During the Great Patriotic War, 5 million 300 thousand citizens of the USSR died at the hands of the Nazis in Ukraine, 2 million 300 thousand people were driven to Germany as slaves. 850,000 Jews, 220,000 Poles, more than 400,000 Soviet prisoners of war and another 500,000 civilian Ukrainians were killed at the hands of Ukrainian nationalists and collaborators. 20,000 soldiers and officers of the Soviet Army and law enforcement agencies were killed.

The beginning of the criminal activity of Ukrainian nationalists was laid on June 30, 1941. The Nachtigall battalion, under the command of R. Shukhevych, broke into Lviv at dawn together with the German advanced units (according to some sources, the Nachtigall special unit captured the Lviv radio station already on June 29) in the first days he destroyed more than 3 thousand civilians in Lvov, whose native language was Polish. In just a week of "cleansing operations" in Lvov, Shukhevych's battalion "Nachtigal" destroyed 7,000 civilians, including the elderly, women and children.

The head of the Uniate (Greek Catholic) Church, Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky, on July 1, the day after the occupation of Lvov by the invaders, held a service in honor of the "invincible German army and its chief leader Adolf Hitler" (also after the capture of Kyiv by fascist troops on September 23, 1941, Sheptytsky sent Hitler congratulatory letter, in which he hailed the Fuhrer as "the invincible commander of the incomparable and glorious German army"). Sheptytsky blessed the Ukrainian nationalists and personally S. Bandera to fight the Bolsheviks. With the blessing of the head of the Uniates, Sheptytsky, a campaign of mass extermination of civilians was launched by terrorist bandits from the OUN, UPA, Nachtigall and the SS division Galicia.

Bukovinian kuren, created by an Abwehr agent, a member of the Chernivtsi regional wire of the OUN Voynovsky, arrived in Kyiv on September 22, 1941, where from September 28 he received Active participation in the massacre of civilians at Babi Yar. Of the one and a half thousand punishers, there were about three hundred Germans, the rest - Ukrainian nationalists and collaborators. In total, 350,000 civilians, including 50,000 children, were deprived of their lives in Babi Yar.

From the published archival materials of the Central Administration of the FSB of Russia

(from the message of the head of the 4th Directorate of the NKVD of the USSR Sudoplatov to the deputy head of the 3rd Directorate of the NKVD of the USSR Ilyushin.
December 5, 1942 No. 7/s/97)

“Ukrainian nationalists, who had previously been underground, met the Germans with bread and salt / in Dnepropetrovsk, Pereshchepino, Kishenka, etc. / and provided them with all kinds of assistance. The German occupiers widely used the nationalists to organize the so-called "new order" in the occupied regions of the Ukrainian SSR. In an effort to create the appearance of the participation of Ukrainians themselves in the management state apparatus, the Germans put at the head of the administrative and municipal bodies organized in the occupied territories patented traitors of the Ukrainian people.

The post of mayor of the city of Amurnizhnedneprovsk was given to CHERNET-KALENIK. Fedor Ivanovich MANZHELEY was appointed regional judge of the Dnipropetrovsk region, Ivan GAVRILENKO was appointed to the post of deputy. The head of the Dnepropetrovsk regional police, the adviser to the Gestapo in Dnepropetrovsk is Ivan Fedorovich GAVRILENKO, ZELENSKY Nikita, a native of the village of Manuilovka, was appointed to the post of chief of the Amurnizhnedneprovsk police. Right Social Revolutionary, then ukapist, who later crawled into the CP / used / U, worked as chief foreman of the plant. K. Liebkhneta in N-Dneprovsk, was expelled from the party, we judge, in 1929 he disappeared from Dnepropetrovsk and reappeared only under the Germans. PETRENKO Savva was appointed headman of the village of Znamenka, N-Moskovsky district, Dnepropetrovsk region. Secretary of the city police in the mountains. Amurnizhnedneprovsk and a Gestapo adviser appointed Daniil REVOL, a native of the village of Manuylovka. Cousin of CHERNET-KALENIK - CHERNET Peter, a native of the village. Manuilovki, former right s-r, under the Germans he was the chairman of the "enlightenment" in the village of Manuilov, under Petliura he was a volost headman and organizer of the Petliura units, then he was a member of the UKP, was arrested by the NKVD. Works for the Amurnizhnedneprovsk police…

It should be noted that the Germans, knowing the past of these villages and cities of the Dnepropetrovsk and Poltava regions, the so-called Kishensko-Orelsky district, put them in a privileged position compared to other villages. Having turned the Kishensko-Orelsky region into their stronghold, the Germans, with the help of Ukrainian nationalists, cleared the area of ​​everything Soviet. So, for example, in s.St. Orlik in the spring of 1942, the Germans seized and then shot 60 families of Soviet activists in the forest near the Dnieper River, 45 families were shot in the village of Kitai-Gorod, 35 families were seized in the village of Zhdanovka, Kotovsky district, about 200 families were shot in the village of Nekhvoroshcha families, in Pereshchepino shot about 100 families, and 2 people. - former assistant chief The RKM and the foreman of the collective farm (I don't know their last names) were hanged on the gates of the German commandant's office.

Similar atrocities took place in a number of other villages. After that, the Germans carried out extensive recruitment among local population for police service in other areas, mainly adjacent to the Samara forests. To combat the partisan movement, the Germans organized from Ukrainian nationalists punitive detachments and sent to the village of Znamenka, N-Moskovsky district 150 people, under the command of PETRENKO Savva to the village of Vasilyevka, Pereshchepinsky district 100 people.

From February 1942, the Germans began to form a "volunteer Ukrainian national army." To this end, they previously made a re-registration of all those liable for military service from 19 to 45 years old. The recruitment of "volunteers" in the Ukrainian units was carried out in the district centers by military departments, and the formation took place in the cities of Kremenchug, Krivoy Rog, Dnepropetrovsk, Stalino and Mariupol. The recruitment of "volunteers" into the Ukrainian army was carried out by calling the military department of those liable for military service, where they were asked to "voluntarily" join the "Ukrainian national" army, and at the same time it was announced that the latter would protect only the interests of Ukraine. Those who refused for some reason to join the army "voluntarily" were considered by the Germans as unreliable, they were arrested and sent to special concentration camps in the cities of Kremenchug and Dnepropetrovsk. For the training of command personnel in the city of Krivoy Rog and Dnepropetrovsk organized officer schools. Cadets in these schools were recruited from Ukrainian nationalists, former. commanders of the Red Army. Teaching Staff in schools consists of German officers-instructors. Training of the rank and file " Ukrainian army” is produced by Ukrainian officers who have already graduated from school, under the supervision of German officers. Discipline introduced stick.

From conversations with families and soldiers of the “Ukrainian army”, I learned that the Germans sent the formed Ukrainian units to Western Ukraine and, mainly, to the city of Lutsk. where, allegedly, a "Ukrainian army" is being formed, which will be directed against England. The most reliable “Ukrainian units”, formed from Petliura elements, are used by the Germans to fight the partisans….

Ukrainian nationalists traveled around the villages and agitated the peasants to join "their" army, which would protect their own interests. In the first days of April 1942, when CHERNET-KALENIK left for the village of Podgorodne, Depropetrovsk region, where he tried to convince the Ukrainians of the need for "voluntary" entry into the "Ukrainian" army, he was received by a gathering, consisting of approximately 5 thousand people, very unfriendly, ridiculed and booed. As a result of such a reception, CHERNETA-KALENIK had to quickly retire without finishing his speech. When leaving the village, the boys threw sand and stones at his car.

For insulting their protege, the German invaders shot 400 people. The descriptions for the execution were compiled by the headman of the village. Podgornoye /I don’t know his last name/, a former kulak, a Petliurist, an active ukapist, was arrested several times by the NKVD and the head of the DUB police Ivan - a former Petliurist, a “fork Cossack”. In the village of Znamenka, N-Moskovsky district, repeated attempts by the headman to gather the peasants for a gathering were unsuccessful, the German agitators had to leave with nothing.

CA FSB of Russia. f. 100, op.11, d.7, l. 60-66

To be continued...

Ukrainian collaborationism - cooperation of Ukrainian nationalist organizations and individual ethnic Ukrainians (Soviet and Polish citizens, as well as emigrants) with Nazi Germany During the Second World War.

A poster calling for volunteering in the SS division "Galicia"

Ukrainian SSR within the borders before 1939

Ukrainians welcome the Germans in Western Ukraine, 1941

With the invasion of German troops and their allies into the territory of the Ukrainian SSR (until September 1939), the reports of the SD and the “OUN marching groups” note a sharp contrast - if solemn arches were built for the German troops in the former Polish territories, the majority of the Ukrainian population welcomed them as liberators, and in In many settlements of Galicia, Soviet power was liquidated even before the Germans entered them, then in the settlements of Soviet Ukraine this practically did not happen. The mood of the Ukrainian population towards the newcomers ranged from apathy to hidden hatred. Only a few left on Soviet territory supporters and members of various anti-Bolshevik formations and parties of 1917-1921 sluggishly supported what was happening. While in a number of regions of Western Ukraine, the local population continued to catch “encircled, communists and Jews” in the forests, in Soviet Ukraine, local residents were executed who sheltered and assisted the partisans and encircled. In the autumn of 1941, SD reports from the Reichskommissariat "Ukraine" regularly indicated the liquidation of detachments and groups of "Bolshevik partisans" and "Bolshevik agents who penetrated the administration with the aim of sabotage." Messages from the General Government, among other things, reported the achievement of calm after the cessation of the active struggle for power between the OUN (b) and OUN (m).

The reasons for the collaborationism of those who joined the SS division Galicia

In the case file of the Canadian Commission on War Criminals, as an argument for the entry of a significant number of volunteers from Galicia into the ranks of the SS, it was indicated:

They volunteered to join the division not because they loved the Germans - but because they hated the Russians and communist tyranny.

(meaning volunteer division SS "Galicia" in which for a month and a half 1943 more than 80 thousand volunteers from Galicia signed up (about 63 thousand from the district of Lemberg, and about 19 thousand from the district of Krakow).

In the work of the Institute of History of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the main reasons for the collaborationism of the Galicians are the desire to get at least some kind of power into their own hands and take revenge for many years of humiliation and insults. In addition, the legacy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire affected - many studied in German in schools, served in the Austro-Hungarian army.

Battalions "Nachtigal" and "Roland"

see Nachtigall

see Roland (battalion)

In February 1941, Richard Yary, who had headed the OUN-r military referent since the summer of 1940, coordinated the training of 700 saboteurs with the Abwehr. The result of negotiations with the participation of S. Bandera, V. Canaris and V. von Brauchitsch was an agreement on the training of 800 privates and commanders, who, according to the OUN, were to become the core of the Ukrainian army allied with the Wehrmacht. In the documents of the Abwehr, the newly created formations were designated the Special Unit "Nachtigal" and the Special Unit "Roland", in the documents and historiography of the OUN they are known as the Squads of Ukrainian Nationalists or the "Ukrainian Legion named after S. Bandera". According to OUN(b) sources, Roman Shukhevych, the future commander of the UPA, held the position of a "political educator" (Ukrainian politvihovnik) in Nachtigall and was the senior in rank among its non-German leaders. In 1940 he was among the "examiners" at the Abwehr courses in Krakow. The same sources indicate that when he entered Lviv, he bore the rank of "captain". In early April 1941, the German command in camps in southern Poland gathered the first group of Ukrainian volunteers from among the prisoners of war of the Polish army. From here they were transferred to the Neuhammer training ground (Silesia) for military training. The finally formed battalion, which received the code name " special group Nachtigal", consisted of about 300 people (3 companies). R. Shukhevych refused the oath to A. Hitler and Germany. At the request of R. Shukhevych and a protest sent by him, supported by the Revolutionary Wire of the OUN, Nachtigal took an oath of allegiance to the Ukrainian people.

