Ukrainian Insurgent Research Articles

MILITARY DISTRICT "HOVERLIA" OF THE UKRAINIAN INSURGENT ARMY DURING THE GERMAN OCCUPATION (1943-1944)

For the first time, the article describes the formation and activities of the military district of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UIA) "Hoverlia" in the territory of the Stanislav region during the German occupation. It is shown that the military district started to be created in December 1943, at the same time Ivan Beleiovych-"Dzvinchuk" was appointed its first commander. The "Hoverlia" military district was formed based on the Ukrainian People's Self-Defense (UNS), which worked in the Stanislav region's territory during 1943, thus showing that it is a continuation of the Ukrainian liberation movement in the Stanislav region. The "Hoverlia" military district was being built on the territory where the underground OUN network operated for a long time. Therefore, the military district could rely on it if necessary. The "Hoverlia" military district was subordinate to the UIA-West General Military District, that is, to execute its orders. It is shown that according to orders and instructions issued by the UIA-West Regional Military Staff, the "Hoverlia" military district had to build its headquarters, set up a printing business, set up lines of communication, prepare reserve camps for UIA departments, and establish lines, delivering insurgent supplies, providing the insurgents with weapons, ammunition, food, and clothes. All the disunited OUN members had to go to the UIA and be trained there; the insurgent ranks had to be cleared of unreliable elements. The UIA divisions had to control the Carpathian and Subcarpathian forests. The formation and number of "sotnias" and "kurins" of the UIA are shown. Particular attention is paid to the UIA officers' and sub-officers' schools where recruits were trained, the programs for ordinary soldiers, and candidates for officers and sub-commanders. Special attention was paid to German and Hungarian occupation forces in the territory of the Stanislav region. The fight of Ukrainian insurgents against German and Hungarian troops, red partisans, and Soviet paratroopers is covered. Keywords: Military district of UIA "Hoverlia", UIA, UNS, German invaders, Hungarian troops, red partisans, Soviet paratroopers, front.

Історія куреня імені князя Святослава Української повстанської армії

In this article, the history of the Prince Sviatoslav Battalion which was a part of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army Ivan Bogun Detachment of the “Turiv” Group is investigated. For the first time in the historiography the battalion’s organizational structure and its evolution are thoroughly studied, as well as structure of companies, consisted of: “Viter” (later “Orlyk”), “Batko Bogun”, “Zaberezhny” and “Svitlana” NCO School. The battalion’s numerical strength ranged between 425 and 586 men. In addition, warfare waged by companies of the battalion against the German occupiers and Polish partisan units in the modern Volodymyr-Volynsky and Turiysk districts is described. These were numerous clashes with the Nazi occupational units from Volodymyr-Volynsky garrison (German troops and local police), road ambushes, and the massive assaults on the Polish Resistance strongpoint in the town of Kupychiv. Finally, reasons of the battalion disband in the early 1944 are analysed. They include partial demobilization and reorganization of units in order to prepare for future crossing of the German-Soviet frontline. In the middle of January, 1944 two new companies were created on the basis of the Prince Sviatoslav Battalion elements.

