. Thirdly, it should be noted that in the vast majority of cases respondents report the individual nature of the discrimination they directly perceive, although the data may differ depending on the region and gender. Finally, male and female students were most often discriminated against on political grounds, which is probably understandable given the specialty, location and timing of the survey. In the final part of the article it is concluded that in Ukrainian and Moldovan Academy the basic student level provides a better attitude to women than to men. Given that far more male students than female students agree with this statement, we can interpret this trend as a manifestation of patriarchy. That is, when female students do not see a better attitude but male students do, we are dealing with a hidden source of conflict.

The informal reflection of the transformation of the life positioning of the emigrants from Ukraine is, mostly part, the prerogative of social psychology and sociology. While the question of interpersonal relations is primarily the indicator of political moods, and, moreover, the indicator of everyday life in the historical context. And it is well know the routine transforms into a center of active cultural genesis in the watershed years: in the collisions of social disorder, the outline of the Future is born and form. In turn, when in a real life the established connections are broken, something like that happen in the human psyche. The "Achilles heel" of the historiography of studying the transformation of the life positioning emigrants from Ukraine in the Czechoslovak Republic (and note, the emigrants from Ukraine in general) is a surprisingly weak reflection of their behavioral history. The interpersonal communication among Ukrainian emigrants was, first of all, historical action – that had a tendency to repeat, as opposed to an event that had the features of extraordinary and non-repeatability. The representatives schools of symbolic interactionism and phenomenological sociology, turned to interpersonal communication for they the atoms of social interaction were, in fact, the actors, their actions, and reactions to the actions of each other: M. Weber, T. Parsons and A. Shchyuts. Although the Ukrainian interwar Prague emigration was, mostly, a political emigration, it unquestioningly follows the general emigration trends of the 1920s-1930s. Thus, in the first instance, especially in the culminated years of the "Russian Aid Action" (1921-1925), the life of the Ukrainian emigration community of the Czechoslovak Republic became to stabilize, was imbued with by the "concept of rapid return" through. In 1925-1928, Ukrainian emigration are affected "turnaround". The 1930s brought new troubles: the global economic crisis (delayed until 1935), and the Second World War was knocked on the door of Ukrainian exiles in 1938. The 1920s were, in fact, really "golden years" in Europe. After the First World War in Czechoslovak Republic became an era of prosperity and prosperity, did not become an exception.Outlined prosperity and well-being have proven themselves, first of all, due to the introduction of technical innovations in ordinary Czechoslovaks: radio receivers, vacuum cleaners, refrigerators, washing machines, and others. On the other hand the 1930s, on the other hand, made some adjustments in the life of the interwar Chinese SSR. A country, focused on the relations with all the nations, was precipitated by the global economic crisis, which, in addition drag on to 1935. Czechoslovakia had to reckon with access to the proscenium of the world history of monsters-dictatorships. Ukrainian interwar emigration for the level and can be divided into three categories. Ukrainian emigration doctors proved most taciturn interlocutors in informal communication, instead of their informal rejection was an attempt to join the prohibited eugenic research. Engineers and lawyers were considerably more sociable and fun category of informal interlocutors. For this category of Ukrainians in the Czechoslovak Republic We stress, practically, there were not forbidden sweets in interpersonal communication. The teaching the scientists, the staff of the Library and specialists in music, the most funny, witty, gayer, sociable, but at the same time proned to anomalies, phobias and deviations, an emigre category, was . Obviously, this in turn was due to in the emigrant "rating of professions" (1923-1933), the teaching was kept by the honorable "gold" ("silver" was kept the by engineers and economists, and "bronze" was kept by doctors and lawyers). Regarding the deviant behavior, the Ukrainian emigration community in the Czechoslovak Republic, drank and sometimes ends suicide that is got nothing to do with this. The main causes of drunkenness and suicide lay in homesickness, home, tuberculosis and unemployment.

