A review of "Protest of the Ukrainian Republic to the United States against the delivery of Eastern Galicia to Polish domination"
This is an extremely obscure
document, which (surprisingly enough) exists in a whole batch of reprint
editions, while also being available on the web. Written in 1919 by one Julian
Batchinsky, the document protests the decision of the Allied powers in the aftermath
of World War I to grant Poland control over East Galicia (the area around
Lviv).
Batchinsky, the de facto ambassador of the Ukrainian People's Republic in Washington DC, argues eloquently that East Galicia should become part of the newly independent Ukrainian state. Previously under the control of Austria-Hungary, East Galicia had a predominantly Ukrainian population. After the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the West Ukrainian People's Republic was declared on the territory of East Galicia, in accordance with the Allied promises of national self-determination for the Slavs of ex-Austria-Hungary. Before it could unite with the Ukrainian People's Republic (declared in Kiev), the West Ukrainian republic was overrun by Polish forces. Batchinsky accuses the Poles of repression against the Ukrainian population, and calls on the U.S. administration to reconsider its decision to grant Poland the “mandate” over the disputed area. In a nod to pro-Jewish sentiments, he claims that no pogroms have taken place in territories controlled by the West Ukrainian People's Republic, while such things were common in Polish-dominated West Galicia…
I'm not a scholarly expert on these developments, but Batchinsky seems to have been politically isolated. Apparently, he didn't knew about the decision to grant East Galicia to Poland until he read about it in an Associated Press dispatch! When arguing his case for East Galicia being Ukrainian, he quotes various encyclopaedias, including Encyclopedia Brittanica. Did diplomatic correspondence circa 1919 really look like this? Or was the protest mostly directed at the public? After all, it was published by a group called Friends of Ukraine.
The aftermath is ironic and shows the complexities of East European history. Shortly after issuing the protest, the Ukrainian People's Republic allied itself with its erstwhile nemesis Poland to fight the Bolsheviks. The independent Ukrainian state collapsed, while Poland survived and regained controlled over East Galicia. In 1939, Stalin occupied East Galicia in accordance with the Hitler-Stalin pact, and incorporated the area with Soviet Ukraine. In 1991, when the Soviet Union was dissolved, Lviv and the surrounding areas finally found themselves in the midst of an independent Ukraine. Quite the homecoming. What a pity President Wilson couldn't take the credit…
Batchinsky, the de facto ambassador of the Ukrainian People's Republic in Washington DC, argues eloquently that East Galicia should become part of the newly independent Ukrainian state. Previously under the control of Austria-Hungary, East Galicia had a predominantly Ukrainian population. After the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the West Ukrainian People's Republic was declared on the territory of East Galicia, in accordance with the Allied promises of national self-determination for the Slavs of ex-Austria-Hungary. Before it could unite with the Ukrainian People's Republic (declared in Kiev), the West Ukrainian republic was overrun by Polish forces. Batchinsky accuses the Poles of repression against the Ukrainian population, and calls on the U.S. administration to reconsider its decision to grant Poland the “mandate” over the disputed area. In a nod to pro-Jewish sentiments, he claims that no pogroms have taken place in territories controlled by the West Ukrainian People's Republic, while such things were common in Polish-dominated West Galicia…
I'm not a scholarly expert on these developments, but Batchinsky seems to have been politically isolated. Apparently, he didn't knew about the decision to grant East Galicia to Poland until he read about it in an Associated Press dispatch! When arguing his case for East Galicia being Ukrainian, he quotes various encyclopaedias, including Encyclopedia Brittanica. Did diplomatic correspondence circa 1919 really look like this? Or was the protest mostly directed at the public? After all, it was published by a group called Friends of Ukraine.
The aftermath is ironic and shows the complexities of East European history. Shortly after issuing the protest, the Ukrainian People's Republic allied itself with its erstwhile nemesis Poland to fight the Bolsheviks. The independent Ukrainian state collapsed, while Poland survived and regained controlled over East Galicia. In 1939, Stalin occupied East Galicia in accordance with the Hitler-Stalin pact, and incorporated the area with Soviet Ukraine. In 1991, when the Soviet Union was dissolved, Lviv and the surrounding areas finally found themselves in the midst of an independent Ukraine. Quite the homecoming. What a pity President Wilson couldn't take the credit…
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