INTERNATIONAL SCHOLARY CONFERENCE

On June 18-20^th, 2007 Polish Center for Holocaust Research, the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology and Polish Academy of Sciences (Warsaw, Poland) and “Tkuma” (“Renascence”) All-Ukrainian Center for Holocaust Studies (Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine) have conducted the International Scholary Conference “The Ukrainian-Polish Borderlands under the Soviet Regime 1939-1941: Ukrainian, Polish, Jewish Social Life and Relations” in Lviv.

During the conference, researchers from Ukraine, Poland and Israel have discussed issues that haven’t been paid much attention earlier at international conferences, namely the social issues, the everyday life, and the relations between Poles, Ukrainians, and Jews in the Ukrainian-Polish Borderlands under the Soviet regime during 1939–1941. During this period in Western Ukraine relevant and disputable processes have been changing – from “depolonization” and demonstrative “ukrainization” to society “sovietization” and destruction of national and community life.

The scholars from various cities of Ukraine, Israel and Poland have participated in the Conference. Taras Vozniak, recognized scholar and public figure, editor-in-chief of cultural periodical “Ji”, who has greeted the Conference on behalf of Lviv Regional State Administration, and taken active part in scholary discussions. The peculiarity of the Conference was the participation of young scholars who firstly joined Tkuma scholar forums.

During the official Conference opening organizers and participants answered the questions of journalists who represented Lviv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kyiv and foreign mass media. Thanks to the hospitality of Lviv Jewish Charitable Foundation “Hesed-Arye” and its director Ada Dianova, the Conference participants and guests have got great aesthetic pleasure from the concert, performed by Hesed-Arye creative groups.

During the Conference the scholars had opportunity to present results of their researches, giving reports, discussing them and participating in “round tables”.

Associate Professor Andrzej Zbikowski in his report “Hard everyday life. Polish-Jewish relationships on the Western Ukraine during the Soviet occupation 1939- 1941” has profoundly analyzed the subject referring to source materials. Having characterized groups of Jews who were under soviet regime, he singled out broad unprovided masses and Jewish plutocracy, who differently reacted to liquidation of Polish domination in the society.

Prof. Ganna Kapustian, Kremenchuk State Polytechnic University, Theory, History and Law Department (Kremenchuk) has spoken about “Deportation of Poles-settlers from Western Ukraine (1939-1941)”. Illustrating Stalin’s repressive policy by the example of Polish displaced people, G. Kapustian has put special emphasis on the horrible destiny and sufferings of children, separated from their parents, as well as using local population of other nationalities by the authorities to commit repressions against Poles. 139.590 Poles had been resettled by 1940.

Dr. Faina Vynokurova in the report “Documents about fate of Polish citizens Jews by birth in the context of international relations on Ukrainian-Polish boundary (1939-1941)” has analyzed, as usual using huge source basis, soviet policy as to national question. The researcher has focused attention on quirk of fate when the Jews, who had been repressed by Stalin’s regime for refusal to become a Soviet citizen and exile to Siberia, Arkhangelsk region or another remote USSR region, had much more chances to survive during the war then those Jews who had avoided repressions, stayed in Western Ukraine and perished from the hands of Nazi occupants during Holocaust.

Prof. Igor Andrukhiv has submitted the report “Repressive soviet methods and their consequences on the Prykarpattia territory in 1939-1941. Historical and politological aspect”. In the report the scholar dwelled on issues of national society structure in Western Ukraine and systems of soviet regime establishing in poly-national society, on problems of ideological contradiction of soviet regime and different groups of society, on the cultural level of new government, repressions, etc. Prof. Andrukhiv has mentioned that in 1939-1940 the population in Western Ukraine has reduced by 400,000 persons, including 20,000-25,000 exterminated people. Stalin’s terror outlined the further course of events in the region during the war, including development of Ukrainian national movement.