THE LIFE PATH OF IVAN CHERVAK («DNISTROVYI») - A KNIGHT OF THE SILVER CROSS OF MERIT OF THE UKRAINIAN INSURGENT ARMY

The research deals with the life and military path of Ivan Chervak («Dnistrovyi») (1923–1953). He was a leading person of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists' Youth department in Stanislaviv region (now - Ivano-Frankivsk region), a political educator at the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UIA), one of the leaders of the OUN's armed underground in Zakerzonnia, the commander of a courier group that provided communication on the «Carpathians-Zakerzonnia–western zones of German occupation» line, and the Zolochiv district leader. By the Ukrainian Supreme Liberation Council's decision and the Main Team of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, I. Chervak was awarded the Silver Cross of Merit because of selfless work and struggle for the Ukrainian state. Particular attention is paid to forming the future leader's personality, family upbringing, and education. I. Chervak's administrative work​​in the OUN, UIA divisions, the OUN's armed underground, his career growth from an ordinary member to the head of one of the most important structural units of the Ukrainian liberation movement of 1940-1950 in Western Ukraine was analyzed. The author determined pseudonyms and cryptonyms used by I. Chervak, being in an illegal position and acting in the UIA ranks and the OUN underground, under which he was noted by the USLC, which he signed memoirs and journalistic articles. Activities of the Soviet repressive and punitive system to identify I. Chervak and attempt to liquidate him with agents and military-chekist operations were recreated. The last activities of the district leader and OUN battle groups that covered him have been revealed in detail, and the circumstances that led to his death together with the typist Stefaniia Virlyk («Kalyna») and the last battle of the Knight of the OUN and UIA. Keywords: Ivan Chervak, «Dnistrovyi», «Oles», Silver Cross of Merit of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, Knight of the OUN and UIA, Zolochiv District of the OUN, Zakerzonnia, armed underground of the OUN.

Traitor by Amanda McCrina

Reviewed by: Traitor by Amanda McCrina Kate Quealy-Gainer, Assistant Editor McCrina, Amanda Traitor. Farrar, 2020 [368p] Trade ed. ISBN 9780374313524 $18.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9780374313548 $9.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R Gr. 9-12 In 1944, Tolya is a Soviet soldier on the run in the battleground Polish/Ukrainian city of Lwów after shooting a higher-up in the streets; smuggled out of the city by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (the UPA) on the orders of an unnamed source, Tolya is still far from safety—if the Ukrainians figure out he is half Polish, they'll shoot him on the spot. Three years before, in 1941, eighteen-year-old Aleksey is trying to get his father, a political prisoner of the Soviets, out of jail, or at least his younger brother to safety. When he's caught by the German special forces, it sets his story off on a horrific path that eventually and heartbreakingly intersects with Tolya's. There are multiple threads to follow here, from the tumultuous history of the conflicts in Lwów to the many and wholly unpredictable betrayals of various characters, but the chaos seems to be the point: the names and faces change, but the violence remains just as brutal, with no room for affection or innocence. Aleksey narrates his section with sardonic self-awareness and a surprising amount of good cheer considering the circumstances, while Tolya's chapters are in the third person, underscoring the emotional distance forced upon both of them by the war and foreshadowing a painful end. Connections between the two stories go beyond just the two main characters, and savvy readers will see multiple betrayals that lead to tragedy just as much as they do hope. Fans of Wein's Code Name Verity (BCCB 6/12) won't want to miss this powerful story about the desperate actions we take in the name of loyalty and survival. [End Page 35] Copyright © 2020 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

Expo-1967 in Montreal: the Struggle for Ukrainian Sovereignty

The purpose of the article is to analyze the events surrounding the participation of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in the World Expo–1967 exhibition in Montreal and to identify the features of this process, such as the actions of diaspora organizations to attract the attention of the Canadian government and the international community to the political status of Ukraine within the Soviet Union. The publication proves that the youth movement of the Ukrainian diaspora is able to influence the course of important political events, one of which was the Montreal World Exhibition. It was used by the Kremlin as a component of preparations for the 50th anniversary of the October Bolshevik coup in Petrograd on November 7, 1917. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian diaspora was preparing to celebrate the anniversaries of the Ukrainian settlements in Canada, the Ukrainian National Revolution of 1917–1921, and the creation of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. The author concluded that the Ukrainian Canadian community drew the attention of the Canadian government and the international community to the political status of Ukraine within the Soviet Union and contributed to the consolidation of all Ukrainian world in the fight for human rights in Soviet Ukraine and its proper place in the international political and legal environment. Despite the strong involvement of the Soviet Union’s State Security Committee’s agent network, the activities of Ukrainian youth organizations in Canada in July–August 1967 brought a number of positive gains. In particular, it fostered a sense of patriotism, self–identification, and continuity in the traditions of national liberation struggle. At the same time, the nature of the events was driven by local characteristics, the size of the diaspora and its financial resources. In this context, the activities of Ukrainian youth organizations in Canada during Expo-1967 were a kind of impetus for the further struggle for freedom and independence of the native generations of the state – Ukraine.