The sabotage detachments of the "Ukrainian Legion" who graduated by the end of May were transferred to the territory of the USSR by mid-June 1941. They were tasked with mining military installations, sabotage in transport, damage to means and communication lines. The main part of the battalion, which was subordinate to the 1st battalion of the Brandenburg-800 regiment, was transferred to the offensive line in the Przemysl region by June 21, 1941, it was to carry out sabotage and combat operations in the forward echelon of the 1st Mountain Division XXXXIV Army Corps 6th Army of the Army Group "South". On June 22, 1941, at 3 o'clock in the morning, the 1st battalion and Nachtigal crossed the border onto the river. San and began actions to overcome the border UR, in which the Nachtigall itself was not involved. After breaking through the Soviet defense line, the unit advanced in the direction of Lvov. On June 28, the “Heinz Combat Unit” reached the suburbs of Lvov, where the Ukrainian part of the unit receives information about executions in Lvov prisons (according to the head of the prison department of the NKVD of the Ukrainian SSR, before leaving Lvov, NKVD officers shot 2,464 prisoners convicted of political articles).

On June 29, 1941, the Nachtigal battalion entered the city of Lvov - the day before the Wehrmacht units entered there - at the same time, a number of later publications of the OUN indicate the date of entry with a delay of a day - June 30. What the Abwehr special unit was doing during this period, neither historians nor the participants themselves indicate.

The involvement of the Nachtigal battalion in the repressions and murders of civilians in Lviv (and in the Massacre of Lviv professors in particular) remains a debatable issue. According to the Israeli center for the study of the Holocaust Yad Vashem, the archives of the center have preserved a selection of documents obtained from German and Soviet sources, which indicate the involvement of the Nachtigal battalion under the command of the future commander of the UPA Roman Shukhevych in punitive operations against civilian population Lvov in the summer of 1941. The same point of view is supported by some Polish historians. After the visit of the Ukrainian delegation to Israel to verify this information, the representative of the SBU, Candidate of Historical Sciences Vladimir Vyatrovich, said that in the archives memorial complex there are no documents that would confirm the involvement of Roman Shukhevych and the Nachtigal battalion in the murders of Jews in Ukraine during World War II, also noting that Yosef Lapid, who previously reported the existence of the mentioned materials, is not an employee of the archive of the complex.

On March 19, 2008, a press release was published on the website of the Yad Vashem memorial complex, refuting the above statement. In an interview given by representatives of Yad Vashem, the following was said: "Vladimir Vyatrovich's statement, issued the day before yesterday, sins against the truth." In continuation of the interview, it is said that the head of the Jerusalem memorial complex "Yad Vashem", Yosef (Tomi) Lapid, in his statement relied on Scientific research, indicating a deep and intense connection between the Nachtigall Battalion, led by Roman Shukhevych, and the German authorities, and also linking between the Nachtigall Battalion, commanded by Shukhevych, and the pogrom in Lvov in July 1941, which claimed the lives of approximately 4,000 Jews. Lapid also relied on documents available in the archive concerning the Nachtigall Battalion and Roman Shukhevych. Copies of these documents were handed over to the Ukrainian delegation.

In the alley, they "decorated" the trunk of each tree with the corpse of a child who had been killed before.

According to Western researcher Alexander Korman, the corpses were nailed to trees in such a way as to create the appearance of a “wreath”.
Yu.Kh. from Poland: “In March 1944, our village of Guta Shklyana, commune Lopatyn, was attacked by Bandera, among them was one named Didukh from the village of Oglyadov. Five people were killed, cut in half. A minor was raped."
March 16, 1944 Stanislavshchina: group "L" and group "Garkusha" in the amount of 30 persons destroyed 25 Poles ...
On March 19, 1944, a group "L" and a county fighter in the amount of 23 people held an action in the village. Zelenivka (Tovmachchin). 13 farms were burned, 16 Poles were killed.

On March 28, 1944, Sulima's group of 30 people destroyed 18 Poles ...
On March 29, 1944, the Semyon group liquidated 12 Poles in Pererosl and burned 18 farms ...
April 1, 1944 Ternopil region: killed in the village. White 19 Poles, 11 households burned ...
April 2, 1944 Ternopil region: nine Poles were killed, two Jewish women who were in the service of the Poles ...
On April 5, 1944, the Zaliznyak regional group carried out an action in Porogy and Yablintsy. Six houses were burned, 16 Poles were destroyed ...
April 5, 1944 Kholmshchina: the groups "Galaida" and "Tigers" carried out a liquidation action against the colonies: Gubynok, Lupche, Polediv, Zharnyky ... In addition, the self-defense group "Fox" destroyed the colony Marysin and Radkiv, and the Orla group - Polish colonies in Riplyn. Several dozen Polish soldiers and many civilians were killed.

On April 9, 1944, the Nechay group liquidated in the village. Pasichnaya 25 Poles...
On April 11, 1944, the Dovbush group liquidated 81 Poles in Rafaylovo.
April 14, 1944 Ternopil region: 38 Poles were killed...
April 15, 1944 in the village. Fat 66 Poles were killed, 23 households were burned...
On April 16, 1944, the Dovbush group liquidated in the village. Green 20 poles...
On April 27, 1944, the district fighting liquidated 55 men and five women Poles in the village of Ulatsko-Seredkevichi. At the same time, about 100 households were burned ...

And further in this report, in detail, with accounting accuracy, figures are indicated, more precisely, detailed statements on the number of liquidated Poles by the UPA group: “Flows - 3 (local), Lyubich-Koleitsy - 3 (local), Lyubich - 10 (beige) , Tyagliv - 15 (women, local) and 44 (unknown), Zabirye - 30 (local and unknown), Rechki - 15 (local and unknown).
April 17, 1944 Khovkovshchina: the UPA group (Gromovoy) and the Dovbush combat unit destroyed the Polish stronghold of Stanislivok. At the same time, about 80 Polish men were liquidated.
April 19, 1944 Lyubachivshchina: the UPA group "Avengers" destroyed the Polish village of Rutka. The village was burned down and liquidated by 80 Poles...

From April 30, 1944 to May 12, 1944 in the village. Glibovichi killed 42 Poles; near the villages: Myseva - 22, Township - 36, Zarubina - 27, Bechas - 18, Nedylyska - 19, Grabnik -19, Galina - 80, Zhabokrug - 40 Poles. All actions were carried out by the uyezd militia with the help of the Orly UPA.

In the summer of 1944, a hundred "Igor" stumbled in the Paridub forest on a camp of gypsies who had fled from the persecution of the Nazis. The bandits robbed them and brutally killed them. They cut them with saws, strangled them with strangleholds, chopped them into pieces with axes. In total, 140 gypsies were killed, including 67 children.

From the village of Volkovya one night, Bandera brought a whole family into the forest. For a long time they mocked the unfortunate people. Seeing that the wife of the head of the family was pregnant, they cut open her stomach, pulled the fetus out of it, and instead pushed in a live rabbit.
One night, the bandits broke into the Ukrainian village of Lozovaya. Over 100 peaceful peasants were killed within 1.5 hours.
A bandit with an ax in his hands broke into the hut of Nastya Dyagun and hacked to death her three sons. The smallest, four-year-old Vladik, cut off his arms and legs.
In Makukha's hut, the killers found two children, three-year-old Ivasik and ten-month-old Joseph. A ten-month-old child, seeing a man, was delighted and with a laugh stretched out her hands to him, showing her four teeth. But the ruthless bandit slashed the baby's head with a knife, and cut his head with an ax to his brother Ivasik.
After the warriors of the “army of the immortals” left the village, dead bodies were found on the bed, on the floor and on the stove in the hut of the peasant Kuzi. Splashes of human brain and blood froze on the walls and ceiling. Bandera's ax cut short the lives of six innocent children: the eldest of them was 9 years old, and the youngest - 3 years old.
Ch.B. from the USA: “On Podlesye, that was the name of the village, the Bandera people muzzled four from the family of the miller Petrushevsky, while the 17-year-old Adolfina was dragged along a rocky rural road until she died.”
F.B. from Canada: “Bandera came to our yard, grabbed our father and cut off his head with an ax, our sister was pierced with a stake. Mom, seeing this, died of a broken heart.
Yu.V. from the UK: “My brother's wife was Ukrainian. Because she married a Pole, 18 Bandera raped her. She didn’t get out of this shock ... she drowned herself in the Dniester.”
At night, from the village of Khmyzovo, a village girl of seventeen years old, or even younger, was brought to the forest. Her fault was that she, along with other rural girls, went to dances when she stood in the village military unit Red Army. "Kubik" saw the girl and asked "Varnak" for permission to personally interrogate her. He demanded that she confess that she was "walking" with the soldiers. The girl swore that it was not. “And I’ll check it now,” “Cube” grinned, sharpening a pine stick with a knife. In a moment, he jumped up to the prisoner and with the sharp end of the stick began to poke her between her legs until he drove a pine stake into the girl's genitals.
The same young girl Motrya Panasyuk was tortured by Bandera for a long time, and then her heart was torn out of her chest.

Thousands of Ukrainians died a terrible, martyr's death.

R. Shukhevych's henchmen from the Security Council waged a merciless fight against Soviet partisans and underground fighters. In confirmation, here is another document from the Rivne archive:
“10/21/43 ... 7 Bolshevik scouts were captured, who were going from Kamenets-Podolsky to Polissya. After the investigation, evidence was obtained that these were Bolshevik intelligence officers, and they were destroyed ...

On October 28, 1943, in the village of Bogdanovka, Koretsky District, a teacher-scammer was destroyed... In the village of Trostyanets, 1 house was burned down and a family was thrown into the fire alive... Headquarters. 10/31/43 Chef R. 1 V. Zima.
Nurse Yashchenko D.P.: - Soon we witnessed how the OUN members completely slaughtered entire hospitals, which at first they left in the rear as before - without guards. They carved stars on the body of the wounded, cut off their ears, tongues, genitals. They mocked the defenseless liberators of their land from the Nazis as they wanted. And now we are told that these so-called "patriots" of Ukraine fought only with the "punishers" of the NKVD. All this is a lie! What kind of patriots are they?! This is a rabid animal.
A policeman from the village of Ratno, Volyn region, A. Koshelyuk, while serving with the Germans, personally shot about a hundred civilians. He took part in the destruction of the population of the village of Kortelis, which received the name of the "Ukrainian Lidice" among the people. Later he joined the UPA. In the police and the UPA he was known under the nickname Dorosh.
Roman Shukhevych: “... The OUN can act like this, so that everyone who recognizes the power of the radian, were poor. Do not zalyakuvati, but physically snicker! It is inappropriate to be afraid that people will curse us for zhorstokі. Out of 40 million of the Ukrainian population, half will be deprived - there is nothing terrible for them ... ".

