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In the MaelstromThe Waffen-SS 'Galicia' Division and Its Legacy |
eBook Available
Exploring the wartime experience and postwar fate of the Fourteenth Waffen-SS “Galicia” Division.
An estimated 25,000 Ukrainians served in the Fourteenth Waffen-SS “Galicia” Division. Conflicting accounts of their reasons for enlistment and continuing accusations of wartime criminality have fuelled controversial debate for decades.
The first comprehensive study of the division to address both its wartime experience and its postwar fate, In the Maelstrom draws on archival research that includes interrogation records, interviews, memoirs, testimonies, and creative literature. The accounts of veterans often begin with being drafted into the force in their teenage years and continue into postwar life in Italian and British internment camps. These reminiscences are compared with wartime records and recent narratives. Myroslav Shkandrij discusses the commissions of inquiry into war crimes during the 1980s, recent debates over the issue of monuments and commemoration, and different ways in which veterans, the diaspora community, Western governments, and researchers have approached the division and its history.
In the Maelstrom brings to light the underexplored Ukrainian experience in the “Galicia” Division during and after the war - an experience that resonates strongly today.
The first comprehensive study of the division to address both its wartime experience and its postwar fate, In the Maelstrom draws on archival research that includes interrogation records, interviews, memoirs, testimonies, and creative literature. The accounts of veterans often begin with being drafted into the force in their teenage years and continue into postwar life in Italian and British internment camps. These reminiscences are compared with wartime records and recent narratives. Myroslav Shkandrij discusses the commissions of inquiry into war crimes during the 1980s, recent debates over the issue of monuments and commemoration, and different ways in which veterans, the diaspora community, Western governments, and researchers have approached the division and its history.
In the Maelstrom brings to light the underexplored Ukrainian experience in the “Galicia” Division during and after the war - an experience that resonates strongly today.
Details
464 Pages, 6 x 9
46 figures, 3 maps
ISBN 9780228016533
March 2023
Formats: Cloth, Paperback, eBook
“The history of the 'Galicia' Division has produced a vast body of material; however, much of it is highly politicized. In the Maelstrom looks at the entire history of the division and presents a much-needed critical narrative.” Olesya Khromeychuk, author of ‘Undetermined’ Ukrainians: Post-War Narratives of the Waffen SS ‘Galicia’ Division
“The book offers a balanced and nuanced account. There are clear indications that propagandistic Soviet publications had an impact on public discussions of the division in the 1980s. They propagated the Soviet enemy image of Ukrainian nationalists as fascist collaborators and henchmen of the Germans during World War Two in the West. There is a direct line that links these Soviet depictions with Vladimir Putin’s recent claim that Ukraine is ruled by a ‘Nazi’ regime, which he used to justify the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. This makes a critical reappraisal of older discussions about Ukrainian nationalist forces and German rule in World War Two urgent and timely, to which Myroslav Shkandrij’s book makes an important contribution.” Slavonic and East European Review
“The book offers a balanced and nuanced account. There are clear indications that propagandistic Soviet publications had an impact on public discussions of the division in the 1980s. They propagated the Soviet enemy image of Ukrainian nationalists as fascist collaborators and henchmen of the Germans during World War Two in the West. There is a direct line that links these Soviet depictions with Vladimir Putin’s recent claim that Ukraine is ruled by a ‘Nazi’ regime, which he used to justify the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. This makes a critical reappraisal of older discussions about Ukrainian nationalist forces and German rule in World War Two urgent and timely, to which Myroslav Shkandrij’s book makes an important contribution.” Slavonic and East European Review
Myroslav Shkandrij is professor emeritus of Slavic studies at the University of Manitoba.
Figures vii
Glossary and Abbreviations xi
Preface xvii
Acknowledgments xix
Note on Usage xxi
Notes on Political and Military Figures xxiii
Maps follow page xxx
Introduction 3
PART ONE | MOTIVES
1 Genesis and Reasons for Volunteering 15
2 Collaborators and Co-operators 31
3 Kubijovyč, Pankivskyi, and the Ukrainian Central Committee 45
4 Military Training: Propaganda, Chaplains, and Relations with Germans 59
PART TWO | ACTIONS
5 Beyersdorff Battle Group, February-March, 1944 85
6 District of Lublin as War Theatre: Battalions, Guards, and Mutinies 93
7 Galician SS Volunteer Regiments 102
8 Slovakia, Slovenia, Austria, and the Ukrainian National Army, 1944-45 121
9 Youth Soldiers, Women, and Nurses 142
PART THREE | CAMPS
10 Bellaria and the Repatriation Campaign, 1945 161
11 Rimini, 1945-47 177
12 United Kingdom, 1947-49 197
PART FOUR | STORIES
13 Stories of Captured Men: Interrogations 1944-54 and Interviews 1987-2012 211
14 Émigré Press and the Patriot Image, 1951-74 230
15 Poetry and Memoirs 244
16 Popular Fiction 264
PART FIVE | REAPPRAISALS
17 Commissions of Inquiry and Postwar Trials 281
18 Reasons Recalled: Last Interviews, 1987-2012 298
19 Accomplices, Traitors, and Foes: Three Narrative Perspectives 314
20 Monuments and Memory 326
21 Conclusion 345
Notes 351
References 389
Index 415
Glossary and Abbreviations xi
Preface xvii
Acknowledgments xix
Note on Usage xxi
Notes on Political and Military Figures xxiii
Maps follow page xxx
Introduction 3
PART ONE | MOTIVES
1 Genesis and Reasons for Volunteering 15
2 Collaborators and Co-operators 31
3 Kubijovyč, Pankivskyi, and the Ukrainian Central Committee 45
4 Military Training: Propaganda, Chaplains, and Relations with Germans 59
PART TWO | ACTIONS
5 Beyersdorff Battle Group, February-March, 1944 85
6 District of Lublin as War Theatre: Battalions, Guards, and Mutinies 93
7 Galician SS Volunteer Regiments 102
8 Slovakia, Slovenia, Austria, and the Ukrainian National Army, 1944-45 121
9 Youth Soldiers, Women, and Nurses 142
PART THREE | CAMPS
10 Bellaria and the Repatriation Campaign, 1945 161
11 Rimini, 1945-47 177
12 United Kingdom, 1947-49 197
PART FOUR | STORIES
13 Stories of Captured Men: Interrogations 1944-54 and Interviews 1987-2012 211
14 Émigré Press and the Patriot Image, 1951-74 230
15 Poetry and Memoirs 244
16 Popular Fiction 264
PART FIVE | REAPPRAISALS
17 Commissions of Inquiry and Postwar Trials 281
18 Reasons Recalled: Last Interviews, 1987-2012 298
19 Accomplices, Traitors, and Foes: Three Narrative Perspectives 314
20 Monuments and Memory 326
21 Conclusion 345
Notes 351
References 389
Index 415