In the report “Everyday life in Lviv 1939-1941 and mutual interaction of Poles, Ukrainians and Jews under Soviet occupation” Dr. Grzegorz Hryciuk, adjunct Wroclaw University, Department of History and Pedagogy, Historical Institute (Wroclaw), has focused attention on peculiarities of Soviet regime national policy concerning Poles, Ukrainians and Jews and reaction of population on it, who was not homogeneous and had different attitude toward new government. The scholar has described the evolution of the Soviet policy toward local population, Soviet’s attitude to national traditions and culture, attempt to use Lviv as a positive “showcase of soviet life” for Poland. Showing the destruction of national and cultural life, Dr. Grzegorz Hryciuk has pointed out positive changes in the society concerning system of labour and health protection. But the fundamental consequences for all national communities were the establishment of the absolute regime control of social and private life, destruction of national traditions, strengthening the atmosphere of the repressions’ fear.

Vivid discussions have been provoked by young Ukrainian researcher Oleksandr Gisem’s report “Modeling of Soviet-Polish conflict in USSR and Poland diplomatic relations (1920^th-30^th)” in which the researcher has shown his sight on reasons of Soviet-Polish confrontation and its consequences, and also extrapolation of “great state” policy concerning independent neighbours into modern international situation.

Dr. Ivan Monolatiy, who represented Scholary Center for Ukrainian National Liberation Movement Research of History and Politology Institute of V. Stefanyk Prykarpattia National University and I. Kuras Institute of Political and Ethnonational researches of National Academy of Science of Ukraine (Ivano-Frankivsk), has reported on the topic “Interethnic relations in Kolomyia in the period of the first Soviet occupation (1939-1941). Examples and consequences of Ukrainians, Jews, Poles, Germans and Russians living together on Pocuttia”. He accentuated on involving local population and Eastern Ukraine native by Soviet authority in reforming

Dr.Bogusław Gogol, adjunct; Gdansk University, Research Institute for Contemporary History and Political Sciences in XIX and XX centuries (Gdansk), has spoken with relevant report “Polish communists in Lviv – stances and dilemmas. Presented on the example of the group of editors of the „Red Standard” 1939- 1941”.

Dr Grzegorz Motyka from Institute of National Remembrance, Main Commission for Investigation of Crimes against the Polish Citizens; Institute of Political Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences (Warsaw) in his report “Attitude of OUN towards Poles and Jews on the Western Ukraine, 1939- 1941” has showed his sight on “revolution and totalitarism features ” of Ukrainian national movement, mentioned anti-Poles and anti-Jewish goals of Organization of Ukrainian Nationalist.

Dr.  Igor Shchupak has spoken with the report “From “depolonisation” and “Ukrainisation” – to “sovietisation” of educational system in Western Ukraine under Soviet Regime in 1939- 1941”. He has pointed out stages of soviet regime educational policy in the specified period. The stages were distinguished by necessity of cabal and agitation of certain groups of population to achieve the ultimate aim at total control of education, spiritual life and, finally, of the whole social life.

Dr.Agnieszka Cieślikowa, who represented Jagiellonian University, Department of Polish Language (Krakow), has reported to the conference participants on crucial changes in mass madia. In her report “Polish, Ukrainian, Jewish press in Lviv under the Soviet occupation in Lviv, 1939- 1941” Dr. Agnieszka Cieślikowa has analyzed contents, character of publications of many editions, including “Red Standard”, “Lenin’s Youth”, “Roiter Stern” and others.

Dr. Zhanna Kovba, researching religious life in Eastern Galychyna in 1939-1941, used complex of scientific methods, including sociological observation, content analysis, etc. Dr. Zhanna Kovba’s characteristic of metropolitan Andrei Sheptitskiy activity, who emphatically resisted Stalin’s atheization and dehumanization of the society, was continued in report “Religious relations in Western Ukraine (1939-1941): Metropolitan Andrei Sheptitskiy in the light of Ukrainian-Jewish-Polish relations” by Prof. Rudolf Myrskyy from National University “Lviv Polytechnic” (Lviv)

Prof. Grzegorz Mazur from the Jagiellonian University (Cracow) has lectured about  “Collaboration, resistance, adaptation. Poles Ukrainians and Jews on the Western Ukraine (Polish East Borderlands) towards the Soviet occupation, 1939- 1941”. The professor has singled out separate groups of population of certain nationality, particularly Jews whose economical and political interests determined their attitude to the Soviet regime.