Bandera, who improved the skill of executioners in the German police units and the SS troops, literally excelled in the art of torturing defenseless people. Chuprinka (R. Shukhevych) served as an example for them, encouraging such studies in every possible way.

When the whole world was healing the wounds inflicted on humanity by the most terrible of all previous wars, Shukhevych's thugs killed more than 80 thousand people in Western Ukrainian lands.

The overwhelming majority of the dead were peaceful people far from politics civil professions. A significant percentage of those who died at the hands of nationalist murderers were innocent children and the elderly.

In the village of Svatovo, four female teachers who were tortured to death by Shukhevych's henchmen are well remembered. For being from the Soviet Donbass.
Raisa Borzilo, teacher, p. Pervomaisk. Before her execution, the nationalists accused her of promoting the Soviet system at school. The Bandera people gouged her eyes out alive, cut off her tongue, then put a noose of wire around her neck and dragged her into the field.

There are thousands of such examples.

Here is what one of the organizers of the genocide on the lands of Western Ukraine, the commander of the UPA group, Fyodor Vorobets, said after he was detained by law enforcement agencies:
“I do not deny that, under my leadership, a large number of atrocities against ... civilians, not to mention the mass destruction of OUN-UPA members suspected of collaborating with Soviet authorities ... Suffice it to say that in one Sarnensky supra-district, in the areas of Sarnensky, Bereznovsky, Klesovsky, Rokitnyansky, Dubrovetsky , Vysotsky and other districts of the Rovno region and in two districts of the Pinsk region of the Byelorussian SSR, gangs and operatives of the Security Service subordinate to me, according to the reports I received, six thousand Soviet citizens were destroyed in 1945 alone "
(The criminal case of F. Vorobets is kept in the SBU Department for the Volyn region).

The result of the exhumation of the victims of the massacre of Poles in the villages of Ostrówka and Vola Ostrovetska carried out on August 17-22, 1992, committed by OUN-UPA monsters: the total number of victims in the two listed villages is 2,000 Poles.

In accordance with the rules of the International Tribunal, such acts are qualified as war crimes and crimes against humanity, which do not have a statute of limitations.

The actions of the Banderaites can only be called GENOCIDE against humanity, and is it worth recalling that the hands of the bandits from the UPA were stained with the blood of hundreds of thousands of Jews, Gypsies, Poles, Belarusians and Russians killed during the establishment of the “new world order” in Ukraine.
In many Polish, Ukrainian, Belarusian and Russian cities Monuments to the victims of the Bandera GENOCIDE must be erected!
It is necessary to publish the book “In Memory of the Victims of the GENOCIDE Who Died at the Hands of Ukrainian Nationalists and Bandera”.
The main organizer of the genocide of Poles and Jews was Chuprynka (R. Shukhevych), who issued a special order that read:
“To treat Jews the same way as to Poles and Gypsies: destroy mercilessly, spare no one... Take care of doctors, pharmacists, chemists, nurses; keep them under guard... Zhids used for digging bunkers and building fortifications should be liquidated without publicity at the end of work...” (Prus E. Holokost po banderowsku. Wroclaw, 1995).

The souls of the innocent victims are crying out for a fair trial for the brutal murderers - Ukrainian nationalists from the OUN-UPA!

Why didn't Bandera have a relationship with the Third Reich? Ukrainian nationalists in World War II

Details Author: Webmaster

On May 31, Echo of Moscow radio hosted the program “The Price of Victory”, during which Alexander Dyukov, president of the Historical Memory Foundation, an expert on the Ukrainian nationalist movement, spoke on the air. It was this phenomenon that the program was dedicated to.

We publish the materials of the conversation between Alexander Dyukov and journalists Vitaly Dymarsky.

What is Ukrainian nationalism?

When we talk about Ukrainian nationalism during World War II, we are, first of all, talking about the organization of Ukrainian nationalists, the OUN, about an organization that on the eve of the Great Patriotic War in 1941 split into two factions that were at enmity with each other. very strongly - Melnikovskaya and Bandera. And besides this, usually, when we talk about Ukrainian nationalism, we are talking about another organization - the so-called. Polissya Sich, the leadership of which, the creators of which did not belong to any of the OUN factions, which were more likely to be Petliurists, but which, nevertheless, acted and which was the first to receive the name of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, UPA. Only then...

The UPA has become the military wing of the OUN, right?

No. First there was the Polessky Sich organization, on its basis the Ukrainian Insurgent Army "Polessky Sich" of Bulba-Borovets was created. At the same time, the Bandera faction of the OUN realized that it also needed to create its own paramilitaries, insurgent formations and act on the territory, because if this does not happen, then Soviet partisan formations enter this territory, which suffers under Nazi oppression. And those who want to fight the Nazis will run to the Soviets. Therefore, they urgently needed to create their own military formations. And such military formations were created in the early spring of 1943 and received the name UPA.

That is, the UPA, in order to deal with everything again, the Bandera UPA has nothing to do with the Bulba-Borovets UPA?

Well, with the exception that the Bandera UPA subsequently destroyed the Bulba-Borovets UPA.

The next question in the same series. A well-known fact - about the contradictions, about the enmity between Melnik and Bandera, but how much was the struggle of two personalities? Or was it a struggle between two ideologies? Or was it a struggle between two trends within the same ideology? I mean, what were, in fact, the ideological differences between Melnik and Bandera?

You know, in fact, there were no big ideological differences between the two factions, by and large. If we take the normative documents that were developed by both the Melnyk faction and the Bandera faction, then we will see approximately the same concept of building the Ukrainian state, which they planned to implement. What was the difference between these factions? Miller's faction is those who acted from emigration, they are already quite mature, elderly people who have been in emigration since the beginning of the 20s, who have acted from emigration. The Bandera faction is young people, those who directly acted on the territory of Western Ukraine. And on the territory of Western Ukraine, when it was part of Poland, and on the territory of Western Ukraine, when it became part of the Soviet Union. Accordingly, this difference led to a certain radicalization. That is, they were directly militants who looked at their command, at those people from abroad with some contempt, who better saw the situation that was actually on the ground, but who good education, ideas about general political situation usually didn't have.

That is, they were more like militants, and the Melnikovites were more like ideologists?

AT to some extent.

Some were practitioners, while others were theorists.

Yes. Next one more important point. The organization of Ukrainian nationalists is quite closely in 38-39gg. collaborated with the Nazi secret services, and this split in the OUN was provoked to a certain extent by cooperation with the Nazi special services, because the Nazi special services needed people who could be directly used for their own purposes. And the use for their own purposes of the more radical faction of the OUN (b) while using the Melnikov faction was very beneficial. And this split...

Divide and rule?

Oh sure. This split was to a certain extent provoked by the Nazis.

By the way, you said OUN (b) - this is a well-known definition, which also looks rather ridiculous against the backdrop of the RCP (b), we have always perceived this “b” in parentheses as Bolsheviks, in this case it is Bandera.

In this case, it is correct to write with capital letter- OUN (B).

And the other faction is the OUN (M), Melnikovskaya. Good. Anyway, back to the main question. Here, in addition to what you said, if I understood you correctly, the Germans played their role there both in the split and in somehow opposing the two factions to each other. But I just had the feeling that it was the Melnikov faction in more collaborated with the Germans than Bandera.

In fact, this view is formed by a later period. This is the period after the start of the Great Patriotic War, when the Bandera faction tried to proclaim an independent Ukrainian state, after some time after which the connection with them was severed by the Abwehr, after which, after a while, repressions began. But here it is important to understand the following thing. The leadership of the Melnyk faction always supported the course of close cooperation with Nazi Germany, they believed that it was impossible to create a Ukrainian state without the help of Nazi Germany. Bandera faction...

Excuse me, this is a very important point here - since when did the Melnikov faction have such an approach to business?

At least since the appearance of this Melnikov faction, that is, since the split of the OUN in 40-41, at the beginning of the 41st year.

After the start of World War II?

In fact, the cooperation of the OUN, then still a single OUN, with the Nazis, of course, began even before the Second World War.

What was it expressed in?

In particular, this was expressed in the fact that before the German attack on Poland, a special formation was created by the Abwehr from Ukrainian nationalists, which was called “Auxiliary assistance to the highlanders-peasants”. It was a sabotage formation that was created from Ukrainian nationalists and whose task was to destroy the Polish intelligentsia and Jews. And this formation was introduced into the territory of Poland after the start of the Polish-German war and began to operate. There was another calculation here. A very important calculation for the Nazis, which really played huge role in the international politics of the time. Since the 1930s, links with the OUN were used by the Nazis to form the possibility of creating a puppet independent Ukrainian state on the model of the one that was created by Japan - Manchukuo. After Munich, and when it was precisely the question of national minorities that contributed to the dismemberment of the country, in the diplomatic circles of the USA, France, Great Britain, Germany, a fairly common clear opinion was formed that Ukraine would become Germany's next goal, that Germany would dismember it, separate it from the Soviet Union in such a way. the same scenario that was done with Czechoslovakia. The Nazis had connections with the OUN. Moreover, there were even certain agreements ...

Wait a minute, let's figure it out. Here I do not understand very well what is at stake. Let's clarify one simple situation. Until 39-40, in fact, Western Ukraine was not Ukraine.

Western Ukraine has been a divided country since the early 1920s. A country, part of which was part of the Soviet Union, and part of which, Western Ukraine, was part of Poland. That is, it was a divided people.

... was Western Ukraine after its annexation to the Soviet Union. Or did it exist before? It is known that for the OUN, the Poles were even greater enemies than everyone else.

Of course. And there was some truth in that. Since the Polish regime on the territory of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus was very tough. There were pacifications, pacifications, there was also the destruction of Orthodox churches, moreover, mass destruction, and economic situation when the Poles on the territory of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus received much more than the local population - Belarusians or Ukrainians, received, it also contributed to such an explosive situation.

But, on the other hand, you see, the Stalinist regime was not much softer. But that's not the point. One cannot say that Western Ukraine, that Western Ukraine that was part of Poland, sought to withdraw from Poland and join the Soviet Union.

Why not?

But not the nationalists.

The nationalists had a desire to create a united Ukraine, non-communist and non-Polish, but, of course, to free themselves from Polish oppression ...

But did they understand that, having freed themselves from Polish oppression, this territory would pass under Soviet oppression?

This is only if it joins the Soviet Union. And if, following the model that was subsequently implemented in Slovakia, it becomes a puppet state under Nazi rule, it does not go over to the Soviet Union. Here was a slightly more interesting game. Look. Partition of Czechoslovakia. Czechoslovakia includes Transcarpathian Ukraine. That is, this is a territory that is Ukrainian, and a territory that, after Munich, after 1938, is considered in the world as a kind of embryo of the Ukrainian state, where Ukrainian nationalists go, they subsequently defend it, this Transcarpathian Ukraine. This Transcarpathian Ukraine becomes, as it were, the nucleus of a future independent Ukraine.

That is how it is perceived by Ukrainian nationalists.

And not only Ukrainian nationalists. It is perceived in exactly the same way in France in diplomatic circles, and in Great Britain, and in the USA. And in exactly the same way it is perceived in Warsaw and Moscow. Both Warsaw and Moscow have very complicated feelings about this, because both Warsaw and Moscow have Ukrainian lands in their composition and do not want these Ukrainian lands to be taken away from them under the pretext of unification with Transcarpathian Ukraine. And at the same time, Poland itself participated in the division of Czechoslovakia, it itself grabbed very tasty pieces from Czechoslovakia. But when she sees that such an opportunity can be turned against her, the Ukrainian question, she begins to relate to the Nazis in a completely different way. Not like a few months ago.

