Archive
2011 year, issue 5 read »
«Narodoznavchi Zoshyty» 2016 year, issue 4 read »
2012 year, issue 2 read »
2013 year, issue 1 read »

« 2024. # 5 (179)

The Ethnology Notebooks. 2024. № 5 (179), 1318—1337

UDK [94(477.83/.86=112.2)”17/19″:314.15](093.2)

DOI https://doi.org/10.15407/

GALICIAN GERMANS: HISTORY AND MEMORY

CHORNIY Petro

  • ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4521-9597
  • PhD in History, Senior Research Fellow,
  • Department of Social Anthropology,
  • Institute of Ethnology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine,
  • 15, Svobody Avenue, 79000, Lviv, Ukraine,
  • Contacts: e-mail: p.chorniy@gmail.com

Abstract. The aim of the research is to determine when and under what circumstances Germans arrived in Galicia. The main focus is on their migration processes since the region became part of the Habsburg Empire after the first partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1772.

The study explores how they managed to preserve their identity and cultural distinctiveness over many generations; it examines the peculiarities of the public governance of German religious communities from the late 19th to the first half of the 20th century, their traditions, communication network practices, and institutional management within Galicia and the states that ruled the region during this period — the Austro-Hungarian Empire and interwar Poland.

The process of resettling Galician Germans to the Third Reich in the early stages of World War II, during the autumn-winter of 1939 to the first half of 1940, is also analyzed.

The primary sources for the research include materials from Ukrainian archives — the Central State Historical Archives of Ukraine in Lviv, the State Archives of Lviv Oblast, the State Archives of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, and the Polish Archives of New Records in Warsaw.

Research methods include a scientific-dialectical approach to studying and assessing objects and phenomena in their historical development.

For verifying the information involved, comparative methods were applied, as well as content and discourse analyses.

A comprehensive analysis method was used to integrate and align archival materials with historiographical information.

Keywords: Galicia, Galician Germans, German School Union, German People’s Union, Union of German Christians of Galicia, «Frohsinn» Society, German People’s University, Theodor Zцckler, «Heim ins Reich».

