"Ukrainian-American Citadel": from the pages of UNA history (Chapter 5) (08/01/04)

THE UKRAINIAN NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FORUM

"Ukrainian-American Citadel": from the pages of UNA history

Following is part of a series of excerpts from "Ukrainian-American Citadel: The First 100 Years of the Ukrainian National Association," by Dr. Myron B. Kuropas, published in 1996 by East European Monographs of Boulder, Colo. The excerpts are reprinted with the permission of the author. The book is available from the author for $25, plus $2.50 shipping, by writing to: Dr. Myron B. Kuropas, 107 Ilehamwood Drive, DeKalb, IL 60115.

Chapter 5

The Struggle Begins

No sooner had the Ukrainian community established its national identity in America than a series of cataclysmic events in Europe catapulted Ukrainian Americans into an entirely new dimension of political involvement. Between 1914 and 1923, the Entente (Russia, England and France) went to war with Austria-Hungary and Germany. The United States entered the conflict on the side of the Entente. The Russian and Austro-Hungarian empires collapsed. Eastern and Western Ukraine declared their independence and later united to form the Ukrainian National Republic. Eastern Ukraine was invaded and eventually became a part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. A newly independent Poland invaded Ukraine and claimed sovereignty over eastern Galicia. Transcarpathia became an autonomous region in the newly established republic of Czechoslovakia; northern Bukovyna was absorbed by Romania. Poland's claim to eastern Galicia (the Republic of Western Ukraine) was recognized by the Council of Ambassadors.

Struggling to assure autonomy, and later independence for Ukraine, the Ukrainian National Association responded to the ever-changing series of events with vision, determination, and commitment. The struggle would last for the next 70 years.

The Political Awakening

The UNA did not wait long to become politically involved with events in Europe. On March 20, 1914, following the Russian government's ban on all observances of the centenary of Taras Shevchenko's birth, the UNA Supreme Executive sent a letter to President Woodrow Wilson:

"On March 10 of this year, 100 years have elapsed since the birth of the greatest Ukrainian poet, Taras Shevchenko. It is a great national holiday observed by 40 million Ukrainians, 35 million of whom live in southern European Russia, 4 million in Austro-Hungary (Galicia, Bukovyna and northern Hungary) and 1 million in the United States. Our countrymen in all of these territories were making arrangements for solemn observances of this great anniversary. ... However, at the last moment, the Russian ministry said that no observances would be allowed. No reasons were given. The Synod, which is the highest church authority in Russia, did not even permit commemorative religious services on that day. ... A strong voice of protest against this inhuman act of the Russian government was raised by all opposition deputies in the Russian duma and by the Ukrainian deputies in the Galician Diet. A million Ukrainians living in this land of the free are also compelled to raise their voices in protest against this act directed at our people by the barbaric government of Russia. In the absence of other channels of communication, we are entrusting this protest to you, Mr. President, in the hope that you will communicate its contents to the representative of Imperial Russia in Washington."

The U.S. government delivered the protest to the tsarist government in St. Petersburg. For the remainder of the year the UNA and Svoboda waged a vigorous campaign to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Shevchenko's birth in the United States resulting in celebrations throughout the country. The most impressive was staged in New York City on May 30, 1914. The program consisted of a parade down Fifth Avenue and a grand concert at Webster Hall.

When war erupted in Europe, Svoboda was pleased. The long-awaited moment for national emancipation had finally arrived. "Let all Slavic people live full, sovereign and independent lives, and among them the Ukrainians," the UNA periodical declared. "Russia wants Ukraine and so does Poland, but Ukraine has suffered slavery under both. We are not interested in Slavic unity. And that's how all Slavic people should think. Everyone for himself. Enough is enough!"

The UNA established an organizational committee and charged it with the responsibility of creating an all-Ukrainian national council. Wrote Svoboda: "At this time we have no news from our native land but soon the curtain which separates us will be lifted and we will hear from our brothers. It is of paramount importance that they have someone to speak to, that there is a single organization of Ukrainian Americans."