That is, it turns out that in 1939, by signing a pact with Stalin, Hitler actually, as it were, betrayed the interests of independent Ukraine.

Well, firstly, the interests of independent Ukraine were never important for Hitler, and secondly, the Nazi secret services always used the OUN members very pragmatically. They never considered them as a party in the negotiations. And secondly, Hitler strangled this project of creating a large Ukraine on the basis of Transcarpathian Ukraine even earlier, back in March 1939, when Transcarpathian Ukraine was transferred under the control of Hungary. For Ukrainian nationalists, this was a very strong blow. They even organized resistance to the Hungarian troops, but this issue was removed. After that, a further question arose - the connections of the OUN with the Nazis, with the Nazi special services have not gone away. As one of the German foreign ministers quite pragmatically said, they will not go anywhere anyway.

And so, then, in the 39th year, what happened happened. Western Ukraine went to the Soviet Union after the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.

"After" does not mean "due to".

Well, it's a moot point. But now it's not even that. This is not what we are talking about. But here comes the 41st year, and Hitler attacks the Soviet Union. Here, the same Bandera, Melnyk again has some hopes, apparently illusory, as the course of events has shown, that now Germany will still bring independence to Ukraine?

Well, firstly, in September 1939, during the war with Poland, the Germans, as we remember, still use the OUN for their own purposes. After this war ends, in Krakow, in Poland, Ukrainians receive a number of privileges. Auxiliary police are formed from them, they are provided with houses that are taken from Jews or from Poles ...

And there, on the territory of the Governor-General, Ukrainians receive great advantages. At the same time they are used to work against the Soviet Union. They operate in a very close connection with Abwehr. And the first uprising that the OUN, with the support of the Abwehr, plan to raise in Western Ukraine is the 40th year, this is the summer of the 40th year.

By that time, Western Ukraine is already Soviet, right?

In Soviet Western Ukraine, of course. Plans have been prepared, militants are being transferred there, the leadership is being transferred there, the OUN underground is actively operating on the territory of Western Ukraine. And this uprising was thwarted by the actions of the NKVD, which destroys the Lviv Regional Executive, the center of this uprising, and destroys it more than once. The Lviv regional executive is like a dragon - it has a new and new composition. This new composition is destroyed by the NKVD officers again, a new one is growing. Three times, if my memory serves me right, the Lvov executive was destroyed by the NKVD officers.

Did the social base of the OUN in Western Ukraine expand after 1939?

You see, in this case, we have no way to say for sure. Because we don't have a sociological sample. We know that the OUN had a very serious social support and in pre-war Poland, in Western Ukraine, which was part of Poland, and no less serious social base remained after the Soviet regime. We know that the incorporation of Western Ukraine into the Soviet Union initially created a surge of hope that it would actually get better, and to a certain extent somewhere…

Because they left Poland.

Because, firstly, their own Ukrainian government. Let Soviet, but Ukrainian. Secondly, because the image of the Soviet Union of the Western Ukrainian or Western Belarusian peasant was, in principle, quite positive. A huge number of people fled to the Soviet Union. In my opinion, several tens of thousands defected even in the most terrible 30s.

I would not really argue with you here, but really, there is no sociology, and it is very difficult to understand this precisely enough. But at the same time, there is evidence - again, it is impossible to quantify this - that the same Western Ukraine, like Western Belarus, by the way, at first welcomed the Germans with open arms. Because they believed that this was a deliverance from the collective farm system.

Here's what I'm talking about - we know very well that these inflated expectations with which Western Ukraine and Western Belarus entered the Soviet Union faded somewhat when faced with reality, because everything turned out to be completely different from what was expected. It was expected to be really good...

Which will not be very good, but which will be better at least.

Somewhere it turned out better, but somewhere much worse. And these high expectations led to disappointment in the Soviet government. And we know that the OUN had a very serious social base, and this social base at least numbered tens of thousands of people, people who were convinced that this was the side that needed to be fought for. And what I told about the Lviv regional executive, that is, this underground center, which was destroyed several times and revived anew, is one of the indicators.

I, in fact, in connection with this and with your words, this question was asked. Good.

There is another important point here. Again, you need to understand that the uprising, which was planned by the OUN for the 40th year, it still did not happen. It did not happen, I think, not only because of effective action NKVD, but also because in itself, this population has not matured before the uprising. Discontent, the possibility that, as the Germans came, they were greeted with flowers, the 41st year, but the population itself, in principle, was not yet ready for such an uprising.

Well, yes, but this is generally a specific thing. You can be insanely dissatisfied, but not be ready for an uprising. Rebellion is, among other things, you have to put your life on the line.

But if we go back a little to an earlier period, in September 1939, we will see that there were uprisings in Western Ukraine and Western Belarus, in the rear of the Polish troops. Moreover, the uprisings, which were absolutely not prepared by the Soviet side. Which OUN members did, which ordinary peasants did, who did former members the banned Communist Party of Western Belarus, and so on. This is to the fact that they did not want the Polish regime there, in general. For example, the Skidel uprising in Belarus. Active in Western Ukraine...

Well, look, one more question. So you say they planned an uprising for the 40th year. Did they count on some help from the Third Reich?

For sure.

And how could they count if in 1940 the Third Reich was a friend of the Soviet Union, and, in fact, they had no reason to betray the interests of this friendship and cooperation with Moscow for the sake of an incomprehensible nationalist movement?

Well, firstly, the Ukrainian nationalists saw perfectly well that the Nazis were using them for sabotage work and intelligence gathering precisely against the Soviet Union, precisely at that time. Despite the fact that friendship is friendship, and intelligence information and the preparation of an uprising ...

Intelligence works in all conditions.

... and here it all continued to work. Secondly, the 40th year is just the end of the war in the West, the defeat of France, after which the Soviet Union, for example, in the Baltic states stopped playing controlled sovereignty and included the Baltic republics in its composition in order to tightly, to concrete. It was a very tricky cooperation between Germany and the Soviet Union. It was not a friendship, it was such a pragmatic cooperation.

Actually collusion.

And it did not deny what could be directed against each other. And it turned out. And, again, here we are returning to the same scenario that bothered Soviet leadership since the beginning of the 30s - the possibility of tearing away Western Ukraine not by military invasion, but by initiating an uprising there and creating a puppet state. And here, here, if German troops they didn’t interfere, if Germany supposedly didn’t interfere, but acted only as an arbiter, if the OUN really could, had that social base for the uprising and would have done it, then war could have been dispensed with. Another thing is that the OUN members did not have such a deep social base. And the next project of the uprising for the 41st year ...

An uprising is impossible without weapons. In general, all the activities of these comrades without weapons was impossible.

And also no money.

Yes. Where did they get weapons, who supplied them?

Firstly, a fairly large number of weapons remained after Polish war. Really big. Because they disarmed the Polish units. Secondly, these weapons were gradually transferred across the border along with the OUN emissaries, across the border with Romania, with Germany, the special services of these states participated in this problem. That is, the weapons were gradually assembled. Again, we cannot say how much it was, how armed they were. We can say that the process was underway.

Why didn't Bandera have a relationship with the Third Reich?

This is where we start the fun part. So, 1941, May 1941. Germany is already preparing to attack the Soviet Union. At the same time, the Bandera people, who are also preparing for this, issue an instruction “The struggle and activities of the OUN during the war”, where they plan what needs to be done in the event of a war, namely: organize uprisings, create authorities, organize concentration camps for those loyal to the Soviet government, for Jews and so on. So this is a very broad plan. This, in my opinion, is 100 or 150 pages. That is, the depth of development is very large.

One point is very important here - is this instruction generally for the duration of the war or in the event of a war between Germany and the Soviet Union?

I think that the OUN, informed by the Abwehr, knew that there would be a war. They did not know exact date but that there will be a war ...

Did the Germans give it to them?

Why not? That's preparation. And there really was an uprising according to these instructions - in June. And everything that was written there, all these instructions really began to act. And I want to remind you that there were, in addition to those underground structures that operated on the territory of Western Ukraine, the so-called. marching groups formed by the OUN, who followed immediately behind the advanced units of the Wehrmacht and organized state administration, were sent to the Wehrmacht Ukrainian translators, also, as a rule, members of the OUN, so that they serve there. That is, in fact, they knew, and preparations had been going on here since at least May, and most likely, somewhere since April. Here. And all this activity...

I just think that if such an instruction is already drawn up with the knowledge that Germany is attacking the Soviet Union, it is naive to assume that such a document will not fall into the hands of anyone but loyal members of the OUN.

So he got in. Not completely, but partially hit. Somewhere in the beginning of June 1941. But it does not explicitly say that German troops are entering. It just says that troops are coming in, and whose troops they are - Japanese, Martian - it doesn't say that. But taking into account the fact that these translators were being trained, the preparation of marching groups and everything else, the formation of the Roland and Nachtigal battalions, which they did together with the Abwehr, I am sure that the OUN leadership was well informed about who and when would attack . The pinnacle of all this activity is June 30, 1941, when a marching group led by Yaroslav Stetsko, one of Bandera's associates, enters Lviv together with the Nachtigall battalion and proclaims the Ukrainian independent state there on June 30. The Germans at first look at it more or less loyally, the local German military leadership, then a formidable order arrives from Berlin, and Stetsko and Bandera are not yet arrested, but they are detained and sent to Berlin. In Berlin, Bandera tries to justify himself. In general, his logic is clear. Literally a few months ago, the Croatian state, the independent state of Croatia, was created on the same model, to which the Germans gave this puppet statehood, which was proclaimed in exactly the same way. Why don't they give us? But the Germans have completely different plans for Ukraine. Despite the fact that Stetsko and Bandera were detained, they were later released after some time, they live under their supervision, under house arrest. Despite this, at the grassroots level, in fact, in Western Ukraine, the construction of these local authorities power with the participation of Ukrainian nationalists continues. At the end of the summer of 1941, the Abwehr breaks off its cooperation with the Ukrainian nationalists, telling them that that's it, we no longer finance you, we no longer work with you. For Bandera, this is a very strong blow. Then, already in September 1941, even more happened - an order came through the SD to arrest the OUN and shoot them under the guise of Bandera. And this is the point when the Nazis literally push the Bandera faction of the OUN into opposition. Why did this order come? Because at that time, on the territory of Western Ukraine, between these two factions - Melnikov and Bandera - the real one is coming massacre. And what's more, two important leaders of the Melnikov OUN faction were killed by Bandera's supporters. And, of course, the Nazis, despite what is happening there, on the territory they seem to control, some kind of disorder, they begin to deploy repressions against Bandera. Firstly, because they are engaged in the destruction of those who are not needed, and secondly, because they articulate the idea of ​​​​Ukrainian independence too loudly. And here there is one important and quite small known fact. Already after September 1941, after the Germans were no longer just arresting, but shooting, the Bandera faction of the OUN sent a project to Berlin - a proposal to use them to fight the communist and Polish underground, to organize the base is a kind of Ukrainian Gestapo, that is, there is still a desire to cooperate, but on the part of the Germans it is no longer there, they are already making this bet not on the Bandera faction, but on the Melnikov faction, more loyal to the Germans.