Throughout the history of the existence of the Rusyn-Ukrainian diaspora in Croatia, several important demographic trends can be traced. One particular characteristic of migrants from Ukrainian lands to the South Slavic territories was the presence of a dual ethnonym: the early wave immigrants brought with them a Rusyn identity, while the subsequent ones carried a Ukrainian identity. As a result, descendants of the Rusyn migration have maintained a certain degree of separateness from the Ukrainians, which complicates the preservation of this minority. The demographic indicators of the Ukrainian community have been influenced by the policies of various governments (Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, the Royal and Socialist Yugoslavia, the Republic of Croatia) and military conflicts throughout the 20th to the early 21st century (World Wars, the Serbian-Croatian War, Russian aggression against Ukraine). Determining the exact number of migrants was challenging until population censuses were conducted in Austria-Hungary. Until the 1930s, there was a relatively sharp increase in the number of the Rusyns and the Ukrainians in Croatia: prior to the First World War, thanks to targeted agrarian policies of the Austro-Hungarian government, and during the time of the first Yugoslavia, due to the arrival of Ukrainians as part of Russian White emigration. The period from the 1930s to the 1970s saw a relative stagnation in the size of this minority. Demographic losses during the Second World War were compensated by the resettlement of Rusyn-Ukrainian population from other Yugoslavian republics. Starting from the 1970s, we have observed a steady decline in the Rusyn-Ukrainian diaspora. This process was further complicated by the consequences of the Serbian-Croatian War of 1991–1995, divisions within the Rusyn-Ukrainian organizations, and globalization processes, which resulted in the assimilation of these small ethnic groups. At the same time, the demographic crisis was mitigated by a favorable policy of the Croatian government towards national minorities, which provided relatively generous funding while simultaneously dividing the Rusyns and the Ukrainians. As a result of these negative factors, the Rusyn and Ukrainian minorities in Croatia faced the risk of disappearance in the coming decades. However, the full-scale aggression of Russia against Ukraine led to a significant wave of refugees, some tens of thousands of whom settled in Croatia. This expands the possibilities for preserving the Ukrainian community by integrating the newly arrived individuals into the cultural and social life of the minority. However, nothing has changed for the Rusyns, and their path to overcoming depopulation and assimilation is seen through consolidation with the Ukrainians.

According to estimates, some five thousand to ten thousand Ukrainians immigrated to Uruguay. The vast majority of the immigrants settled in the republic in the 1920s and 1930s. Few came before World War I and after World War II. The capital city of Montevideo was the chief centre of Ukrainian settlement with smaller numbers of Ukrainians residing in other parts of the country.This article provides details about the occupations of the immigrants and the organizations that they founded. The study also traces the evolution of the organizations and discusses the period of decline in Ukrainian community activity. Among the organizations discussed are the Taras Shevchenko Workers’ Society (Ukrainske Robitnyche Tovarystvo im. Tarasa Shevchenka); the Ivan Franko Ukrainian Cultural-Educational Society (Ukrainske Kulturno-Osvitne Tovarystva im. Ivana Franka), and the Volia (Freedom) Workers’ Society (Robitnyche Tovarystvo Volia), which merged to found the pro-Soviet Ukrainian Cultural Centre (Ukrainskyi Kulturnyi Tsentr). During the 1940s, the latter evolved into the Maxim Gorky Cultural Centre (Centro Cultural Máximo Gorki). The article also discusses the Prosvita Society, founded in Montevideo in 1934, and other developments in the organizational and religious life of Ukrainians after World War II.The study draws on a variety of sources. These include the Ukrainian-language periodical Ukrains’ke slovo published by the Prosvita Society in Argentina and to which members of the Ukrainian community in Uruguay subscribed. Another set of sources pertain to publications that carried reports about the pro-Soviet segment of the Ukrainian community and which were published in Uruguay, Argentina, and elsewhere. The Ukrainian-language periodical Svoboda of Jersey City, USA, was also used for this study along with yearbooks published by Svoboda Press. Other materials consulted include sources in Spanish, English, and Russian.

The article explores the unique aspects of establishing the Association of Ukrainian Organizations in America in the early 1920s. It highlights that the Ukrainian community in the United States at the time was primarily composed of immigrants from Western Ukraine with varying levels of national consciousness, socioeconomic backgrounds, and religious beliefs, which complicated efforts to form a unified socio-political institution. Under the influence of the First World War and the Ukrainian Revolution of 1917–1921, consolidation processes among Ukrainians in the United States intensified. It is noted that the union emerged as a reaction of American Ukrainians to the call to support the Ukrainian national idea and to assist the political forces of the Naddniprians and Galicia in their struggle for independence, and the Congress (October 1922) also discussed the organization of financial assistance through the introduction of a «national tax», support for schools in Ukraine, the establishment of the Ukrainian People's University and the Ukrainian Press Bureau. It was determined that the Association of Ukrainian Organizations in America includes: The Ukrainian People's Union, Providence, Ukrainian People's Aid, Consent of Brotherhoods, Sich Organization, Ukrainian League of American Citizens, and Ukrainian League of American Veterans. The author characterizes the final documents of the first congress, in particular, it is stated that the adopted manifesto condemned the actions of the Polish army in Galicia and called on the Ukrainian emigration to protest against the repression of the Ukrainian population in Eastern Galicia. The article notes that the Association of Ukrainian Organizations in America, founded in 1922, played a significant role in unifying Ukrainian public institutions, supporting emigrants, preserving cultural heritage, and advocating for Ukrainian national interests. Keywords: Association of Ukrainian Organizations in America, USA, government, Congress, Ukrainian national idea, Ukrainian People's Union, Providence, Ukrainian League of American Citizens.