Dr. Maksym Gon in the report “Crisis of “little patriotism” as a factor of international relations changes in Western Ukraine in the end of 1930-th – in the beginning of 1940-th” has grounded the introduced by him definition “little patriotism” – as aspiration the welfare of the country, where  representatives of certain ethnic group lived, that differs from “big patriotism” – as “trans-state national corporatism”. The scholar has presented interesting facts of Polish Jews attitude to Poland during historical breakings in the beginning of XX century.

Dr. Aharon Weiss, Tkuma Center Academic Advisor (Jerusalem) has demonstrated deep analysis of social changes in Western Ukraine as a consequence of “sovietization” policy in 1939- 1941. In the report “Crucial changes in Jewish community, political and social life in Western Ukraine under Soviet regime, 1939- 1941” he has emphasized that principles of Jewish national community life had been destroyed completely for the first time in the history of Jewish community in Ukraine.

Dr. Volodymyr Liubchenko from Ukrainian Institute of History of National Academy of Science of Ukraine (Kyiv) in the report “Eastern Ukrainians about every day life and national relations in Soviet Peremyshl” has made successful attempt to illustrate historical events on the basis of verbal historical sources.

All reports have provoked keen participants’ interest and vivid discussions which have been  summarized during Round table meeting on subject “Ukrainian-Polish-Jewish points of view on the Historiography problems: typology, toponymia and “difficult” questions”. The facilitator of the round table was Dr. Jakub Petelewicz, Polish Center for Holocaust Studies (Warsaw), and speakers were Dr. Aharon Weiss (Jerusalem, Israel), Dr. Myroslav Marynovych (Lviv, Ukraine) and Prof. Andrzej Zbikowski (Warsaw, Poland), who stipulated versatile discussion of the round table subject – “Ukrainian-Polish-Jewish points of view on the Historiography problems: typology, toponymia and “difficult” questions”.

Addressing to the Conference participants, Prof. Myroslav Marynovych, Ukrainian Catholic University, Religion and Society Institute (Lviv), has emphasized: “Tkuma” can organize scholary meetings in which set issues were considered from different viewpoints. On this Conference the scholars began to discuss delicate, even explosive issue. Sometimes we instinctively avoid such subjects. Nevertheless, the Conference issues have been discussed in tremendously tolerant way.

It’s relevant for me that the Conference dislodges one of the trumps of anti-Semitic MAUP (Interregional Academy of personnel Management) rhetoric that Jews are not tolerant for discussing their compatriots. In the Conference such kind of discussion has been aroused in rather tolerant way, though some history issues are painful to perceive. For Ukrainian it is also difficult to listen to the facts, for instance, about collaboration with Nazis during the war. But such issues are necessary to discuss.

I’ve got pleasure from Dr. Aharon Weiss’s ability to explain his motivation in such way that representatives of other communities feel historical pain for Aharon’s nation.

We should direct the next our step to comprehending how our pain became the pain for other nations”.

Prof. G. Mazur has underlined that at the Conference Polish science has been presented by 4 centers – Warsaw, Cracow, Wroclaw and Gdansk. And the issues discussed in the frames of scholar forum are to be large-scaled; parallels and analogies with the Western Ukraine events in 1939-1941, one may find even in Western Belarus,  came to generalizing of the main tendencies of Soviet regime policy in that period. It is known that happened events were overgrown by the myths, which also proves the social relevance of the considered issues.

Israeli scholar Dr. Aharon Weiss has supported the standpoint of Polish Professor and expressed the idea that the Conference problems and its scientific discussion would encourage the studying and perception by nations themselves as well as their neighbors. Dr. Aharon Weiss has mentioned that Tkuma Center conducts the third such high-leveled scholary Conference in Western Ukraine and it’s not occasionally, because this territory served as the unique laboratory for both international and interconfessional conflicts origin and searching for the solution of their overcoming. The scholar has marked that Conference speakers tried not only to answer the questions what had happened, but also explain the determination of those events

Summing up the discussion, recognized Polish researcher Prof. Andrzej Zbikowski focused scholars’ attention on the most acute issues of Ukrainian-Polish-Jewish relationships history in the beginning of WWII. The researcher shared his thought about necessity of creation not only the collection of the scholars’ reports book, but also educational manual for public use.

During the Conference closing ceremony the ideas about necessity of conference materials publishing have been supported. The Conference organizers and participants have vividly discussed topic and format of the next Conference which is to be held in Poland.

Dr. Igor Shchupak,