Where is the chicken, where is the egg? Why did these repressions against Bandera begin? Is it because the Bandera people have already begun to oppose the Third Reich? Or did Bandera begin to oppose the Third Reich after the repressions against them began?

You see, what's the matter - the repressions began in September 1941, in November 1941, the Bandera faction still offers to cooperate. After that, she goes underground, but no action against the German occupation authorities, physical action ...

And when did the actions against the German occupation authorities begin?

In reality, if we are talking about propaganda, then propaganda changed already in the autumn-winter of 1941. If we are talking about actions with weapons in our hands, then this is the autumn of 1942. Back in June 1942, celebrating the anniversary of independence, the Bandera faction in a special leaflet, which was issued for this anniversary, said that we are not calling the people to the barricades, we will not fight the Germans now, our main enemy- this is Moscow. That is, they are still underground, but they have not yet begun active operations against the occupiers, military operations against the occupiers. This is later. The fighting against the invaders is the autumn of the 42nd year. What is the autumn of 1942? This Nazi oppression in the occupied territories has already reached a terrible degree, and the local population somehow wants to repulse the invaders. On the other hand, just at that time, raiding Soviet partisan formations entered Western Ukraine, which specially go there to inflame the local population. And the OUN leadership understands that it is necessary to act, because pressure is coming from below, from below the cells are already taking up arms, and something needs to be done.

How did this story end, why did Bandera end up in the camp?

I was talking about the 41st year - the Germans literally pushed the OUN into the opposition, and Bandera got, among other things, for his own ...

But there were no reprisals against him?

Well, how if he got to Sachsenhausen ...

But they say that he was sitting there in human conditions.

He sat there in good conditions. But this isolation was.

I mean, rough, hard repressions.

There were no hard ones. They then used it, already in the 44th year. They took him out of the camp, used him for their own purposes again. He helped them again.

Topic: Ukraine during the Second World War (1939 - 1945). Great Patriotic War (1941 - 1945)

Ukraine on the Eve of World War II (1939 - first half of 1941)

August 23, 1939 in Moscow, a non-aggression pact was signed between the USSR and Germany ("Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact"). The treaty was accompanied by a secret protocol on the delimitation of the Soviet and German spheres of influence in Eastern Europe. According to the protocol, the Western Ukrainian lands within Poland and the lands inhabited by Ukrainians in Southern Bessarabia passed into the sphere of influence of the USSR. The transition to the sphere of interests of the USSR of Northern Bukovina was determined by a secret protocol to the new Soviet-German "Pact of Friendship and state border» from September 28, 1939

Taking advantage of the German attack on Poland, parts of the Red Army September 17, 1939. crossed the Soviet-Polish border. Virtually unopposed, Soviet troops seized the lands inhabited by Ukrainians and Belarusians, but stopped at the ethnic border of the settlement of Poles. Officially, the Soviet leadership explained this step by the need to prevent the fascist occupation of Western Ukrainian and Western Belarusian lands. However, such actions meant the entry of the Soviet Union into the world war. The majority of the population of Western Ukraine reacted positively to the actions of the USSR, as they sought to reunite with the Ukrainians living in Soviet Ukraine. For the constitutional registration of the accession of Western Ukrainian lands to the USSR, elections were held in People's Assembly Western Ukraine. October 27, 1939 The People's Assembly decided to join the USSR and inclusion Western Ukraine to the Ukrainian SSR. In November 1939 This decision was confirmed by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

June 27, 1940 under pressure from the USSR, Romania was forced to withdraw troops from the territory Northern Bukovina and Southern Bessarabia, which were also annexed to the Ukrainian SSR (August 1940).

Thus, most of the Western Ukrainian lands (except for Transcarpathia and Kholmshchyna, Podlyashya, Posyanya, Lemkivshchyna), as well as Northern Bukovina and Southern Bessarabia, were annexed to Soviet Ukraine. The unification of Ukrainians in one state was of the greatest importance, but the process itself took place in gross violation of international law.

On the newly acquired lands, the Stalinist leadership radical political, socio-economic, cultural transformations, aimed at establishing the Soviet system - sovietization. Some elements of Sovietization made it possible for the new government to win the trust of the Ukrainian population: the Ukrainianization of the education system was carried out, free medical care was introduced, part of the land seized from the landowners was transferred to the peasants, an eight-hour working day was introduced in industry.

However, most of the activities associated with Sovietization had a negative impact on the situation of Ukrainians. Part of the leadership positions in the Western Ukrainian lands were occupied by people from other regions of the USSR. The violent collectivization and dispossession. The attitude towards the Greek Catholic Church is getting tougher. The activities of Ukrainian political parties were banned, and repressions began against political figures, primarily OUN members. About 10% of the population (mostly Polish) was evicted to the eastern regions of the USSR.

Obviously, such a policy should have caused discontent and resistance on the part of the population. However, the Soviet regime was doomed to such unpopular measures, since it could not preserve forms of social life in the west of the Ukrainian SSR that were different from other regions of the Ukrainian SSR. Sovietization made the indoctrination of the Western Ukrainian population on which the Stalinist regime in Soviet Ukraine was based almost impossible.

The annexation of the Western Ukrainian lands to the Ukrainian SSR in 1939-1940, despite its violent nature, objectively met the interests of the Ukrainian people, as it made it possible to unite the Ukrainian lands. But the Sovietization policy pursued by the Stalinist leadership was negatively perceived by the Ukrainian population and caused an increase in anti-Soviet sentiments.

AT 1939 within the territory of Dnieper Ukraine, under the conditions of the totalitarian Stalinist regime, political repressions continued, curtailment of indigenization, national regions were liquidated. Head of the CP(b)U Ya. S. Khrushchev implicitly fulfilled all the requirements of the center. Even the threat of an approaching war not forced the Soviet leadership to weaken the totalitarian regime.

Preparations for the war became the reason for adjusting the plans of the 3rd five-year plan (1938- 1942). Defense spending has increased significantly. It was supposed to speed up the production of modern military equipment, especially tanks of new models. At the same time, the main funds were invested in the development of industrial centers in the east of the USSR, inaccessible to bombardments. The decline in labor enthusiasm of the first five-year plans led to the fact that the Stalinist leadership tightened labor legislation (Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of June 26, 1940). A seven-day working week was established, and penalties for violating labor discipline were increased.

The annexation of Western Ukrainian lands radically changed the system of strategic defense of the USSR, and the Ukrainian SSR in particular. The border fortifications on the old border (URs) lost their importance for the Soviet command and were practically disarmed (some of them were blown up). The construction of fortifications began new frontier, however, it was slow. Thus, the defense system was weakened. The actions of the Stalinist leadership were explained by the fact that the Soviet military doctrine assumed that the attacking enemy would be defeated in border battles and further actions will be conducted on its territory. For the same reasons, operations to prepare for a possible occupation were not carried out on the territory of the Ukrainian SSR.

The command of the Red Army believed that it was the Ukrainian SSR that would be the place of the main blow of the German troops, therefore the Kyiv Special Military District (commanded by Colonel-General M.P. Kirponos) was equipped with the most combat-ready units, including mechanized corps.

In Ukraine in 1939-1941. walked active training to war with Germany. The industry of the republic was able to provide for the warring army, but the miscalculations of the Soviet command weakened the overall readiness of Ukraine for war.

GERMANY ATTACK ON THE USSR.

OCCUPATION OF THE UkrSSR BY THE GERMAN-FASCIST TROOPS

The Stalinist leadership never doubted that Hitler would attack the USSR. The only question was when exactly that would happen. Until Germany conquered Western and Northern Europe, it naturally could not even think of aggression against the Soviet Union. But when, during the spring and summer of 1940, German troops easily captured Denmark, Norway, Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg and France, the threat of an attack by the countries of the Nazi coalition on the USSR became quite real.

December 18, 1940 Hitler signed a secret directive no. 21 under code name Plan Barbarossa. The strategic basis of this plan was the idea "blitzkrieg"- lightning war against the USSR. The fascist leadership understood that a protracted war against such a huge country as the Soviet Union was futile. Therefore, the plan provided for the defeat of the Red Army during a fleeting campaign for a maximum of five warm months (before the onset of winter cold). At the same time, in order to deceive Stalin and dull the vigilance of the Soviet leadership, Hitler imitated preparations for the invasion of the British Isles. Moscow did not think that the Germans would risk attacking the USSR before the end of the war in the West, and therefore all warnings about the possibility of a German attack on the Soviet Union were dismissed as provocative (they were believed to be inspired by British intelligence in order to quickly draw the USSR into the war against Germany which, of course, was in the interests of the UK).

Stalin's miscalculation in determining the timing of the start of the war had fatal consequences for the Red Army and the entire Soviet people. It was the surprise factor of the attack that became the decisive condition for the catastrophic defeats of the Soviet troops on initial stage Great Patriotic War.

At dawn 22 June 1941 Germany and its allies (Italy, Hungary, Romania, Finland) brought down on The Soviet Union struck with unprecedented force: 190 divisions, about 3 thousand tanks, more than 43 thousand guns and mortars, about 5 thousand aircraft, up to 200 ships. The Great Patriotic War began Soviet people against the Nazi aggressors. By invading the USSR, Hitler aimed to realize his long-standing dream of capturing the vast and rich eastern territories, partially exterminating their population, and turning the rest into slaves of the German colonists. Thus, he would be able to decisive step on a way to world domination. At the same time, the Nazis wanted to destroy the existing Soviet social order, communist ideology.

The attack on the USSR was carried out in three main directions: the army group "North"(commanding - Field Marshal V. Leeb) moved to Leningrad, Army Group "Center"(commanding - Field Marshal F. Bock) - to Smolensk and Moscow, a army group "South"(commander - Field Marshal G. Rundstedt) - to Ukraine and Northern Caucasus. Moreover, in the directions of the main blows the Nazis had 6-8 times superiority over the Soviet troops located on the western border 170 divisions and 2 brigades (2,680 thousand people).

very important place in the plans of the German command was assigned to the capture in the shortest possible time of Ukraine from its huge raw materials and fertile lands. By this Hitler and his cabal tried to strengthen the economic German potential, create an advantageous platform for quick victory over the USSR and achievements of the world domination. according to plan Barbarossa invaded Ukraine 57 divisions and 13 brigades Army Group South. They were supported by the 4th air fleet and Romanian aviation. 80 divisions of the Kiev and Odessa military districts, transformed after the start of the war, fought against them. in Western (commander - Army General D. G. Pavlov), Southwestern (commander - Colonel General M. P. Kirponos) and Yuzhny (commander - Army General I. V. Tyulenev) fronts. The sea border was covered by the Black Sea Fleet under the command of Vice Admiral F.S. Oktyabrsky.

Defensive battles of summer-autumn 1941.

The first hostilities were extremely bloody. On the second day of the war, in accordance with the directive of the Headquarters of the High Command, Soviet troops went on the offensive in the area Lutsk-Rivne-Brody where the largest tank battle the first period of the war. It lasted a week (June 23-29, 1941). About 2 thousand tanks were involved on both sides. However, the decision on this battle was made without taking into account the real situation at the front. As a result, the ratio of the losses of the Soviet troops, armed mainly with obsolete equipment, and the enemy was 20:1. In fact, at the initial stage of the war, Soviet troops were left without military equipment: out of 4,200 tanks, only 737 remained. The combat losses of the Soviet side in manpower were almost ten times higher than the losses of the enemy. Tank formations of the enemy, tightly covered from the air by aviation, captured Lutsk, Lvov, Chernivtsi, Rovno, Stanislav, Ternopil, Proskurov, Zhitomir in a matter of days and approached Kiev, Odessa, and other important cities of the republic. On June 30, fighting was already taking place at a distance of 100-200 km from the border.