Jan Kotyza, żołnierz Armii Krajowej, Batalionów Chłopskich, ludowego Wojska Polskiego – zarys biograficzny

The article presents a biographical outline of Jan Kotyza, a soldier of the Home Army, Peasants’ Battalions and the Polish People’s Army. He was born in Bieńczyce near Cracow in a peasant family. Thanks to the persistence of his parents and teachers he finished high school and then studied physical education at the Jagiellonian University. Just before the outbreak of World War II, Kotyza took over the position of manager of the newly built city stadium at 3 Maja Avenue in Cracow. He was a reserve officer but did not take part in the Polish campaign of 1939. During the occupation he got involved in underground work. Initially, it consisted only in the distribution of underground magazines. He joined the Union of Armed Struggle (ZWZ) and took pseudonym „Krzemień”. Initially he organized a platoon in the villages of Bieńczyce, Krzesławice and Mistrzejowice. Then he became the commander of the ZWZ post „Mogiła”, which included municipalities: Mogiła, Ruszcza and Węgrzce. He left the ZWZ to join the Peasants’ Battalions (BCh). At the same time he became a member of the underground People’s Party „Roch”. After the BCh where merged with the Home Army, he took command of the „Pająk” battalion. In 1943, he was promoted within the BCh and became commander of the Cracow district codenamed „Forest Inspectorate No. 6”. Shortly after the liberation from the Germans, he answered the call of the new authorities to join the so-called Polish People’s Army. Initially he was not sent to the front, eventually he was sent to the 2nd Army. He did not manage to take part in fights against the Germans. He was near Dresden, from where he was withdrawn through Wrocław to Rzeszów, where he took part in fights with the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. After being demobilized, he returned to his hometown.

ПІДСТАРШИНСЬКА ШКОЛА ІМ. С. ПЕТЛЮРИ ("СВІТЛАНА") ПРИ ЗАГОНАХ УПА "СІЧ" ТА ІМ. І. БОГУНА (1943–1944)

The main idea of this article is that the Supreme Otaman Symon Petliura School (alias "Svitlana") attached to the "Sich" (later Ivan Bogun) Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) Detachment was one of the first non-commissioned officers schools within the UPA created to reinforce its troops with combat leaders independently. The author's purpose was to understand how the partisan army trained its NCOs at early stages of its development. The article illustrates that the Symon Petliura NCOs School was established on May, 30 1943 and operated until January, 18 1944. In the course of this period, it managed to train two classes of cadets of about 150 men, who subsequently became section and platoon leaders, and military instructors. The training was conducted in Svynaryn Forest on the edge of Verba and Turiysk districts in Volhynia Oblast (guerilla camp "Sich"), and lasted for 10 hours daily. It included: drill, marksmanship and weapon studies, tactical training, guard service, military discipline and army regulations studies. Cadets with best results were taken to continue their studies in UPA officers schools. Not only did cadets study theory but also they had to engage in warfare along with UPA combatant forces. The "Svitlana" School took part in fights of Antonivka, Koniukhy and Radovychi (with Nazi troops); Stavky (with Soviet partisans) and Dominopol, Zasmyky and Kupychiv (Kupiczów, with Polish partisans). When the tension of warfare was at its peak, the NCOs School stopped its educative process and operated as fighting element. During its lifetime, the NCOs School was subordinate to the "Sich" Detachment staff, Prince Sviatoslav Battalion of the Ivan Bogun Detachment and Ivan Bogun Detachment staff directly. After the detachment had been defeated by the Soviet partisans in January, 1944, the NCOs School ceased to exist. Supreme Otaman Symon Petliura NCOs School became a part of UPA training system and provided combat leaders for insurgent units operating within Volodymyr and Gorokhiv OUN District area.

