Internal Assessment

To what extent did the Organization of

Ukrainian Nationalists share the ideologies of
German Fascism (1929-1947)?
Word Count: 2121
Identifying and Assessing Sources
Today in Ukraine there is a new patriotic movement that celebrates the Organization of

Ukrainian Nationalists (the OUN) and its leaders, which is known at the time to have cooperated

with the Nazis. The purpose of this research is to determine to what extent the OUN shared the

ideology of Hitler's National Socialist regime in Germany during their period of active

operations between 1929 and 1947. The focus will be on the main ideological aspects of the two

groups, specifically comparing each. For this, this study will rely on the first sources written by

the leaders and main ideologues. The facts and results of their actions will also be analyzed in

modern sources and archives.

N, (2009) Hitler's shadow - Nazi War Criminals, US Intelligence, and

the Cold War, National Archives
Godaof the Nazis and it contains the information of the American agency on sympathizers of the

fascist movement. The source was chosen, because the fifth chapter is dedicated to Ukrainian

nationalists. There is an explanation of this movement, the history and a description of the

important figures of the OUN.

The document is created as a result of the Secret Documents Disclosure Act of 2007, based on

which the United States Congress required an investigation of any information related to Nazi

criminals. Nevertheless, it is possible to assume that there are exemptions for security reasons,

caused by the CIA's cooperation with the OUN after the war.

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Thus, this work is valuable because it offers a broad perspective on the history of the OUN and

the leaders of the movement. On the other hand, the facts in the source may be incomplete, in

order to avoid a backlash for illegal actions.

Source 2: Mirchuk P. (1968). Naris istorii OUN vol.1 1920-1939,

Cicero, Munich.
This book is in two volumes devoted to the detailed description of the history and ideology of the

OUN. The first volume recounts the years between the two world wars. The author uses

documents, letters and memoirs of OUN participants.

According to the author, the work was inspired by the request of Stepan Bandera (leader of the

OUN-B group) to write the complete history of the organization. Mirchuk mentions the

complexity of acquiring and reconstructing facts. This goes back to the fact that the OUN was

illegal and operated clandestinely. So he mentions that he was trying to verify all the information

well.

While Mirchuk was a prominent figure in the OUN from the time of its formation and during its

development, this work was chosen as a source. However, this source is limited by a strong

presence of the author's patriotism giving it a natural bias. He often uses personal impressions,

altered by the passage of time and by his vision of nationalism as a heroic movement.

Historical Background
At the end of World War I, ethnically Ukrainian territories fragmented among several countries.

Among these countries was Poland, which in 1922 occupied the ethnic Ukrainian regions of the

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Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Eastern Galicia and Volhynia (Breitman & Goda, 2009, p.

73) .

In 1929, in Vienna, emigrant Ukrainians formed the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists

(OUN). The main goal of these nationalists was to create an independent, ethnically

homogeneous Ukraine (Breitman & Goda, 2009, pp. 73-74). Some of the leaders were Stepan

Bandera, Mykola Lebed and Yaroslav Stetsko (Mirchuk p.323).

Between 1929 and 1939, the OUN wanted to eliminate Poles and Bolsheviks from ethnically

Ukrainian territories. For this they committed assassinations of diplomats, massacres of Jews and

Poles, and killed representatives of Polish and Soviet governments (Zajcev, 2016). The extremist

ideas of the OUN received the support of the population who believed themselves oppressed by

political and economic oppressors like the Holodomor (CIA, 2007).

For Germany, the First World War resulted with the Treaty of Versailles (1920), which

humiliated the defeated Germans. The government of the new republic was controlled by the

winners of the war, and did not represent the wishes of the people. The Great Depression gave

the final blow. This is why civilians supported extremist groups like communists and fascists

(Shirer 1990, p.31). One of the right-wing movements was Adolf Hitler's political party, called

the National Socialists or Nazi, founded in 1920.

Elections in 1933 gave Hitler's party a majority, which quickly changed the government to a

one-party dictatorship. The ideology of fascism proposed racial superiority, and an anti-liberal

and anti-communist foundation (Shirer 1990, p.111). His government instituted militarism,

which then led to World War II.

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At the start of World War II, OUN leaders Bandera and Lebed supported Hitler, hoping for his

help in creating a sovereign Ukraine. On the contrary, the Nazi government (Hitler and Borman)

opposed this idea. So the Gestapo arrested Bandera and Lebed (Breitman & Goda, 2009, p. 74).

The OUN continued its terrorist operations, but now against the German occupiers (CIA, 2007).

In 1943, as soon as the defeat of the Nazis was real, Bandera, along with others, were released.

