POLITICAL THOUGHT OF THE UKRAINIAN UNDERGROUND 1943-1951 Edited by Peter J • Potichnyj and Yevhen Shtendera Political Thought of the Ukrainian Underground 1943-1951 Edited by Peter J. Potichnyj and Yevhen Shtendera Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies University of Alberta Edmonton 1986 THE CANADIAN LIBRARY IN UKRAINIAN STUDIES A series of original works and reprints relating to Ukraine issued under the editorial supervision of the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, University of Alberta, Edmonton. Editorial Board: Bohdan Bociurkiw, Carleton University (Social Sciences) Manoly R. Lupul, University of Alberta (Ukrainians in Canada) Bohdan Rubchak, University of Illinois at Chicago Circle (Humanities) Copyright © 1986 Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies University of Alberta Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data Main entry under title: Political Thought of the Ukrainian Underground 1943-1951 (The Canadian library in Ukrainian studies) English translation of extracts from the series: Litopys UPA. ISBN 0-920862-45-4 1. Ukra'ins’ka povstans’ka armiia - History - Sources. 2. Ukraine - History - Autonomy and independence movements - Sources. 3. World War, 1939-1945 - Underground movements - Ukraine - Sources. 4. National liberation movements - Ukraine - Sources. I. Potichnyj, Peter J., 1930- II. Shtendera, IEvhen. III. Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies. IV. Series DK508.79.P64 1986 947’.710842 C86-091329-5 Cover design: Sherryl Petterson Printed in Canada by Hignell Printing Limited Distributed by the University of Toronto Press 5201 Dufferin St. Dow nsview, Ontario Canada МЗН 5T8 Contents Acknowledgements Introduction Part I: UKRAINE IN IMPERIALIST PLANS On the Genesis of the Ukrainian-German War of 1941-4 0 . Brodovy The Aims and Methods of German Imperialist Policy on Occupied Territory 1.M. Kovalenko Ukraine and Poland Ia.V. Borovych The Paths of Russian Imperialism U. Kuzhil The Bolshevik Democratization of Europe P. Duma Part II: IDEOLOGICAL QUESTIONS Idealism or Materialism: Which Philosophy are Members of the OUN Obliged to Follow? O . Hornovy The Scientific Validity of Dialectical Materialism U . Kuzhil The Spectre of Fascism larlan Our Teachings About the National State P. Poltava viii Contents The Concept of an Independent Ukraine and Current Political Trends in the World P. Poltava 175 Part III: STRATEGY AND TACTICS OF THE UKRAINIAN LIBERATION MOVEMENT At the Turning Point Iu.M. Khersonets 229 Internal Obstacles to the Ukrainian National-Liberation Struggle P. T. Duma 243 Our Battle Plan for the Liberation of Ukraine under the Present Circumstances P. Poltava 251 Preparatory Steps Toward the Third World War and the Tasks of the Ukrainian People P. Poltava 263 Our Tactics with Regard to the Russian People D. Shakhai 283 Our Attitude Toward the Russian People O. Hornovy 319 Part IV: PROGRAMMATIC DOCUMENTS AND APPEALS Resolutions of the Third Extraordinary Grand Assembly of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, 2 1 -5 August 1943 333 General Proclamation of the Supreme Ukrainian Liberation Council 355 Platform of the Supreme Ukrainian Liberation Council 359 Provisional Organization of the Supreme Ukrainian Liberation Council 365 What Is the Ukrainian Insurgent Army Fighting For? 377 To the Whole Civilized World! An Open Letter from Ukrainians Living Beyond the Curzon Line 383 An Appeal from Embattled Ukraine to All Ukrainians Abroad 391 Notes on the Authors 403 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The editors wish to express their appreciation to the many people who helped them in the preparation of this volume. To Mr. M. Lebed go our thanks for access to the archives and background information on the members of the Supreme Ukrainian Liberation Council. Dr. M. Prokop kindly shared his knowledge about individual events, authors, and members of the UHVR. Dr. V. Potishko offered information about K. Osmak; Mr. R. Petrenko about P. Chuiko; and Rev. Dr. Iu. Shumovsky about his brother P. Shumovsky. Dr. M. Ripeckyj and Mr. V. Makar were very helpful in tracing various difficult and obscure details, and Mr. J. Majiwskyj helped with archival problems and other technical questions. Mrs. H. Malyk had the onerous job of retyping often illegible texts, and Mrs. Z. Keywan did the translations often as a personal sacrifice. Mr. M. Yurkevich deserves our profound thanks for his work both as advisor and as copy-editor. We are grateful to them all. Dr. M.R. Lupul and the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies deserve our special thanks for the research grant that made this volume possible, as does McMaster University for handling so efficiently the financial problems connected with this enterprise. INTRODUCTION This anthology of political writings