THE SIXTIERS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE UKRAINIAN OPPOSITION MOVEMENT OF THE 1960S – 1980S

In the introduction to the interview with Yulii Tanchuk, Yurii Zaitsev describes the use of interviews with direct participants in historical events as an effective tool for studying the Sixtiers movement (shistdesiatnytstvo) and contemporary socio-political processes in Ukraine. He highlights the foundations and evolution of the Sixtiers movement and characterizes its attributive features, emphasizing examples from different parts of Ukraine. The main attention is paid to the study of the role of a nationally conscious personality among the Sixtiers and in a broader sense – in the opposition, anti-regime movement through the prism of the chemists Yulii Tanchuk's activities. The interview with him shows the significance of the samvydav ("self-publishing") phenomenon for expanding awareness of the need for radical, revolutionary changes in the socio-political system for state independence of Ukraine, the democratization of society, and the formation of a civilized European community. By the annual unauthorized commemorations of Taras Shevchenko on the anniversaries of his reburial in Ukraine (May 22, 1861), the national genius's greatness was emphasized, and his spiritual consonance with the free-thinking of the 1960s – 1980s. The interview reflects the revival of cultural life and military training of young men in the Western Ukrainian villages during World War II, and gives examples of youth joining the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UIA), recreates the ritual of taking the oath by UIA recruits. Furthermore, it mentions Vasyl Stus's story about the Holodomor in Ukraine in 1932–1933, makes public the facts of the Communist regime's punishment of the signatories of the "Letter 139" to the USSR leaders in April 1968, emphasizes Yulii Tanchuk's unadvertised contacts with an active member of the Ukrainian human rights movement Oles Shevchenko, clarifies the role of Leonid Seleznenko in the opposition movement, and after the arrest – his incriminating evidence under pressure from the KGB at the trial of Vasyl Stus and his letter of repentance. The role of Oles Honchar's novel "The Cathedral", Ivan Dziuba's research "Internationalism or Russification?", and Olena Apanovych's historical lectures for the activation of political and national self-awareness of Ukrainians are indicated. Keywords: Luh Society, Holodomor, UIA, the Sixtiers, samvydav, dissident movement, Yulii Tanchuk, Vasyl Stus, Oles Shevchenko, Henrikh Dvorko, Leonid Seleznenko, May 22, "scientific exile", KGB, Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine.

ЗАСНОВНИК МИСТЕЦТВА БАНДУРИ ПЕТРА ЛАХТЮКА НА ТЕРЕНАХ ПОВОЄННОЇ ПОЛЬЩІ

The biography of one person, a native of Volyn (now Rivne region), as in the mirror, reflects the fate of an entire generation of Ukrainian youth - and therefore of our entire nation - throughout the XX century. Ukrainian, a student at Warsaw University Panteleimon Bondarchuk, who, from the time of his participation in the Ukrainian Insurgent Army and until the end of his life, bore the well-known name (alias) Petro Lakhtiuk, is serving a horrific 12-year prison sentence in the tundra of the Arctic Circle, but miraculously - prayer and willpower remain alive. Released after the death of J. Stalin, he is revived physically and spiritually, goes to Poland, where he plunges into cultural and musical activities, creating in this country not yet known the art of bandura. For Christian love in the good heart of Peter Lakhtiuk, God rewarded him with a long and happy creative life: he lived a full 94 years (1907-2001). Being able to not fail despite the toughest of tests – that is heroism. To maintain dignity and Christian faith in the face of physical torment and psychological abuse – that too is heroic. To avoid anger and not become an outcast in a foreign country and foreign society – that is also heroism. To artfully play an instrument that is not known in the foreign place is selfless. To throw off downcast thoughts and pessimism, and instead to cultivate joy, beauty, song, and art, that is a blessing of the Holy Spirit. Such is the reality of the quiet heroism of Petro Lakhtiuk. It is quiet, because he was never a promoter of his own talents. He pulled his plow quietly, in accordance with his calling, his talent, and his dedication to hard work. He lived in a terrible time in history: during his lifetime there were two world wars – the first during his childhood and the second when he was an adult. In the newspapers, on radio broadcasts, as well as in literature, the 20th century is rightfully called a bloody century.