Hitler wanted to organize the OUN for the defense of the Reich, but the majority of nationalists

refused the offer. Their main goal after 1943 was to win back the support of Ukrainian civilians,

but the arrival of the Red Army forced many to flee west. Beginning in 1945, several members

of the OUN were used by the CIA for the purpose of spreading nationalist propaganda in Soviet

Ukraine (Breitman & Goda, 2009, p. 85).

From the above, it is clear that the emergence and development of German nationalism and

fascism was caused by problems faced by the Ukrainian and German peoples after the First

World War. The disagreement between the Ukrainian nationalists and the Nazis only happened

after the start of the Second World War. Therefore, it is logical to assume that the fundamental

ideology of the OUN and National Socialism will be analogous. To verify this thesis, one can

compare the way the OUN and the Nazis planned the development of their state.

Rise to power and political structure

The OUN is a liberation-revolutionary movement, which was created to unite the Ukrainian

people in revolution against the oppressors (CIA, 1943). The expulsion of the invaders was seen

as the goal of the revolution in Ukraine, following which a temporary dictatorship should be

established. When the nation is established, a democratic government would be created.

(Mirchuk, 1968, pp. 23, 95). However, the OUN Congress in 1929 decided that the popular vote

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would only be taken once to choose a supreme leader, Hetman, for life (Zajcev, 2016). In 1939,

Stepan Bandera, one of the leaders of the OUN, declared the independence of Galicia, of which

he was the dictator (Breitman & Goda, 2009, p. 77).

The National Socialists were at first a counterweight to the Marxist movements (Hitler, 1925).

The Nazis used democratic voting to gain power (Fig. 1). Then they installed a dictatorship by

outlawing all other political movements (Shirer, 1990, p.178).

Indeed, both groups wanted to establish authoritarian governments, but supported by the people.

On the other hand, they are opposed in their view of their coming to power, where the Ukrainian

organization would have used force, with the overthrow of the regime in place, but Hitler's

organization arrived with democracy, winning the majority of votes.

Economic system and right to property

The OUN proposed that “The Bolshevik economic system should be dismantled, because it

makes people slaves” (CIA, 1943). The property would be entirely private, because a right-wing

economy allows the development of the economy, envisaged from the industrial, social and

individual level according to the nationalists (CIA, 1943). Ukraine's economy would be made

self-sufficient (Mirchuk, 1968, pp. 96-98).

The Fascists used the ideology of controlled capitalism, in which all businesses and services

otherwise offered by the government are privatized on condition of following the Nazi ideology.

Shares of companies can be sold to the people (Bel, 2006, p. 8).

It is possible to find a similarity between the two groups, in an ideology of self-sufficient private

economy, and the total rejection of the ideas of socialism.

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Ethnic issue

“The country of Ukraine is made for Ukrainians.” said Stepan Bandera (Legenda, 1941). The

elimination or assimilation of minority groups must be done according to their will, or if not by

force (Legenda, 1941). Dontsov, the most important ideologue of the OUN, said thatit is

necessary to distinguish from the Ukrainian people a special "racial caste" - "Nordic and

biologically pure" Aryan aristocrats (Dontsov 1951, p. 218, 221). In Stetko's messages to

Bandera in 1943, he mentions that “thepogroms in eastern Galicia in the early days of the war

killed perhaps 12,000 Jews.” (Breitman & Goda, 2009, p. 75). According to OUN ideology, the

ruling races have no regard for the weak and less fortunate (Dontsov, 1926, p.158). On the other

hand, the nationalists had completely changed their ideology from 1943. From then on, the OUN

pushed for equality. It was an “ideological camouflage” (Gomza, 2015).

The Fascists believed in the purity of a superior race (Hitler, 1926, p.243). At the base of Nazi

ideology was the elimination of Jews, Roma and Slavs as sub-human races. About 6 million

Jews and 9 to 13 million civilian Slavs perished because of this regime (Bensoussan, 2013).

Thus, the OUN and the Nazis postulated the primacy of a single group, with a certain gap

between the Nazis who made the distinction on the basis of race, and the OUN who relied only

on ethnic purity. Both professed anti-Semitism equally.

Freedom of the press and education

Ukrainian nationalists used propaganda excessively. For example, their newspaper Zborivski visti

(Fig. 2), which had published the declaration of independent Ukraine in 1939, propagated

nationalist, anti-Semitic and anti-Communist ideas (CIA, 1943). The OUN encouraged the

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publication of Ukrainian literature that celebrated the country's culture and history (Mirchuk,

1968). Dontsov convinced that "literature management" is the most important foundation of the

society's ideology (Dontsov 1926, p.153). After coming to power, thenationalist government

would check and administer all youth organizations and all educational materials (Zajcev, 2016).

