Friday, May 30, 2008

The Shoah in Ukraine: History, Testimony, Memorialization by Ray Brandon (Editor), Wendy Lower (Editor)

This anthology is made up of chapters written by a variety of authors/specialists on either the Holocaust or Ukraine. Some of these chapters are most likely taken straight from books that these authors have previously published (i.e. Bartov's chapter is pretty much from his lastest book entitled "Erased"), which detail various aspects of the Holocaust in Ukraine before, during, and after the Second World War. Today, most of the attention has been focused on either the Holocaust in Poland or the Soviet Union in general, not so much on specifically Ukraine. This book aims to correct that missing page in western historiography on the Holocaust.

Being from Ukraine I found much of the information within the pages of this book engrossing to read about. Specifically, the history of Jews and Ukrainians in Galicia was very intriguing. I found it interesting that the Ukrainians in this area were affected by German/Austrian anti-Semitism which differed from that of other areas within Ukraine which was more affected by Polish and Russian anti-Semitism. There is an entire chapter which chronicles the destruction of Ukrainian Jewry village/town/city by village/town/city and year by year, an excellent reference. One of the chapters also notes how much more research is needed in regards to the role of Police Battalions, which in Ukraine actually killed more Jews than Einsatzgruppen C and D combined! Something that undoubtedly few know about. As with any book worth its salt this one raises as many questions as it answers, questions which hopefully will be answered in the near future as our knowledge and understanding of this event within the borders of Ukraine grows. Highly recommended for those with an interest in either the Holocaust or Ukrainian history during this time period.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear friend Kunikov:

I have been regularly reading and enjoying your comments on various books. Thank you!
The only thing which makes me a bit unpleasantly surprised is that you tend to use the word 'Ukraine' without the definite article THE.
Every educated person, the more so you, must have known that the word 'ukraine' means 'borderland' in all Slavic languages. And nothing more.
Since the December 2004 'Orange Revolution' -- when the power was taken by those who praise so much the SS Division Galichina -- there has appeared a dendency in the Western mainstream mass media to use the name of that geographical unit without the definite article, as if it were a proper name of a country.
Well, let's accept the fact that the Ukraine has become an independent state. OK, no problem.
But I believe that in such a case the definite article MUST be used especially invariably according to the rules of the English language. Indeed: there may exist many different 'borderlands' or 'ukraines' in the world, but The Borderland which became a separate state is unique.
Hence: The Ukraine. Do you agree?

Regards,
Michael Kuznetsov

T. Kunikov said...

Dear Michael:

You bring up an interesting point. For a long time I have seen and myself have used 'The Ukraine' when speaking of Ukraine. Recently, for no real particular reason, I stopped putting 'the' in front of Ukraine and just called it Ukraine. To me it really does not matter which way you propose to entitle this state as I am not associating anything with 'the Ukraine' or simply 'Ukraine.' In this instance, as you can tell from the title of the book, the name given to Ukraine is simply 'Ukraine' so I decided to stay with that title.

I have heard the various debates about whether it should be 'the Ukraine' or simply 'Ukraine' but I have reached no conclusion of my own and to me it matters little which I use since I personally don't see a big difference. I do apologize if it bothers you though :) it was not my intention to mean anything by it.

Dr. Ostryzniuk said...

Dear Mr. Kunikov:

Nice review. This is certainly one area of European history that has been sorely ignored. And to weigh in on the "Ukraine" debate...

Mr. Kuznetsov:

Under no circmstance should the definite article be used before "Ukraine", since it is an independent country and not a geographic region. The word "Ukraine" has been used to specifically denote the southern region of old Rus' since the 11th century and no other. To suggest that it means 'borderlands' and nothing more is utterly wrong and betrays a fundamental ignorance of slavic philology. No self-respecting journalist or academic has been using the definite article with "Ukraine" for many years now. And besides, if this is all you have to say about the review, it more than suggests a prejudice of the typical Russian chauvinist, and hence undermines the value of your comments.
I speak from a position of authority, since I am a professional editor with an advanced degree from a respected university, and speak both Russian and Ukrainian. To help prove my point, I would argure that while there are many cliffs in the world, there is only one Crimea, or Krym, the origin of which is the old Greek work 'cremnos'. In addition, 'Russia' is name Peter I just made up in the early 18th century in order to eradicate memory of old Rus'. And to generalize that "every educated person" might know something is ridiculous in the extreme. I suggest you show a little more respect for sovereign nations if you want to be taken seriously.

Sincerely,

Dr. Ostryzniuk

T. Kunikov said...

Dr. Ostryzniuk,

Thank you for the points you bring up but I would just ask that you be a little less 'hostile' in presenting them. This is of course a controversial 'debate' but at the same time I'm sure we can all be professional about this.

Regards,
Kunikov

Anonymous said...

Dr. Ostryzniuk,

I believe this blog is not the right place for us, you and me, to discuss the Russo-Ukrainian relations. Perhaps we shall find any other site for exchanging arguments?

Meanwhile, I would like to invite you and Kunikov, as well as others who may concern, to read the following material:
http://www.guardian-psj.ru/main-article-53

Sincerely,

Michael Kuznetsov

Anonymous said...

Dear Mr. Kunikov,
I am concerned that we may have a case of plagiarism. The Amazon website has a review on the Shoah in Ukraine as follows:

"By Y. Mann (United States) - See all my reviews

This anthology is made up of chapters written by a variety of authors/specialists on either the Holocaust or Ukraine. Some of these chapters are most likely taken straight from books that these authors have previously published (i.e. Bartov's chapter is pretty much from his lastest book entitled "Erased"), which detail various aspects of the Holocaust in Ukraine before, during, and after the Second World War. Today, most of the attention has been focused on either the Holocaust in Poland or the Soviet Union in general, not so much on specifically Ukraine. This book aims to correct that missing page in western historiography on the Holocaust.

Being from Ukraine I found much of the information within the pages of this book engrossing to read about. Specifically, the history of Jews and Ukrainians in Galicia was very intriguing. I found it interesting that the Ukrainians in this area were affected by German/Austrian anti-Semitism which differed from that of other areas within Ukraine which was more affected by Polish and Russian anti-Semitism. There is an entire chapter which chronicles the destruction of Ukrainian Jewry village/town/city by village/town/city and year by year, an excellent reference. One of the chapters also notes how much more research is needed in regards to the role of Police Battalions, which in Ukraine actually killed more Jews than Einsatzgruppen C and D combined! Something that undoubtedly few know about. As with any book worth its salt this one raises as many questions as it answers, questions which hopefully will be answered in the near future as our knowledge and understanding of this event within the borders of Ukraine grows. Highly recommended for those with an interest in either the Holocaust or Ukrainian history during this time period."

This is identical to your posting. I fear that blogs, reviews and such books as this are a regurgitation of other people's work without any scholarly activity involved. These authours requote themselves from book to book. Is that research?

I feel we have an issue here more serious than plagiarism. This is an issue of Ukrainophobia or perhaps anti-Ukrainianism. Please do not re-write history - research it and tell the truth. Check the archives and do not use Soviet documentation. The Ukrainians were not only friends of the Jews but saved many Jewish lives. Don't allow the actions of a few to stereotype an entire nation.

T. Kunikov said...

I fear you've discovered my real identity, so to speak. I am Y. Mann, Kunikov is a pseudonym I go by on a variety of historical forums throughout the internet.

You are correct in stating that there were Ukrainians that saved Jews, risked their lives for Jews, etc. But there were also those, OUN included, who targeted Jews and killed them. Neither is a valid representation of Ukraine in a general sense, but both deserve to be research and presented to the reading public on their own terms.

Google