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SERIES 1
VOLUME 2
This volume of the "Litopys UPA" contains documents and materials
about the military activities of the UPA in Volyn and Polissya under
the German occupation. Collected here also are various articles, press
reports, and chronicles, that were published in the underground
periodicals and some of which were later published in obscure emigre
publication and are, therefore, no longer available to the general
public. The materials collected here may also be useful for those
interested in the early history of the UPA.
The opening article, "On The Path of the Armed Struggle", was written by Rostyslav Voloshyn (A. S. Borysenko), who was one of the leading organizers of the insurrectionary movement in Volyn. He presents the view that the origin and development of the UPA was the result of an inevitable, ongoing socio-historical process under conditions of the German occupation. This approach to the problem makes his analysis and observations especially valuable for the serious student of the UPA in Volyn.
An unknown author writing under the pseudonym of Yaroslav Yasenko describes the activities of the peasant self-defence system, and provides various details of its organizational structure, its political function, and its ties with the UPA. The article by Vadym (a pseudonym) covers a similar topic, focusing more, however, on the political and economic life of the people in the territories administered by the UPA.
The letter by Lav (Yaroslav Starukh) to Denys (Mykhaylo Palidovych) discusses the projected publication of a symposium entitled "Ukrains'ka Povstancha Armiya, UPA", that was to contain also, the above mentioned articles, but which was never published. The letter by Vasyl' Makar of August 1943, on the other hand, provides an interesting perspective on the origin and activities of the UPA, and describes the prevailing conditions in Volyn region at that time.
The article by O. S. Sadovyi, "In Which Direction Are the Poles Going?", analyzes Polish-Ukrainian relations, or more specifically, the Polish-Ukrainian conflicts in the years 1942-1944. The article appeared at the beginning of 1944 in the "Ideya i Chyn", the press organ of the OUN, and, therefore, should be regarded as an official position of the OUN leadership on this matter.
In the section, the "Military, Educational, Political and Informational Materials", are grouped together several short essays that pertain either to the UPA activities or discuss the general conditions of life in Volyn. Thus, for example, M. L'vovych in "Ukrainian Bread For Ukrainian People", describes the efforts by the UPA to protect the grain harvest of 1943. Roman Hryva in the article "And She Talked and Talked..." laughs off attempts of the German propaganda to tar the UPA with a pro-Soviet brush, while O. Baydachenko in his "In German Penal Servitude" describes the unbearable living and working conditions of Ukrainian labourers in Germany. On the other hand, the articles, "On the Threshold of the New Year", and "In the Whirlwind of War", provide an insight into the thinking of underground journalists, their evaluation of the international situation at the end of 1943, and its impact on the Ukrainian struggle for freedom. In addition, these and other articles in the book are interesting examples of the underground journalism of the period.
The section, "The Underground Sketches About the UPA Battles" assembles several popular essays on military topics. All of them were originally published in the UPA journal in Volyn "Do Zbroyi". Two short essays by Mrlya, "The Road to His People" and "Attack On The City Kamin-Koshyrs'kyi" have originally appeared in the "Litopys UPA- Odnodnivka V. O. 'BUH'". The function of these stories was to serve as a channel for military and political education of the UPA soldiers. They can also be viewed as a special source of information, because all of them (with the exception of L. Potapov's "The Red Ribbon", which is clearly fictional) describe actual events.
The section, "The Underground Press About the UPA", contains reports and stories about the military activities of the UPA. They discuss the general political situation, as well as the larger military operations by the UPA, for example, the struggle for control of Polissya, the military raids to Eastern Ukraine, etc. Many of the newsbriefs are an important, and in some cases the only source of information about the UPA.
The last section -"Documentation: Selections from the UPA Chronicles"- contains three chronicles, or more precisely, selection from them pertaining to Volyn and Polissya.
The list of abbreviations and the index of personal and geographic names close the volume.
The documents, materials, and photographs, come mainly from the Archives of the ZP UHVR. All of them have been properly labeled and identified in the text.
The real name of I. M. Kovalenko, the author of "The Goals and Methods of the German Imperialistic Policy in the Occupied Regions", published in the first volume of the "Litopys UPA" is Rev. Dr. Ivan Hryniokh.
The Editors express their gratitude to all individuals and institutions that made the publication of this second volume of the "Litopys UPA" possible.
Editors of the "Litopys UPA"
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