After the almost complete capture of Belarus by the Germans, the decisive battles unfolded in the Zhytomyr-Kiev direction. An extremely dangerous situation has developed under Kiev. The enemy threw here big forces. For 2.5 months ( July 7 - September 26, 1941 (83 days)) with the help of the local population, the Red Army held the defense of the city. However, there was acute shortage military equipment. A negative role was played by the leadership of the defense of the capital, primarily seeking to avoid responsibility to the Headquarters. I. Stalin sent a telegram to N. Khrushchev, who headed the defense of the city, in which he warned that in the event of a withdrawal of troops to the left bank of the Dnieper, the leaders of the defense would be punished as deserters. The next day, the commander-in-chief of the southwestern direction S. Budyonny, a member of the military council N. Khrushchev and the commander of the Southwestern Front, General M. Kirponos, convinced the Commander-in-Chief that they would ensure the defense of Kiev, knowing full well that they were unable to do this. What else was left for them? According to the already established tradition, the management was reported not real situation things, but what it wanted to hear.

At the end of August, the enemy crossed the Dnieper almost without hindrance and began encircling Kiev. The command of the southwestern direction nevertheless spoke in favor of an immediate withdrawal of troops. However, I. Stalin ordered to keep the city at any cost. This decision had tragic consequences. The German tank troops closed the Southwestern Front along with the headquarters and its commander in a ring. As a result, four armies were defeated, 665 thousand people were taken prisoner. The troops of the front were scattered, enemy planes continuously bombarded the masses of demoralized soldiers, randomly trying to break out of this "cauldron". And yet, at the cost of superhuman efforts, near Kiev, during a long retreat, the Soviet troops managed to detain the enemy for more than two months. Thus, already near Kyiv, the disruption of the Barbarossa plan began.

In August, battles unfolded under Odessa, which was attacked by the Romanian divisions. 73 days ( August 5 - October 16, 1941.) continued the defense of the city. Only after fresh German units approached did the Soviet troops leave the city.

In the autumn of 1941 the situation on the Soviet-German front remained tense. By the end of the year, enemy troops occupied almost all of Ukraine, except eastern regions Kharkov, Stalin and Voroshilovgrad regions. The defeat of the German troops near Moscow gave rise to causeless euphoria in the Kremlin. And the formation of several hundred new divisions created the illusion of increasing the combat capability of the Red Army. The Headquarters of the High Command decided in the summer of 1942 to carry out the complete defeat of the Nazi troops. Thousands of soldiers plunged into a bloody adventure. At the direction of I. Stalin, a series of disparate, poorly prepared offensive operations was launched in the spring. Soviet troops on the territory of Ukraine were given the task of encircling and defeating the Donbass enemy grouping. Unsuccessful battles were fought for the liberation of Donbass. In May, the troops of the Southwestern Front went on the offensive near Kharkov, which, having begun successfully, soon began to fizzle out. Weak organization, lack of combat experience, lack of military equipment. The enemy managed to encircle three armies, more than 200 thousand Red Army soldiers were taken prisoner. The largest grouping of Soviet troops in the south was completely defeated.

250 days lasted defense of Sevastopol (October 30, 1941 - July 9, 1942). And here the heroism of ordinary soldiers and local residents was side by side with mediocre leadership and a frivolous attitude towards human lives. The leaders of the city's defense, deciding that enemy submarines and ships would not be able to break through to the shore due to the storm, did not organize the evacuation of the population. Only a few hundred inhabitants were taken out by planes and submarines. The fate of the rest was tragic. A small part of them broke into the mountains, while the bulk were captured and sent to concentration camps. At the beginning of July 1942 The Crimean front collapsed. The Germans captured the Kerch Peninsula, including Kerch.

In the Red Army, along with the heroism of the soldiers, disorder, panic, and confusion of command were manifested. The lines in the diary of Alexander Dovzhenko are riddled with pain: “All falsehood, all stupidity, all shameless and thoughtless laziness, all our pseudo-democracy mixed with satrapism - everything crawls out sideways and carries us, like a perekatipole, through steppes, deserts. And above all this - "We will win!".

Mobilization activities in 1941 G.

With the outbreak of war, a radical restructuring of the economy was carried out. In the shortest possible time it was necessary to reorient the economy to military needs. Great importance was attached to the evacuation of large enterprises to the east of the USSR. Despite the fact that this was carried out in a tense atmosphere, under systematic bombardment and shelling, the evacuation of the most valuable equipment of 550 largest enterprises republics. The scale of this work is evidenced by the following fact: 9358 wagons were required for the evacuation of the Zaporizhstal metallurgical plant. The property of state farms, collective farms, research institutions, including 70 universities, more than 40 theaters, was exported to the east. All more or less valuable property that could not be exported was destroyed in accordance with the directive of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR. So, part of the Dneproges was landed in the air, and many mines were flooded. However, due to the rapid advance of the enemy, considerable reserves of raw materials, fuel, food fell into the hands of the Nazis.

Economically sound implementation of the evacuation and subsequent deployment of production units in new territories, as well as unprecedented labor efforts, contributed to the commissioning of industrial facilities in the shortest possible time. 3.5 thousand large defense enterprises were built in the rear, half of which were evacuated from Ukraine. Most of them began to produce products in the spring of 1942, and by the middle of the year military restructuring economy has ended. 3.5 million specialists were evacuated from Ukraine. The supply of the army with the necessary equipment, ammunition, etc. was gradually being established. Without vacation, often without days off, people worked in production, working 12-14 hours a day. The most difficult were urgent orders for the front, when, in order to have time to complete the task on time, it was necessary not to leave the shops for weeks. The rear became the citadel of the warring people.

Final occupation of Ukraine

After the defeat of the Southwestern Front, the enemy threw the main forces to Moscow, where September 30 to December 5, 1941. there were heavy defensive battles. On December 5-6, Soviet troops launched a counteroffensive, defeating the Germans and pushing them back 100-250 km to the west. The victory near Moscow finally buried Hitler's "blitzkrieg" plan, dispelled the myth of the invincibility of the Wehrmacht.

Success near Moscow, contrary to the proposals of military advisers, Stalin decided to take advantage of the development of a general offensive. He gave orders to carry out many private and scattered offensive operations. Poorly conceived and poorly supported logistically, they were all unsuccessful. had tragic consequences offensive near Kharkov troops of the Southwestern Front led by S. Timoshenko and N. Khrushchev in May 1942: three armies were killed, 240 thousand soldiers and officers were captured. The attempt to defeat the Nazis in the Crimea also ended tragically. On July 4, 1942, after a 250-day defense, Sevastopol was captured by German troops.

The defeats in Ukraine dramatically changed the military-strategic situation, the initiative again passed into the hands of the enemy. On July 22, 1942, after the capture of the city of Sverdlovsk, Voroshilovgrad region, the Germans finally occupied the entire territory of the Ukrainian SSR.

The most important reasons for the catastrophic defeats of the Red Army at the beginning of the war were:

1. Miscalculations of the political leadership of the USSR regarding the timing of the attack by fascist Germany. Stalin and his entourage stubbornly
ignored warnings about the direct preparation of aggression
Germany against the Soviet Union. Under the pretext of the danger of provoking war, it was strictly forbidden to take any measures to transfer the border districts to a state of the highest combat readiness. When, finally, Stalin was convinced of the inevitability of war, and a directive was sent to the troops to take appropriate measures, it was already too late.

2. The helpless military doctrine had a detrimental effect on the defense capability of the USSR, according to which, in the event of aggression against the Soviet Union, the enemy army was stopped at the borders, and then, in the course of decisive offensive operations, defeated on its own territory. Such a doctrine had at least two major drawbacks. First, in the combat training of the Red Army, a significant advantage was given to the actions of the troops in the offensive to the detriment of the actions in the defense. Secondly, according to this doctrine, large groups of Soviet troops were deployed on the western borders. Having concentrated large motorized units in separate sectors of the front, inflicting a sudden blow, the fascist troops broke through the defenses and surrounded large formations of Soviet troops. Chaos, disruption of communication between various units, lack of coordination of actions led to heavy losses of the Red Army at the initial stage of the war.

3. The combat effectiveness of the Red Army was significantly weakened as a result of mass repressions against its commanding staff on the eve of the war. During 1937-1938. more than 40 thousand commanders and political workers were repressed, including 1800 generals, three marshals out of five. Military personnel who did not have the appropriate education and experience were nominated for their positions. The consequence of the repressions in the troops was also an atmosphere of fear, uncertainty, lack of initiative, the propensity of servicemen to templates, outdated schemes in the performance of their duties.

4. The incompleteness of the process of rearmament of its armed forces had a very negative effect on the defense capability of the Soviet Union. There were developments of the latest types of weapons, which, in terms of their tactical and technical capabilities, significantly exceeded
foreign counterparts, but their introduction into production progressed very slowly.

5. The mistake of the Soviet military command was the disbandment of large mobile mechanized units, the expediency of the existence of which was confirmed by the then experience of warfare. By the way, the presence of such armored "fists" in the composition
The German army gave it the opportunity to make breakthroughs in the defense of the Soviet troops, destroy the rear, surround and destroy large groups of the Red Army.

6. Great harm was done to the Soviet troops by the activities of German sabotage groups, which disrupted communications, exterminated commanders, sowed panic, etc.

7. The decision of the Soviet command to dismantle the old defense line, which ended up in the rear after the advance, was short-sighted. Soviet borders to the west. There was not enough time to create a defensive belt on the new borders.

Nazi "new order". Life of the population of Ukraine in the conditions of occupation in 1941-1944.

Within one year, German troops and their allies occupied the territory of Ukraine (June 1941 - July 1942). The intentions of the Nazis were reflected in plan "Ost"- a plan for the extermination of the population and the "development" of the occupied territories in the East. This plan included, in particular:

Partial Germanization of the local population;

Mass deportation, including Ukrainians, to Siberia;

Settling of the occupied lands by the Germans;

Undermining biological force Slavic peoples;

Physical destruction of the Slavic peoples.

To manage the occupied territories, the Third Reich created a special Directorate (Ministry) of the occupied territories. Rosenberg headed the ministry.

The Nazis began to implement their plans immediately after the conquest of the territory of Ukraine. First, the Nazis sought to destroy the very concept of "Ukraine", dividing its territory into administrative regions:

Lviv, Drohobych, Stanislav and Ternopil regions (without
northern regions) formed "District Galicia", which was subordinate to the so-called Polish (Warsaw) General Government;

Rivne, Volyn, Kamenetz-Podolsk, Zhytomyr, northern
districts of Ternopil, the northern regions of Vinnitsa, the eastern regions of the Nikolaev, Kiev, Poltava, Dnepropetrovsk regions, the northern regions of the Crimea and the southern regions of Belarus formed Reichskommissariat Ukraine.
The city of Rivne became the center;

Eastern regions of Ukraine (Chernihiv region, Sumy region, Kharkiv region,
Donbass) to the coast of the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov, as well as the south of the Crimean peninsula, were subordinate military administration;

Territories of Odessa, Chernivtsi, southern regions Vinnitsa and the western regions of the Nikolaev regions formed a new Romanian province
"Transnistria";

Transcarpathia since 1939 remained under the rule of Hungary.