Believing that a peace conference following the war would finally result in independent Ukrainian and Polish states, Svoboda urged preparedness. In an editorial titled "Let's Be Ready," Svoboda cautioned that Ukrainians might end up with nothing. "The Poles would no doubt want to attach Galicia and Kholm to their Poland ... or Austria may want to have all Ukrainian lands ... or all Ukrainian lands may be awarded to Russia." Ukrainians must play a role in the negotiation process, Svoboda argued, but to do that, "we must be prepared."

The Ukrainian National Council

The proposed Ukrainian National Council was established at the UNA convention in Buffalo, and on September 10 it issued its first formal statement regarding the war:

At this very moment we are witnessing what may be the turning point in the history of Europe, particularly in the life of the 40 million [person] Ukrainian nation. ... It is possible that new national states will emerge after the war and Ukraine may be one of them. An independent Ukrainian state has been the dream of every patriotic Ukrainian person. Our people have suffered Polish oppression under Austria; they have been subjected to Hungarian persecution; but the most cruel oppression of all was that imposed by the Russian czars and their regimes. For 260 years they have kept 35 million Ukrainian people in slavery, striving to annihilate them as a nation. ... The war being waged by Russia is a war for Ukraine. This is no secret, and neither the Russian government nor its henchmen is trying to conceal it. ... Austria-Hungary and Germany are opposing barbaric Russia. They are not fighting for Ukraine's freedom but for their own interests. ... We Ukrainians, wherever we may be, have no reason to be friends of either Austria or her ally Germany. Thanks to the Hapsburgs our people suffered the horrors of Polish persecution in Austria. ... But if Russia is defeated we may hope for the liberation of Ukraine. We are against Russian domination and we feel that the removal of this domination would also benefit the Russian people. We only wish for them to enjoy the same freedom we are striving to attain. ... Should Russia win the war, it will mean even greater enslavement for many peoples, particularly the Ukrainian people. We hope that Russia is defeated in the war and that the Russian empire is broken up into its constituent parts. And we have good reason to feel the way we do; for the Treaty of Pereiaslav, violated and trampled upon by the tsars; for Poltava; for our hetmans, shamefully abused and disgraced; for the destruction of the Zaporozhian Sich; for the Kozak bones on which St. Petersburg was built; for the spirit that was kept in chains; for the language that was mutilated; for the many prisons and for Siberia; for the blood and tears of Ukrainian women and children; for the centuries of torture, cruelty, and oppression. ...

The creation of the Ukrainian Information Bureau was another achievement of the UNA Council. In 1915, the council distributed two English-language pamphlets published a year earlier in London: "Ukraine" by Bedwin Sands and "Memorandum on the Ukrainian Question in Its National Aspect" by Yaroslav Fedortchouk. Two additional pamphlets, "Russia, Poland and the Ukraine" by Gustaf Stefan and "The Russian Plot to Seize Galicia" (Austrian Ruthenia) by Vladimir Stepankovsky were published by the UNA Council in 1915. The following year the council published "The Russians" in Galicia, a monograph describing Russian military behavior in Galicia, reiterating the Ukrainian contention that Russia's major goal in the war was to expand its empire and to Russify Ukrainians in Galicia. Aware, however, that complete independence might not be achieved in the near future, the publication concluded: Ukrainians "demand that in Austro-Hungary, Ukrainian territory be organized into a self-governed province on federal lines where the Ukrainian population, not dominated by the Poles or their aristocracy, shall solve its own national and economic problems."

...Then with bold headlines such as "Hrushevsky Arrested in Kiev" (January 19), "Russians Killing Wounded Soldiers" (January 28), "Big Muscovite Pogrom Near Peremyshyl" (May 27), and "Our Native Land in Ruins" (January 1,1916), Svoboda kept its readers informed about events in Ukraine.

In all of its editorials, Svoboda favored Austria in the war and opposed American involvement. In a commentary titled "Why Ukrainians Are on the Side of Austria," Svoboda wrote: "Ukrainians believe strongly that the war will free them from the yoke of Russia." On May 4, 1916, Svoboda opined "Ukraine without Russia would be gratified, but Russia without Ukraine would be just the opposite."

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