In this article, we present an analysis of the 10-volumed Australian Encyclopedia published in 1958. The purpose of the analysis is to identify encyclopedic information concerning the Ukrainian people. Since the late 19th century, a part of the Ukrainian ethnic group inhabits the Australian continent, so it is natural to expect the appearance of Ukrainians in encyclopedic publications of Australia. But do Australians mention Ukrainians in their own fundamental encyclopedias? This question is caused not only by the general interest, but also by the fact that Ukraine is shown in the national narratives of many countries through various myths generated by Soviet propaganda. Therefore, the analysis of the representation of Ukrainians in the pages of foreign encyclopedias is a topical issue of contemporary Ukrainian studies in general. In this study, we found that the main body of information about Ukrainians is statistical data about the Ukrainian community in Australia, which settled after the Second World War. Among the 10 volumes there are no mentions of Ukraine, its capital, prominent people of the nation, etc. In addition, general highlights of the Australian encyclopedia publishing sphere are proposed. It is noted that the Australian Encyclopedia as a fundamental work published in six editions during 1925–1996 is the main achievement of the Australian encyclopediography. It is noteworthy that there is currently no national online encyclopedia in Australia. At the same time, there are domain (subject-specific) publications by research teams among other achievements of contemporary Australian encyclopedia publishing, such as the Encyclopaedia of Aboriginal Australia, the Historical Encyclopedia of Western Australia, the Companion to Tasmanian History, etc.

Berlin, which is a separate federal state in Germany, has been considered one of the largest multicultural cities in the world in recent decades: it is home to numerous diasporas from different parts of the world (the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Southern and Eastern Europe), which largely shape its modern face. Since 1991, the Ukrainian community, which had been virtually unrepresented in the city divided after the Second World War, has also gained an important place in Berlin. Ukrainians arrived in the city for various reasons and purposes: repatriation of ethnic Germans and their families, emigration along the Jewish line, family reunification, job search, study, illegal immigration, etc. As a result, Ukrainians now have a number of their own organisations, cultural and religious centres here, and Berlin itself, along with Munich, is considered one of the most important Ukrainian centres in Germany. The purpose of the study is to analyse Ukrainian migration processes in 1991–2015 and the situation of the Ukrainian community in Berlin. Accordingly, the main objectives of the study are to examine the dynamics of the Ukrainian community in the city, to identify the main aspects of the migration movement of the new wave of Ukrainian emigration, its integration into German society, and to highlight the social and cultural life of Ukrainians in the German capital.

Biały Bór is located in the former German territories that came to Poland after the Second World War. The almost complete replacement of the indigenous German and Jewish populations, initially by Polish and soon Ukrainian communities, was the result of the displacement of state borders by the eviction and relocation of millions of people. To do this, the authorities used certain strategies, which brought different approaches and constraints to local communities and urban spaces. The article considers the differences between the declared principles and the actual actions of the authorities in the context of “small stories” of all actors (national communities), as well as the tactics of indirect resistance of the local community to government pressure. Due to the remoteness of the place from the state center and due to its unanimity, the local community becomes the driving force of the spatial development of the city. And since the city is multicultural, the development of public spaces is influenced by the competitiveness (not confrontation) of two local communities. Therefore, the creation of public spaces is considered in the context of the rights of different groups to the city. This paper argues the conditions under which it is the collective actions of local communities that determine the change in the configuration of urban space.

The article aims to analyse selected aspects of organisational and national activities of the Union for the Liberation of Ukraine (ULU) in the Prisoner-of-War Camps of Captured Ukrainians from the Tsarist Army during the First World War. To accomplish this task, the ULU involved a number of Galician and Bukovyna intellectuals (educators and writers), whose actions initially provided for a selection of captured Ukrainians in multinational camps and who were transferred to the future Ukrainian camps in Rastatt, Wetzlar and Salzwedel between May and November 1915. In each of these camps, the ULU educational departments were established and their members were engaged in uniting prisoners in Ukrainian communities and acted as mediators between camp commandants and camp residents in addition to conducting various educational presentations and courses. They were in direct contact with the Heads of the Ukrainian communities of the camps, seeing them daily for joint meetings. The free course of Ukrainian life in the camps caused the development of a national worldview among the vast majority of prisoners of these camps. Soon after, the elected representative bodies of Ukrainian prisoners took over not only the functions of educational departments, but also the general leadership of Ukrainian communities. Due to this, it became possible to raise among the prisoners nationally conscious citizens for the future Ukrainian state, ready to come forward with weapons in their hands to defend Ukraine against the Bolshevik attacks.