"Ukrainian-American Citadel": from the pages of UNA history (Chapter 8) (11/14/04)

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 8

In Defense of Truth and Justice

Past ideological differences notwithstanding, Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin, the world's two most powerful dictators, engineered a non-aggression pact on August 24, 1939. Poland was to be divided between the two, while Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and part of Romania were to go to Stalin. Hitler invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, and on September 17 Stalin attacked Poland from the east. By October 5, Soviet forces had taken over all of the Ukrainian lands belonging to Poland. The Baltic countries were quickly occupied by the Soviets. Finland was also attacked by the Soviets, but the Soviets were soon bogged down in a fiercely fought battle they had not anticipated. In concluding his pact with Stalin, Hitler was merely buying time to settle things in Western Europe. His real aim was to provide lebensraum (living space) for the German people. Jews were to be killed. Slavs, viewed as untermenschen (inferior beings) by the Nazis, were to become slaves of the Nazi super race. ...

Ignoring his own intelligence reports and information provided by the Ukrainian American community, President [Franklin D.] Roosevelt adopted a double standard regarding his allies. He demanded the dismantling of the British and French empires at the end of the war but said nothing about Stalin's expansionist plans in Eastern Europe. On the contrary, throughout his presidency Roosevelt continued to appease "Uncle Joe" as he was affectionately called in the United States during World War II, and believed him to be fighting to preserve democracy in the world alongside England and the United States. "I think," he said of Stalin, "that if I give him everything I possibly can and ask nothing in return, noblesse oblige, he won't try to annex anything and will work with me for a world of democracy and peace." Stalin took full advantage of Roosevelt's naiveté. In the words of Amos Perlmutter:

"Stalin had already conceived of the Soviet empire and used FDR's parochialism to advance Soviet imperial interests in Eastern Europe. Rather than neutralizing Stalin, blocking his plans and curtailing his aspirations, FDR put all his weight on Churchill and the British Empire, which was already in the process of decline. Roosevelt preferred the partnership of the cunning, machinating and ruthless Stalin over the imperialist yet devotedly democratic Churchill, a leader of the one of the world's greatest democracies. ... FDR, the covert agent of appeasement during the 1930s, became an ally of Joseph Stalin, the most ruthless political leader the modern world has known next to Hitler."

When the war ended, Stalin was granted the permanent occupation of Eastern Europe and the establishment of Communist governments loyal to Moscow in Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Poland and East Germany, and the expansion of the Soviet Russian empire. According to Perlmutter, Roosevelt's policies unintentionally "created a post-war power vacuum in Europe that Stalin filled, until he was challenged by the containment policy [George] Kennan and others convinced [Harry S.] Truman to adopt. That policy offered the political and military grand strategy that had been absent during the war."

Roosevelt's courtship of Stalin made life difficult for Ukrainians in America during the war years. Accused of being Nazis by America's Communists - who were posturing as defenders of "world democracy" - Ukrainians became the objects of a defamation campaign that forced them to strengthen their resolve and faith in the future, and to vigorously defend their nationalistic principles against a scurrilous and unprincipled attack from the Left. ...

On March 16 and 17, 1940, a meeting of fraternal executives was held in New York City regarding the convocation of "a non-partisan, all-Ukrainian congress of Ukrainian Americans." The following resolutions were adopted by the participants: the executive bodies of the four fraternal associations would constitute the Congressional Committee to which each other organization could send up to 10 delegates; the committee would formulate the platform and the political principles of the congress; the committee would announce the platform in the press, while the political principles would be communicated to the central, nationwide organizations, and would invite the cooperation of all organizations; the committee, together with the representatives of the Ukrainian central organizations, two from each, would constitute the congressional council; the council would have the right to debate the proposals of the committee but proposals of individual members of the council first had to be approved by the committee; it would be the responsibility of the council to execute the resolutions of the committee. All resolutions of the committee acquired validity by the consent of the four fraternal societies. All proclamations, announcements, or resolutions had to be signed by the committee, and the committee constituted the presidium of the congress.

A proclamation titled "To the Ukrainian Community in America" was issued soon after the meeting ended:

"The war in Europe demands that the Ukrainian immigration beyond the ocean raise its voice before the world in defense of the right of the Ukrainian people to have a national state of their own. We are the only force that can freely assert that the Ukrainian people are living in captivity, and that they demand for themselves the same right of self-determination that was given to other countries.

"In the course of their historical development, Ukrainians have lived by democratic principles as evidenced in Kievan [Rus;], in the Kozak community and in the Zaporozhian republic. Their democratic traditions were reborn in the resurrected Ukrainian state in the both the western and eastern territories of Ukraine after the first world war. At the present time it is only Ukrainian national forces which can create any lasting foundation for independence, unification and a democratic form of government in Ukraine.

"At this critical time in Europe, the right of the Ukrainian nation to the development of its own state demands a positive solution. Unfortunately, the free voices of our people in their own country are silenced by force. Consequently, we, the Ukrainian immigration beyond the ocean, must speak up so much the louder on their behalf."

The proclamation then invited other national Ukrainian organizations in the convening of the Congress of Ukrainians. Signing for the UNA were Nicholas Muraszko, Gregory Herman, Maria Malevych, Dmytro Halychyn and Roman Slobodian.

A number of organizations eventually signed on including the Ukrainian National Women's League of America (UNWLA), the UYLNA [Ukrainian Youth League of North America] the Ukrainian Catholic Youth League (UCYL), MUN [Ukrainian National Youth Federation], ODVU [Organization for the Rebirth of Ukraine], UHO [United Hetman Organization], the Ukrainian Gold Cross, Chornomorska Sich, and the Association of Ukrainian Professionals. Organizers decided that each local organization could elect one delegate for each 100 members while central organizations such as the UNA could elect as many delegates as there were branches. No organization, however, could send local as well as central delegates.

The first congress of Ukrainian Americans was held on May 24, 1940, in Washington, D.C. A total of 804 delegates and 207 guests representing 146 separate localities, from New York and Pennsylvania to Missouri and California, participated in the congress. The UNA had the largest representation with 208 delegates.

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