The German National Socialist movement had a propaganda ministry for the dissemination of

fascist ideology. The famous burnings of 1933 were carried out with the aim of eliminating all

literature “of a non-German spirit”. The education system was based on the party's ideological

book Mein Kampf (Hitler, 1926, p.99). Youth groups were formed to indoctrinate the new

generation.

It can be seen that both organizations are also against freedom of the press, especially against the

work of Jews and Communists. They both wanted to educate young people in similar ways and

for similar purposes.

Conclusion

As part of this investigation, the ideology of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and that

of Hitler's political party in Germany were compared. It can be concluded that in the ideology,

worldview and political activities of the OUN in the years 1929 to 1947, a number of elements

were inherent which united this organization with the radical and totalitarian movements of

Europe. , especially with Nazism. However, the OUN ideologues tended towards the national

liberation of Western Ukraine through revolution. To achieve its objectives, the OUN chose

terror, sabotage, murder, which were supposed to lead to an explosion of national revolution and

raise the people to revolt.

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Reflection

During my research, I realized that the selection of valid sources to be able to arrive at a

conclusion is the most difficult work of a historian. This includes well-developed methods where

content is not the only factor to consider. Especially among the secondary sources, I found that

several of the authors are not qualified as historians, or promote certain ideas or propaganda.

Even in the primary sources, I have found that there are discrepancies in facts and

interpretations. For example, one of my sources gave a different date of the official formation of

the OUN, possibly done for personal purposes. So I also had to compare the different texts to

come up with a more credible answer.

Another important problem that often arises in historical research is the cultural barrier, which is

often the language of the sources. Consequently, it was necessary to operate with documents in

several languages ​in order to prove the validity of the information found. In order to have a good

comparison of all views, my resources are written in English, Russian and Ukrainian. By

analyzing interpretations of the OUN and fascists of all factions involved, I was able to better

understand the ideology of Ukrainian nationalists before 1947 and its relationship to the ideology

of German fascism. This research made me realize the importance that historical events play on

contemporary society, but also how difficult it is to compare historical facts to today's reality.

Bibliography

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Works Cited
Bel, G (2006). Against the mainstream: Nazi privatization in 1930s Germany. Retrieved February
9, 2020, from Universitat de Barcelona. URL: http://www.ub.edu/graap/nazi.pdf

Bensoussan, G (2013).. The Ideological Foundations of Nazism. Retrieved February 20, 2020,
from History Geography Dijon, The Shoah Memorial. URL:

Breitman, R., & Goda, N (2009). Hitler's shadow - Nazi War Criminals, US Intelligence, and the
Cold War. Retrieved January 11, 2020, from the National Archives. URL:
https://www.archives.gov/files/iwg/reports/hitlers-shadow.pdf

CIA (2007) General information on Bandera and the OUN, Declassified 2007. Retrieved January
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https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/AERODYNAMIC%20%20%20VOL.%20
9%20%20(DEVELOPMENT%20AND%20PLANS)_0016.pdf

Dontsov, D., (1951) . Duh noshoj davnyny. Mittelbayerische Journal, Munich.

Dontsov, D., (1926). Nacionalizm, Zhovkva, Ukraine: Misioner P

Gomza, I (2015). Elusive Proteus: A study in the ideological morphology of the Organization of
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https://online.ucpress.edu/cpcs/article-split/48/2-3/195/528/Elusive-Proteus-A-study-in-th
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Hitler, A (1926) Mein Kampf. London, New York: Hurst and Blackett, Translated into English by
James Murphy (1942)

Legenda, E (1941). OUN v 1941 roci, Documenty. Retrieved February 9, 2020, from the Institute
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Mirchuk P. (1968). Naris istorii OUN vol.1 1920-1939, Cicero, Munich.

Shirer W.L (1990). The Rise and Fall of The Third Reich. Retrieved March 2, 2020, from Baki
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Zajcev, A (2016). Ideologiya i politicheskaya strategiya OUN do 1939 goda. Retrieved February
11, 2020, from Forum of New Eastern European History and Culture - Russian Edition,
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Appendix
(Fig. 1) Results of the Reichstag elections in March 1933
This image was retrieved from NSDAP Wahl 1933 Wikipedia Commons
Data source: Statistisches Jahrbuch für das Deutsche Reich 1933
URL:http://www.digizeitschriften.de/dms/toc/?PID=PPN514401303_1933

(Fig. 2) Image from the Zborivski visti gazette of 30 June 1941 announcing the Ukrainian Declaration of
Independence
This image was retrieved from Акт проголошення Української держави.jpg, Wikipedia Commons

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