Ukrainian lands, as the most fertile, were to become a source of production and raw materials for the "new Europe". The peoples inhabiting the occupied territories were subject to destruction or expulsion. The part that survived was turned into slaves. At the end of the war, 8 million German colonists were supposed to be resettled on Ukrainian lands.

In September 1941, E. Koch was appointed Reichskommissar of Ukraine.

"New order", introduced by the invaders included: a system of mass extermination of people; robbery system; system of exploitation of human and material resources.

A feature of the German "new order" was total terror. For this purpose, a system of punitive organs operated - the state secret police (Gestapo), armed formations of the security service (SD) and the National Socialist Party (SS), etc.

In the occupied territories, the Nazis killed millions of civilians, found almost 300 places of mass executions of the population, 180 concentration camps, over 400 ghettos, etc. To prevent the movement of the Resistance, the Germans introduced a system of collective responsibility for an act of terror or sabotage. 50% of Jews and 50% of Ukrainians, Russians and other nationalities from the total number of hostages were subject to execution. In general, 3.9 million civilians were killed on the territory of Ukraine during the occupation.

On the territory of Ukraine, the Nazi executioners resorted to the mass execution of prisoners of war: in Yanovsky camp(Lviv) 200 thousand people died, in Slavutinsky(the so-called grosslazaret) - 150 thousand, Darnitsky(Kyiv) - 68 thousand, Siretsky(Kyiv) - 25 thousand, Khorolsky(Poltava region) - 53 thousand, in Uman Pit- 50 thousand people. In general, 1.3 million prisoners of war were destroyed on the territory of Ukraine.

In addition to mass executions, the occupiers also carried out ideological indoctrination of the population (agitation and propaganda), the purpose of which was to undermine the will to resist, to kindle national enmity. The invaders published 190 newspapers with a total circulation of 1 million copies, radio stations, a cinema network, etc. worked.

Cruelty, disregard for Ukrainians and people of other nationalities as people of the lowest grade were the main features German system management. Military ranks, even the lowest, were given the right to be shot without trial or investigation. Throughout the occupation, curfews were in effect in cities and villages. For its violation, civilians were shot on the spot. Shops, restaurants, hairdressers served only the invaders. The population of cities was forbidden to use railway and public transport, electricity, telegraph, post office, pharmacy. At every step one could see an announcement: “Only for Germans”, “Ukrainians are not allowed to enter”, etc.

The occupying power immediately began to implement a policy of economic exploitation and merciless oppression of the population. The occupiers declared the surviving industrial enterprises the property of Germany and used them for the repair of military equipment, the production of ammunition, etc. The workers were forced to work 12-14 hours a day for a meager salary.

The Nazis did not destroy collective farms and state farms, but on their basis they created the so-called public meetings, or common courtyards, and state estates, main task which was the supply and export to Germany of bread and other agricultural products.

In the occupied territories, the Nazis introduced various requisitions and taxes. The population was forced to pay taxes for the house, estate, livestock, domestic animals (dogs, cats). The capitation was introduced - 120 rubles. for a man and 100 rubles. for a woman. In addition to official taxes, the occupiers resorted to direct robbery, looting. They took away from the population not only food, but also property.

So, in March 1943, 5950 thousand tons of wheat, 1372 thousand tons of potatoes, 2120 thousand heads of cattle, 49 thousand tons of butter, 220 thousand tons of sugar, 400 thousand heads of pigs, 406 thousand cattle were exported to Germany. sheep. As of March 1944, these figures already had the following figures: 9.2 million tons of grain, 622 thousand tons of meat and millions of tons of other industrial products and foodstuffs.

Among other activities carried out by the occupying power was the forced mobilization of labor to Germany (about 2.5 million people). The living conditions of most Ostarbeiters were unbearable. The minimum dietary allowance and physical exhaustion from excessive work caused disease and a high death rate.

One of the measures of the "new order" was the total appropriation of the cultural values ​​of the Ukrainian SSR. Museums, art galleries, libraries, temples were looted. Jewelry, masterpieces of painting, historical values, books were exported to Germany. During the years of occupation, many architectural monuments were destroyed.

The formation of the "new order" was closely connected with the "final solution of the Jewish question." The attack on the Soviet Union was the beginning of the planned and systematic destruction of the Jewish population by the Nazis, first on the territory of the USSR, and eventually throughout Europe. This process has been named Holocaust.

The symbol of the Holocaust in Ukraine has become Babi Yar, where only 29 -September 30, 1941 33,771 Jews were exterminated. Then, for 103 weeks, the occupiers carried out executions here every Tuesday and Friday (the total number of victims is 150 thousand people).

The advancing German army was followed by four specially created Einsatzgruppen (two of them operating in Ukraine), which were supposed to destroy "enemy elements", especially Jews. The Einsatzgruppen massacred about 500,000 Jews in Ukraine. In January 1942, six death camps were set up on the territory of Poland, equipped gas chambers and crematoria (Treblinka, Sobibor, Majdanek, Auschwitz, Belzhets), where Jews were taken from the western regions of Ukraine, as well as from other European countries. Before the destruction, a system of ghettos and Jewish residential quarters was created.

The creation of death camps was accompanied by mass destruction population of the ghetto, of which there were over 350 in Ukraine. On the territory of the USSR during 1941-1942. almost all ghettos were liquidated, and their population was sent to death camps or shot on the spot. In general, about 1.6 million Jews died on the territory of Ukraine.

Conclusion. The "new order" established by the Nazis on the territory of occupied Ukraine brought devastation and suffering to its people. Millions of civilians became its victims. At the same time, the Ukrainian lands became the place where the tragedy of the Jewish people, the Holocaust, unfolded.

The Resistance Movement and its currents in Ukraine in the years

Second World War.

From the first days of occupation on the territory of Ukraine unfolded anti-fascist struggle. There were two main currents of the resistance movement: communist(partisan detachments and the Soviet underground) and nationalist(OUN-UPA).

In the Soviet partisan movement, several stages of development can be distinguished.

At the beginning of the war, the main task was to organize the movement, gather forces and develop methods of warfare. Until the middle of 1943, the partisan movement stabilized, and after that it had a constant offensive character.

This development was due to objective reasons.

The military doctrine of the Soviet Union assumed the conduct of a war with little bloodshed on foreign territory. That's why guerrilla war was considered inappropriate, and in the 1930s. partisan bases in the border areas were liquidated.

The start of the war was marked by rapid advance fascist troops in Ukraine, so entire units of Soviet troops ended up behind enemy lines. It was they who became the base of the Soviet partisan movement.

A feature of the partisan and underground movement in Ukraine was that in the first year of the war the actions of partisans and underground fighters were unorganized, there was a lack of trained command personnel and specialists. In 1941, partisans were armed only with rifles, carbines, revolvers, Molotov cocktails. There were few explosives and mines. Most of the partisans seized weapons from the enemy. In the formation of S. Kovpak, captured weapons accounted for 80% of all weapons.

A significant role in organizing the resistance movement was played by Soviet military organizational centers: central headquarters partisan movement (TSSHPD) and Ukrainian headquarters of the partisan movement (UShPD, created in June 1942, headed by T. Strokach). Through the work of these centers, the Soviet leadership decided to raise the partisan movement to a higher level and turn it into a nationwide one. Partisan formations operated in Ukraine under the command of S. Kovpak(made a raid from Putivl to the Carpathians), A. Fedorova(Chernihiv region), A. Saburova(Sumy region, Right-bank Ukraine), M. Naumova(Sumy region). The communist and Komsomol underground operated in the cities of Ukraine.

In the decisive year of 1943, the partisan movement intensified significantly. Partisan actions coordinated with the actions of the Red Army. During the period Battle of Kursk partisans carried out an operation "Rail War" - undermining echelons, railway and highway bridges. In the autumn of 1943, an operation was organized "Concert": enemy communications were blown up and disabled railways. The partisans acted actively, selflessly, organized sabotage, destroyed the invaders, and campaigned among the population.

From the territories liberated from the invaders, partisan detachments and formations carried out bold raids far beyond their borders. A prime example of this is Carpathian raid Kovpak's formation, which fought more than 750 km.

Along with the partisan formations, an active struggle was carried out by underground groups and organizations . Underground workers obtained important intelligence, organized sabotage at enterprises, transport, disrupted agricultural supplies.

Period the greatest rise of the partisan movement falls on early 1944 The liberation of the Right-Bank and Western Ukraine was accompanied by the intensification of the partisan struggle against the Nazi invaders. More than 350 underground organizations operated in Vinnitsa, Zhytomyr, Kamenetz-Podolsk, Kirovograd, Ternopil and Chernivtsi regions.

The resistance movement was also represented by a nationalist trend.

Representatives Ukrainian national movement created their own detachments on the territory of Western Ukraine (in Polesie and Volhynia) - Polissya Sich. They were formed T. Borovets (Bulba), who led partisan actions against the fascist invaders and Soviet partisans.

Representatives of the nationalist movement tried to restore the independence of Ukraine, fighting against the Nazis and against the Soviet troops. The political center of the nationalist movement was the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN). Initially, the OUN tried to fight the Soviet troops with the help of the Nazis, but they opposed the OUN because of the organization's national ideas and its desire to create an independent Ukraine. October 14, 1942 OUN created a military organization - Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), led by R. Shukhevych (Taras Chuprinka). The UPA was the most organized military association of the Ukrainian nationalist movement.

In 1943 there was a political evolution of the views of the leaders of the OUN-UPA.

It was decided to fight for an independent state together with other enslaved peoples. Even the question of an alliance with the Soviet partisans to fight the invaders was considered. However, for the most part, the OUN-UPA and the Soviet partisans remained hostile to each other.

In 1944, with the approach of the Red Army to Galicia, the UPA entered into negotiations with the Germans, which ended in a compromise. The German army was supposed to help the OUN-UPA with weapons to fight the Red Army.

Thus, during the Second World War, the formations of the OUN fought for the restoration of Ukrainian statehood, playing the role of a "third force" that protects the interests of the Ukrainian people from two warring parties - the Soviet and Nazi.

After the liberation of Western Ukraine from the Nazi occupiers, Sovietization began. The OUN-UPA actively fought for the rights of the Ukrainian population against the Stalinist regime. In the early 1950s OUN-UPA was defeated.

OUN-UPA during World War II

The second largest organization resisting the occupation regime was the OUN-UPA (Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists - Ukrainian Insurgent Army). It must be objectively admitted that this movement in an insignificant part was directed against the Nazi occupiers. It mainly acted against Soviet power. Repeatedly, OUN-UPA units entered into combat battles with the partisans and, especially, against the Soviet authorities in the post-war period, resolutely resisting further Sovietization of the western regions. Armed detachments and subunits were stationed in the western region, where they had the main base for replenishing their ranks and food supplies, and their leadership was from there.