of the Ukrainian underground dur­ ing and immediately after the Second World War (1943-51) includes the works of the leading underground publicists who made a significant contribution to the development of Ukrainian political thought. The ar­ ticles and documents collected here also mark several points at which important ideological shifts took place and changes were made in the organizational structure, strategy and tactics of the Ukrainian un­ derground. The underground struggle in Ukraine occurred in two stages, each with its own strategy and tactics and each determined by the specific condi­ tions of the time. The first stage (1941-4) was the period of German occupation. This period was characterized by the vigorous, large-scale development of partisan warfare waged by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (Ukrainska povstanska armiia, UPA), which was created in 1942. The army’s foremost task was to defend the population against the racist, destruc­ tive policies of the Nazis and against the marauding bands of Red partisans, which often behaved in the most callous and provocative manner toward the Ukrainian population. At this time the UPA grew into a major force (its peak strength was approximately 40,000)1 capa­ ble of clearing large regions of Ukrainian territory of the enemy and ad­ ministering them on its own. хіі Introduction The underground writings of this period fully reflected the conditions of the struggle. They exposed the criminal policy of the Nazis toward Ukraine and neighbouring countries. They discussed the hostile attitude of the Ukrainian population to the occupiers. They indicated the need to develop proper countermeasures against the forcible conscription of young people for work in Germany and advised how best to resist the enemy. The writings of this period, which are full of optimism, express the belief that in the cataclysmic confrontation of the two brands of im­ perialism, Nazi and Soviet, both would perish, and that all the subject peoples of Europe, including the Ukrainians, would win a free and in­ dependent existence in their sovereign states. The second stage (1945-51) is marked by a shift to new forms of struggle under conditions of renewed Soviet control. The years 1945-7 may be considered a transitional period characterized by large-scale armed resistance as heretofore, as well as intensive underground organ­ ization and activity of small conspiratorial groups. During this second period the underground writers exhibited a more ju­ dicious and sober evaluation of the prospects for the liberation struggle. They were fully aware that the contest would be very long, complex, difficult and full of sacrifices. Nevertheless, they concluded that in the conditions of Soviet totalitarianism underground warfare was the only viable form of political struggle available to them. This activity was to be undertaken by small guerrilla detachments for purely political pur­ poses. However, underground work in general was to be conducted in highly conspiratorial fashion with a view to the political education and mobilization of the masses. This change of tactics and development of new forms of struggle repre­ sents only one side of the coin. The other side—much more important, in our opinion—manifested itself in the changes brought about within the ideological sphere. Organized Ukrainian nationalism had developed during the inter-war period as a reaction against the socialist and democratic-populist currents which dominated the revolution of 1917— 20. Before the revolution, the leading Ukrainian intellectuals in the Russian Empire favoured a decentralized federation with broad political and cultural autonomy for Ukraine. It was only after the Provisional Government and the Bolsheviks had demonstrated their hostility to the federalist concept that the independence of the Ukrainian People’s Re­ public was proclaimed in January 1918. In the western Ukrainian lands under Habsburg rule, where the national movement was much farther advanced than in the Russian Empire, Ukrainian independence was seen as an ultimate goal to be achieved after a period of federation with Austria. The Western Ukrainian People’s Republic was not proclaimed until November 1918, when Austria was on the point of collapse. The Introduction хііі united Ukrainian republic, established in January 1919, was over­ whelmed by the invading Russians and Poles. The failure of the struggle for independence radicalized many who had taken part in it. For the ex-officers and soldiers of Ukrainian ar­ mies who formed the underground Ukrainian Military Organization (Ukrainska viiskova orhanizatsiia, UVO) in 1921, it was axiomatic that the national identity of the Ukrainian people could find expression only in an independent state. Operating on the Ukrainian lands under Polish rule, the UVO carried