Winnipeg Conference Examines Ukrainian Canadians in WWII

The Second World War marked a turning point in the history of Ukrainians in Canada. The conflict simultaneously heightened tensions within the Ukrainian community while uniting fractious and formerly hostile organizations in common cause with Canada’s war effort. The War further helped to change mainstream perceptions of Ukrainians as an undesirable “foreign” element in Canadian society that was troublesome to assimilate, and made sudden and unlikely Allies of the Western democracies and the Soviet Union as the European conflict widened with the Nazi invasion of the USSR.

The history of Ukrainians Canadians during WWII remains understudied in comparison to earlier periods (the pioneer era is quite well documented and a major monograph on the interwar years from the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies will appear in 2012), notwithstanding the publication of ground-breaking manuscripts on this era by Thomas Prymak and Bohdan Kordan. As such, certain questions about this time remain not only unanswered, but in some cases not even posed.

To start addressing some of these issues, the CIUS Kule Centre for Ukrainian Canadian Studies and the Centre for Ukrainian Canadian Studies (University of Manitoba), in partnership with the Ukrainian Cultural and Education Centre “Oseredok” are sponsoring the conference “Becoming Canadian: Ukrainians in Canada during the Second World War”, held in Winnipeg, November 11-12, 2011.

Eleven papers related to the theme are scheduled to be presented. The speakers all hail from Canada, coming from as far as Edmonton and Ottawa. Among the topics covered will be Ukrainian Canadians on the eve of WWII (with a specific note regarding reactions to the Carpatho-Ukraine crisis in 1938-39); Ukrainians in the Canadian armed forces during the conflict (including an examination of the activities of Ukrainian-Canadian chaplains); Ukrainian Canadians on the home front; and others. The conference includes a screening of a vintage film illustrating the Hollywood view of the war in Ukraine. As well, the proceedings will include a special Remembrance Day commemoration of Canada’s war veterans.

The “Becoming Canadian” conference takes place at the Ukrainian Cultural and Educational Centre (Oseredok) in Winnipeg, and open to the public, with a $40 registration fee for both days and $25 for a single day. Included in the fee are lunch and coffee breaks on the two days, as well as Friday night’s film screening, open only to registered participants. Students can attend for free with valid identification. Pre-registration is required before November 7 by phoning Oseredok at (204) 942-0218. For further information, contact CUCS at (204) 474-8907. To access the conference programme, visit www.ualberta.ca/CIUS/Becoming_Canadian.pdf.

PHOTO

Members of the Ukrainian Canadian Servicemen’s Association, London, England, 1944

Photo Credits: Photographer - A. Louis Jarche (Pess & Publicity Photographic Co.)

From the collections of the Ukrainian Cultural and Educational Centre ‘Oseredok’ in Winnipeg