ДМИТРО БІЛІНЧУК-"ХМАРА" – ІСТОРИЧНИЙ ПОРТРЕТ КОМАНДИРА УПА ГУЦУЛЬЩИНИ

The author examined the life military and political activity of Dmytro Bilinchuk, who was the commander of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA – in Ukrainian) and the leader of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) on the territory of the Carpathian region of Ukraine during the armed activity of the Ukrainian liberation movement. The researcher studied the history of D. Bilinchuk’s service in the «Peremoha» battalion of the Kolomyia Tactical Group of UPA (TV-21 «Hutsulshchyna») and his work in the underground of the OUN. The scientist analyzes the work of D. Bilinchuk in the Security Service of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, his participation in armed actions in the UPA military and combat units against the German and Soviet troops and security forces on the territory of Hutsul region. The author made a study of the Bilinchuk’s family investigated the reasons and prerequisites for D. Bilinchuk’s accedence to the Ukrainian liberation movement. The scientist used in the research a scientific historiographical base, archival published and unpublished materials from the State Archive of the Security Service of Ukraine in Kyiv. The basis of this scientific work is the Soviet criminal case No. 9866 (contains interrogation protocols of this UPA commander), which was not studied in the context of the study of the biography of D. Bilinchuk. At the same time, in the article the researcher provides biographical information of others UPA commanders and OUN supporters. In general, the author has studied the biography of D. Bilinchuk in the context of the history of the Second World War and the activities of the Ukrainian liberation movement in the middle of the XX century.

ФЕНОМЕН "ЦИВІЛЬНОГО ЗАРУЧНИЦТВА" В ДЕПОРТАЦІЙНИХ ПРАКТИКАХ РАДЯНСЬКИХ СПЕЦСЛУЖБ НА ЗАХІДНІЙ УКРАЇНІ В 1944–1952 РОКАХ

In 1944, with the beginning of the re-occupation of Western Ukraine by the Soviet Union, the practice of using forced evictions of local civilians as a method of repression and combating against anti-Soviet organizations and movements was restored. In fact, the deportation campaign against the “OUN families” was continued, which began on May 22, 1941 and lasted, with a break for the German occupation, until 1952. The deportation campaign included four stages: (1) operation on May 22, 1941, when 3 079 families or 11 329 persons were evicted; (2) campaigns of 1944–1946 – 14 726 families or 36 609 persons; (3) operation “Zapad” (“West”) on October 21–26, 1947 – 26,332 families or 77,791 persons; and (4) 1948–1952 campaigns – 22,308 families or 80,209 persons. In total, 205,938 people were deported from Western Ukraine as part of this campaign. Counterinsurgency against the Ukrainian anti-Soviet Resistance movement (primarily the OUN and the UPA) was the main purpose of these measures of the Soviet special services. Initially, the use of mass deportations was aimed at destroying the base of the Ukrainian anti-Soviet resistance movement and focused primarily on the families of the killed, arrested and active members of the underground. With the resumption of the deportation campaign in 1944, the application of the principle of hostility began to become dominant. Initially as a “family hostage” (since August 1944), and soon as civilian hostage – when the principle of collective responsibility of the local civilian population start used. The first detected order of the Soviet special services, which provided the application of the principle of civil hostage, was issued on May 24, 1945 jointly by the NKVD and the NKGB of the Ukrainian SSR. Despite the absence of any direct reference to the principle of hostage in the regulatory acts of operation "Zapad", civilians and members of the anti-Soviet resistance movement perceived it as a “response” to the activity of Ukrainian insurgents. On October 20, 1948, the USSR Order No.00386 was issued, which was based directly on the principles of civil hostage. For more effective implementation of the Chekist “retaliatory actions” a special logistic infrastructure of special assembly points was created. Based on this analysis, it was established that the Stalinist repression system used the principles of joint and several liabilities for the local civilian population of Western Ukraine in 1944–1952. It can be qualified as a violation of the rules of international conventions by the Soviet special services that prohibit the practice of hostage among civilian persons who are not involved in armed conflicts.