This movement arose in 1940, when, on the recommendation of the government of the UNR in exile T. Borovets(pseudonym Taras Bulba) illegally moved to Polissya in the Rivne region. There he began the formation of armed units in order to fight against Soviet power, the Sovietization of the region, and local government. He managed to gather a fairly significant number of like-minded people who at one time served in the armed forces of the UNR, Poland, USSR. Armed detachments under the command of Bulba, who had previously had the pseudonym Bayda, were formed according to the territorial principle. The head team was at the head of the formation, the entire formation was united into a sich, which was called "Polesskaya Sich". In the region, a regional brigade was formed, in the region - a regiment, 2-5 villages - a kuren, a village - a hundred. The parent team was located in the city of Olevsk in the Zhytomyr region.

The first performances of the "Polessky Sich" date back to the beginning treacherous attack Nazi Germany on the USSR. But there were not enough officer cadres, and Bulba was trying to solve this problem by making contacts in August 1941 with the leaders of the OUN, who promised to help with officer cadres. The political manifesto "UPA-Polessky Sich" is published, placed in the press under the title "What is the Ukrainian Insurgent Army fighting for?" The manifesto testified that the "UPA-Polesskaya Sich" set the task of establishing the Ukrainian state, defending the economic interests of the working people.

From the very first days of the Nazi occupation, the UPA detachments were organizationally transformed into the so-called "militia" of Polesie. But the occupiers refused to grant the status of a nationalist armed formation, negotiations between the leadership of the UPA-Sich and representatives of the German military occupation administration did not lead to anything. Before that, there was a confrontation between two branches of the movement - the OUN-Melnikov OUN (M) and Bandera (first OUN (R), and then OUN (B). Initially, the letter "R" meant "revolutionary", then it was transformed into the prefix "Bandera").

As early as the beginning of 1940, there was a split between these branches on the question of tactics and methods of movement. As a result, Bandera killed hundreds of people of the Melnikov wing, the most significant representatives of the nationalist movement were shot by the Bandera security service. This enmity affected the scope of the nationalist movement for a long time.

However, the Bulbovites provided assistance to the Germans only in the initial period of the occupation and later switched to illegal activity. Since the spring of 1942, the armed formations of the Bulbovites have been transformed into partisan formations and are already functioning under the name "UPA", which are fighting both against the fascist invaders and against the Soviet partisans. They carry out attacks on different kind military installations, transport communications in the area of ​​​​Sarn, Kostopol, Rokytny, etc., and finally - the most significant operation in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bShepetovka (August 1942), as a result of which the "upovtsy" seized large war trophies.

There were other military formations of nationalists in Stanislav, Lvov and other western regions. In the fall of 1942, the leadership of the OUN(B) headed for the creation of its own partisan army, which would fight both the German invaders and the Soviet and Polish formations. The formation of the OUN partisan movement begins with the detachment of S. Kachinsky, who operated in Polissya. This detachment was formed mainly from the Ukrainian police, whose members en masse went over to the OUN.

The newly formed military formation also received the name UPA. official day its creation is considered October 14, 1942. Over time, this partisan army was joined by armed formations Borovets and OUN(M). In the second half of 1943, a unified organizational structure, a single headquarters, which is moving from Volyn to the Lviv region. In August 1943, it was headed by R. Shukhevych, pseudonym Chuprynka, combining the functions of the head of the OUN Central Wire S. Bandera and the commander-in-chief of the OUN-UPA. The OUN-UPA associations function: UPA-"North", UPA-"North West", UPA-"South", as well as UPA-"East" raiding the eastern regions. The purpose of the latter was to cover the eastern regions with the nationalist armed movement. This goal was not achieved.

It should be noted once again that, relying on the nationalist movement in the region, in Lvov, after the occupation by the Nazis of a significant territory of the western regions, and not only the western ones, on June 30, 1941, the government of Ukraine was created. An active nationalist Yaroslav Stetsko is elected its head, which has become, of course, a historical phenomenon. But Hitler did not like this, and he gave the order to liquidate the government. Stetsko was arrested, sent to concentration camp Sachsenhausen S. Bandera as political leader OUN, others RU leaders and members of the new government. As you can see, the Nazis did not allow an independent government in Ukraine and most resolutely suppressed any attempts in this direction. The invaders were not going to share power on the lands of Ukraine with anyone.

But the military formations of the OUN-UPA existed and acted. They remained after the expulsion of the Nazi invaders from the Ukrainian lands by the Red Army. Detachments of the OUN-UPA entered into hostilities with units and divisions of the Red Army. The lives of soldiers and officers are on their conscience, including the life of one of the most talented commanders of the period of the Patriotic War, the commander of the first Ukrainian front, General Vatutin, who was buried in the park opposite the building of the Supreme Council of Ukraine in the capital of the republic, Kiev.

The OUN-UPA waged a particularly active armed struggle against Soviet power in the western regions in the post-war period. This struggle on both sides was sometimes brutal. Sometimes it escalated into a real civil war. OUN members killed employees of local government bodies, party and Komsomol apparatus, activists public organizations, business executives, cultural enlightenment workers, even teachers and health workers. Thousands of people died at the hands of the OUN-UPA. These figures total more than 40,000 people.

The OUN-UPA also suffered heavy losses. Only for connections with it, relatives of its members, and so on. in post-war years about 500 thousand people were deported. The number of members of the OUN-UPA at different times was different, but quite significant. The following figures are given: from 60 to 120 thousand. In total, about 400 thousand people passed through the OUN-UPA during its existence. Many died from among the command staff of the OUN-UPA, ordinary members. In March 1950 in the village. Belogorshcha, Bryukhovichi district, near Lviv, during an armed operation, the commander-in-chief of the OUN-UPA Shukhevych (Chuprinka) was killed. His successor V. Cook then went over to the side of the Soviet government.

V.I. Kravchenko, P.P. Panchenko. Ukraine in World War II (1939-1945). Modern vision, unknown facts. - Donetsk: CPA, 1998.

Liberation of Ukraine from Nazi invaders

1. The beginning of the expulsion of the occupiers from Ukraine

During the general counter-offensive of the Red Army, from the end of December 1942, the liberation of Ukraine from Nazi German invaders. The first to enter the land of Ukraine were the troops of the 1st Guards Army under the command of General V. Kuznetsov, who on December 18, 1942. drove the invaders out of the village Petukhovka Melovsky district in the Lugansk region. On the same day, some other settlements of the Melovsky district were also liberated.

According to the plan of the Headquarters at the beginning of 1943. a powerful offensive of the Soviet troops began in the direction Donbass and Kharkov. The Red Army managed to liberate a number of north-eastern regions of the Donbass and the city of Kharkov, but the enemy launched powerful counterattacks and returned a number of territories of the Donbass and the city of Kharkov under their control. But, despite the setbacks, the strategic initiative remained on the side of the Red Army.

2. Continuation of the offensive of the Red Army in the Left-Bank Ukraine

Battle on Kursk Bulge(July 5 - August 23, 1943) was the completion of a radical change in the course of the Great Patriotic and World War II. The victory in this battle opened up the opportunity for the Red Army large-scale attack on all southbound Soviet-German front. August 23, 1943 was released Harkov town, almost completely destroyed by the invaders.

During the Donbass offensive operation (August 13 - September 22, 1943), the most important industrial centers Donbass, and on September 8 - Stalin(modern Donetsk).

The command of the Wehrmacht in their plans expected that the r. Dnieper, and called the defensive line created by the Nazi troops "Eastern Wall". The troops of the Red Army reached the Dnieper with a front from Kyiv to Zaporozhye. On the night of September 21, 1943, the crossing of the Dnieper began - an epic of mass heroism of Soviet soldiers. October 14, 1943 was released Zaporozhye, the 25th of October - Dnepropetrovsk, a November 6, 1943 troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front under the command of General G. Vatutin liberated the capital of Ukraine from Nazi invaders Kyiv City.

3. Offensive operations of the Red Army in 1944. Completion of the liberation of Ukraine from the Nazi invaders

At the beginning of 1944, the USSR entered the final period of the Great Patriotic War. The task before the Red Army was final release the territory of the USSR from the enemy troops, the complete defeat of Germany and its allies. The Headquarters of the Supreme High Command decided to inflict main blow against the enemy on the territory of the Right-Bank Ukraine, dismember and defeat his main forces and free him from Nazi German troops the entire territory of Right-Bank Ukraine and Crimea.

In the first half of 1944, Zhytomyr-Berdichevskaya, Korsun-Shevchenkovskaya, Nikopol-Kryvorizhskaya, Rivne-Lutskaya, Proskurovsko-Chernovitskaya, Umansko-Botoshanskaya, Odessa offensive operations were carried out on the territory of the Right-Bank Ukraine, during which the cities of Nikopol, Krivoy Rog were liberated , Rovno, Lutsk, Kherson, Nikolaev, Odessa and others. Troops of the 2nd Ukrainian Front defeated the 8th German army and left on March 26, 1944. to state border of the USSR, transferring hostilities to the territory of Romania - a satellite state of Nazi Germany.

On April 8, 1944, bloody battles for the Crimea began. April 11 Kerch was liberated, April 13 - Simferopol. On May 5, the assault on the Sevastopol fortifications of the enemy began. Particularly fierce battles unfolded on Breather-mountain. After a 9-hour assault, she was already in the hands of the Soviet troops. May 9, 1944 Sevastopol was liberated. May 12 Crimea was completely released from the Nazi troops.

In the summer and autumn of 1944, the liberation of the territory of Ukraine from the Nazi invaders was completed. As a result of the successful implementation of the Lvov-Sandomierz, Yassy-Kishinev, Carpathian-Uzhgorod operations, the Lvov and Izmail regions were liberated by the troops of the Red Army. October 28, 1944 Transcarpathian was liberated Ukraine.

The battle for the liberation of Ukraine, which lasted 680 days, became milestone on the way to victory over Nazi Germany and its allies.

4. Heroes-liberators of Ukraine

The liberation of Ukraine from the Nazi invaders became possible thanks to the bravery, courage, self-sacrifice of the heroes-liberators. Especially cruel and bloody battles took place in the autumn of 1943. during the liberation from the invaders of Kiev. For Kievskaya offensive operation 2438 soldiers were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Tens of thousands of soldiers received high state awards. Among them N. Sholudenko, whose tank was the first to break into Kyiv. In 1943-1944. Ukraine was liberated from the invaders by four Ukrainian fronts, which were respectively led by famous generals G. Vatutin, I. Konev, R. Malinovsky, F. Tolbukhin. A significant contribution to the liberation of Ukraine was made by the commander of the 1st Ukrainian Front, General of the Army G. Vatutin. During the Great Patriotic War, he commanded the troops of the Voronezh, South-Western and I Ukrainian fronts. His troops liberated Kharkov, Kyiv, crossed the Dnieper. February 29, 1944 in a skirmish with UPA soldiers, G. Vatutin was wounded, from which he died on April 15. He was buried in Kyiv, where a monument was erected to him. Great assistance to the advancing units of the Soviet army, which liberated the Ukrainian lands, was provided by partisan formations under the command of S. Kovpak, A. Saburovaya, A. Fedorov, M. Naumov.

During the war, about 2.5 million Ukrainian soldiers were awarded orders and medals, more than 2 thousand soldiers were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, of which I. Kozhedub was awarded this title three times, D. Glinka, S. Suprun, O. Molodchiy, P. Taran. 97 Ukrainian partisans and underground fighters became heroes of the Soviet Union, of which S. Kovpak and A. Fedorov - twice. About 4,000 Soviet soldiers representing 40 nationalities of the USSR were awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union for their courage and courage shown during the battles for the liberation of the territory of Ukraine.