The extinction of the Ukrainian culture of the Polish-Ukrainian-Slovak borderland and the image of the “Ukrainian Banderite” in Polish and Czechoslovak literature, journalism and cinematography, mid-1940s–1980s

The aim of this study is to outline the process of the extinction of Ukrainian culture in south-eastern Poland as a result of Polish resettlement actions and the activities of the Ukrainian underground movement (i.e., the Ukrainian Insurgent Army) in the post-war period (1944–1947). Concurrently, the study offers an analysis of the image of the “Ukrainian Banderite”, created by propaganda in Polish and Czechoslovak literature, journalism, and cinematography in the period from the mid-1940s to the end of the 1980s. The authors state that both in Poland and in Czechoslovakia the analysed topic has been subject to certain cyclical waves of interest, or current political demand or usefulness, but always according to an established and politically accepted template. The black-and-white reception of the issue, propaganda fictions, the concealment of facts, and the disproportionate highlighting of others, which were applied in the literary and film production of the real-socialist period, only distorted the historical objectivity of the issue and created a complicated stereotype in the collective memory.

IN LIFE AND STRUGGLE - TOGETHER (FOUR SHORT STORIES ABOUT SPECIAL WOMEN OF UKRAINE)

In the history of Ukraine, the part of a woman is special. She must not only continue generation and educate one in the national-Christian spirit but also protect it even with arms in her hands. In this aspect, the Ukrainian woman's mission is special as in domestic history and the world's one. If we look at the retrospective fate of a woman, then we could see several specific types: 1) the mistress and stateswoman (for example – the great Kyiv princess Olga-Helena); 2) the lady of foreign lands (for example – Regine: Anna Yaroslavna, wife of king Henrich I of France: Nastia Lisovska which we know as Roxolana); 3) the lady of a word (Marko Vovchok, Lesia Ukrainka, Olha Kobylianska, etc.); 4) the public figure and Samaritan; 5) the woman-warrior. Time of state struggle educated such type. Here we can see «the beautiful part» in two roles: the woman as a soldier (Olena Stepanivna, Sofiia Halechko, Handzia Dmyterko) and the woman as a participant in the underground movement (Olha Basarab, Dariia Hnatkivska, Kateryna Zarytska, etc.) In the time of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UIA), this difference disappeared: women were members in the underground movement and soldiers, and writers, and Samaritans at the same time (Marta Hai, Bohdana Svitlyk). This publication aims to show the most characteristic and bright heroic and sacrifice acts of Ukrainian women (and men). This publication has four short chapters about our women, who, together with men, struggled for Ukraine's independence. They supported men; they were long and hard terms in prison – GULAG. Many such women were killed, but they did not stop their struggle and showed many examples of fidelity and strength. Now such women are bright examples, especially for heroic women who fight nowadays in Eastern Ukraine. Keywords: Mykhailo Soroka, Kateryna Zarytska, Mykola Rudenko, Raisa Rudenko, Mykola Sarma-Sokolovskyi, Varvara Klymko, Nataliia Shukhevych, Mutalif Hehraiev, Kharytia Kononenko, Ulas Samchuk, «Protses of 59», Oleksandra Pidhirska, Nadiia Surovtsova, Olha Duchyminska, Iryna Senyk.

ГЕРОЇКА НАЦІОНАЛЬНОГО ДЕРЖАВОТВОРЕННЯ 1918–1919 рр. У ФОРМУВАННІ ІДЕЙНОГО ПІДҐРУНТЯ ЗБРОЙНОГО ЧИНУ ОУН (б) У ГАЛИЧИНІ (друга половина 1943 р. – початок 1944 р.)

У матеріалах статті йдеться про тяглість традиції національної державотворчої боротьби у 20–40-х рр. ХХ ст. Представлено окремі аспекти використання етосу визвольних змагань українських збройних формацій 1917–1921 р. Організацією українських націоналістів (бандерівців) у Галичині в період Другої світової війни. Окреслено особливості вжитку керівництвом націоналістичного крила вітчизняного національно-визвольного руху Опору героїки військового чину національних мілітарних формацій періоду Західно-Української Народної Республіки та Української Народної Республіки для створення ідеологічного підґрунтя процесу розгортання власних збройних сил – Української Народної Самооборони та Української Повстанської Армії.
 Простежено паралелі у означенні кінцевої мети збройної боротьби нації. Вказано також на відмінності у концепції та тактичних засобах осягнення національного суверенітету. Відзначено, що дослідження представленої теми уможливлюють глибше сприйняття загалом вітчизняного соціуму процесу відстоювання національних прав, а, зокрема, державної незалежності.
 У ході висвітлення теми зроблено акцент на використанні матеріалів підпілля та джерел мемуаристичного характеру.

Bandera, masowa przemoc i odpowiedzialność. Czy Stepan Bandera był odpowiedzialny za zbrodnie popełnione przez OUN i UPA?

Stepan Bandera’s responsibility for crimes committed by the members of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), partisans of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), and also nationalists dedicated to him, who fought in other formations, has been discussed in academic debates and instrumentalized in political discourses. When some authors claim that Bandera was fully responsible for all kinds of crimes committed by the OUN and UPA, other argue that he cannot be responsible for these crimes because he was not directly involved in their execution or he was not in Ukraine when they were done. The article presents different kinds of crimes and massacres committed on Bandera’s order or by devoted to him actors, and explains to which extent and in which sense Bandera was responsible for them.

Organization and activity of medical stations of the Ukrainian Red Cross in the military district of UPA «Zagrava» (the second half of 1943)

The publication examines the organization and activities of the health-care units of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army – the medical stations of the military district «Zagrava» in the second half of 1943. The publication is archaeographical and includes eight original documents that come from the Branch State Archive of the Security Service of Ukraine in Rivne. On the basis of these documents, namely, the directional instructions of the commanders of the UPA units, the chiefs of the medical service of these units, the commanders of the Ukrainian Red Cross (orders, appeals, regulations, recommendations) and the reports of heads and leaders of medical stations, an analysis of the circumstances of the formation and features of the functioning of medical stations was made. In particular, it was found that medical stations were created in accordance with the orders of the commander of the UPA «Zagrava»; their operational management was carried out by the Chancellery of the head of the military headquarters of the group, and directly managed by the head and senior doctor of the medical station. The staff of the medical stations was formed from mobilized for UPA doctors and medical assistants, and nurses and nursing assistants trained on short-term courses. Medicines for medical stations were supplied by the Ukrainian Red Cross service. Medical stations consisted of hospitals for the wounded and sick, outpatient clinics, first aid stations. Each medical station was guided in its activity by regulamin (schedule) issued by the commander of the Ukrainian Red Cross, was obliged, in addition to providing assistance to the wounded and sick, to report weekly their work, to carry out the procurement of medicinal plants, to adhere to sanitary and epidemiological safety, and so on. Thus, the medical stations played a significant role in preserving the UPA's combat capability, returning to the ranks of wounded and sick soldiers, providing first aid to the civilian population. The experience of their activities may be useful for establishing a health care service in the field for the modern Ukrainian army.
 Keywords: Ukrainian insurgent army, military district «Zagrava», Ukrainian Red Cross, medical station, Branch State Archive of the Security Service.

ВАДИМ ІЛЛЄНКО Й ЕВОЛЮЦІЯ КІНОЗОБРАЖЕННЯ

ВАДИМ ІЛЛЄНКО Й ЕВОЛЮЦІЯ КІНОЗОБРАЖЕННЯ

Crime Policy in Ukraine: Toward Condemnation of Communism and Political Rehabilitation and Heroization of Nazism

The present study provides analysis of the institutionalization of historical revisionism in Ukraine and examines the impact of this revisionism on the formation of modern Ukrainian criminal policy. The characteristics of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and its armed wing, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, will be determined, and their role during World War II will be analyzed, with special emphasis placed on their involvement in crimes against humanity. The study focuses on the fact that the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army have all the features of profascist organizations, and in this regard, the institutionalization of their heroization not only creates the prerequisites for modern glorification of Nazism, but also constitutes a legal basis for the decriminalization of glorification of Nazism, as well as for the criminalization of behavior disputing this glorification.

Rehearsal for Volhynia: Schutzmannschaft Battalion 201 and Hauptmann Roman Shukhevych in Occupied Belorussia, 1942

This article is part of the special cluster titled Conceptualizations of the Holocaust in Germany, Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine since the 1990s, guest edited by Grzegorz Rossoliński-Liebe. In 2007, Roman Shukhevych (1907–1950), the commander of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), was designated an official Ukrainian state hero. He has since become the object of an elaborate cult of personality. Lauded for his resistance to the Soviet authorities in 1944–1950, Shukhevych is highly controversial in neighbouring Poland for the ethnic cleansing that the UPA carried out in 1943–1944, as he commanded that organization. Over a few months, the UPA killed around ninety thousand Poles, expelling hundreds of thousands of others. The brutal efficiency of this campaign has to be seen in the context of the larger war, not least Shukhevych’s training by Nazi Germany, in particular the military experience he obtained as a captain in the Ukrainian formation Nachtigall, and as a commanding officer in Schutzmannschaft Battalion 201, which served in occupied Belorussia. This article is an attempt at reconstruct Shukhevych’s whereabouts in 1942, in order to establish the context and praxis under which Shukhevych operated until deserting the auxiliary police in January 1943.

STRUGGLE FOR PROVISIONS BETWEEN SOVIET PARTISANS AND UKRAINIAN INSURGENTS IN 1943 – 1944 IN VOLYN REGION

Summary. The aim of the research – on the basis of the source base and the historiographic work to highlight the reasons the struggle process for provisions between the Soviet partisans and Ukrainian insurgents in 1943 – 1944 in Volyn region. The principles of a scientific objectivity and historicism are the methodological basis of the study. The scientific novelty of the obtained results is determined by the fact that for the first time in a domestic and foreign historiography the struggle for provisions between the Soviet partisans and the Ukrainian insurgents in Volyn during the specified period has been analyzed, as well as the unpublished archival documents and the materials have been introduced into the scientific circulation. Conclusions. The struggle for the provisions between the Soviet partisans and the units of the Ukrainian Insurgents Army was the result of their confrontation aggravation over the range of influence. The unsettled rear support of the Soviet partisans pushed them into carrying out the preplanned «provisions» («food») operations of the peaceful and armed character, a forced alienation of food from the population, loyal to the Ukrainian nationalists. Acting this way, the Soviet partisans tried to deprive the latter of their food supplies and level off the Ukrainian insurgents' main advantage in Volyn region – the support from a part of the local residents, who became the members of Ukrainian Insurgents Army (UPA), and to cause the significant economic losses to the insurgent rear. An effective way of depriving the UPA and the OUN (Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists) underground of the provisions and property was the requisition of their food warehouses. The Soviet Union partisans had a significant distribution of the provisions in this way since the end of 1943, and especially in the first half of 1944, when the number of the partisan associations increased in connection with the approaching of the front in Volyn. Under such conditions, the Ukrainian nationalist underground lowered its activity, and the insurgents divisions, in order to avoid losses, crashed into the smaller groups. Thus, the local population turned out to be the hostage of the situation, having fallen under the pressure of both «the forest armies», since both the Soviet partisans and the members of UPA put their back and food on it. The replenishment of the food stocks by the hostile forces often turned into the military operations.