Received 31.10.2024

REFERENCES

  • Zubrytsky, D. (2002). Chronicle of the city of Lviv. Lviv: Center of Europe [in Ukrainian].
  • Isaievych, Ya. (1996). Introduction to the topic. German settlements in medieval Western Ukraine. German colonies in Galicia. History — Architecture — Culture. Materials. Reports and communications (P. 32). Lviv: Manuscript [in Ukrainian].
  • (1996). Encyclopedia of Ukrainian Studies (Vol. 5, pp. 17681774). Shevchenko Scientific Society. Lviv [in Ukrainian].
  • Yagnischak, V. (1996). German trace in the culture of the towns of Galicia (on the example of the town of Zhuravna). German colonies in Galicia. History — Architecture — Culture. Materials. Reports and communications (Pp. 139—141). Lviv: Manuscript [in Ukrainian].
  • Drak, M. (1996). German population of Eastern Galicia: resettlement and changes in the quantitative composition (1772—1857). German colonies in Galicia. History — Architecture — Culture. Materials. Reports and communications (Pp. 58—67). Lviv: Manuscript [in Ukrainian].
  • Shtoyko, P. (1996). Geography of German colonies in Galicia at the end of the 18th — beginning of the 20th century. German colonies in Galicia. History — Architecture — Culture. Materials. Reports and communications (Pp. 68—74). Lviv: Manuscript [in Ukrainian].
  • Grabovetsky, V. (1996). History of Kolomyia from ancient times to the beginning of the 20th century (Part I). Kolomyia: Vik [in Ukrainian].
  • Monolaty, I. (2004). Austrian colonial policy in Galicia (end of the 18th — middle of the 19th century). Galicia. All-Ukrainian scientific and cultural-educational magazine, 10, 62—74 [in Ukrainian].
  • The Archives of Modern Records. Lviv Voivodeship Office. Sign. 1185/10. Situation report for February 1931 [in Polish].
  • Dedekaeva, L. (1996). Patterns of the settlement of German colonists in Galicia and changes in the interwar period 1918—1939. German colonies in Galicia. History — Architecture — Culture. Materials. Reports and communications (Pp. 292—295). Lviv: Manuscript [in Ukrainian].
  • Siredzhuk, P. (2004). Subsidiary resettlement of Germans in Eastern Galicia (19th—30s of the 20th century). Galicia. All-Ukrainian scientific and cultural and educational magazine, 10, 75—87 [in Ukrainian].
  • Siredzhuk, P. (2006). German colonization of the Carpathian Basin. German settlements in Ukraine: history and present. Series «Ukraine: History and Modernity» (Issue 1, pp. 109—114). Kyiv; Mykolaiv: Publishing House of Mykolaiv State Humanitarian University named after Petro Mohyla [in Ukrainian].
  • Krysiсski, A. (1929). Number and distribution of the Polish population in the Eastern Borderlands. Nationality Affairs, 5, 618—640 [in Polish].
  • Petryshyn, G., & Oleshko, O. (1996). Urban-planning and architectural analysis of German colonies in Galicia. German colonies in Galicia. History — Architecture — Culture. Materials. Reports and communications (Pp. 307—333). Lviv: Manuscript [in Ukrainian].
  • Serhiychuk, V. (2006). Stages of the resettlement of Germans to Ukraine. German settlements in Ukraine: history and present. Series «Ukraine: History and Modernity» (Issue 1, pp. 43—66). Kyiv; Mykolaiv: Publishing house of the Petro Mohyla Moscow State University [in Ukrainian].
  • Matelski, D. (2003). Germany in the eastern borderlands of the Second Polish Republic. Study in the History of Russia and Central and Eastern Europe (Vol. XXXVIII, pp. 247—278) [in Polish].
  • Matelski, D. (1996). National minorities in Poland in the light of the report of the Ministry of Internal Affairs from 1928—1930. Nationality Affairs. New Series, 2 (9), 165—202 [in Polish].
  • Persowski, F. (1926). Settlements under Ruthenian, Polish, German and Wallachian law in the Lviv region. Lviv [in Polish].
  • Central State Historical Archive of Ukraine in Lviv. F. 667 (State Secretariat of Education and Religions of the Western Regions of the UNR, Stanislaviv. 1918—1919). Op. 2. File 8. Arc. 1—2 [in Ukrainian].
  • Central State Historical Archive of Ukraine in Lviv. F. 667. Op. 1. File 84 (German National Council in Western Ukraine) [in Ukrainian].
  • Polek, V., & Stuparyk, B. (1999). Pages of Ukrainian-German Historical and Cultural Relations. Ivano-Frankivsk: Nova Zorya [in Ukrainian].
  • Central State Historical Archive of Ukraine in Lviv. F. 667. Op. 1. File 15 [in Ukrainian].
  • Central State Historical Archive of Ukraine in Lviv. F. 667. Op. 1. File 85 [in Ukrainian].
  • Central State Historical Archive of Ukraine in Lviv. F. 667. Op. 1. File 5 [in Ukrainian].
  • Central State Historical Archive of Ukraine in Lviv. F. 667. Op. 1. File 75 [in Ukrainian].
  • (1924). Journal of Laws of the Republic of Poland, 79, 784—789 [in Polish].
  • Central State Historical Archive of Ukraine in Lviv. F. 179. Op. 1. File 55 (Orders and instructions on conducting a school plebiscite regarding the introduction of the Ukrainian language of instruction in schools) [in Ukrainian].
  • Matelski, D. (2002). The German minority in the Second Polish Republic. Life and Thought — problem notebooks, 13/6, 4—41 [in Polish].
  • State archive of Ivano-Frankivsk region. F. 6. Op. 1. File 227 (Correspondence with the police and the Stanislav Voivodeship Office regarding the approval of changes to the charters and composition of the boards of the German sports society «Sturm», the Union of German Teachers of Malopolska and the «German People’s Union» in Stanislav) [in Russian].
  • The Archives of Modern Records. Office of the Stanislaviv Voivodeship, ref. 1186/1 [in Polish].
  • Central State Historical Archive of Ukraine in Lviv. F. 863 (Union of German Christians in Galicia in Lviv (Bundes der christlichen Deutschen in Galizien). Op. 2. File 7 (Statute of the Union of German Press in Galicia) [in German and in Ukrainian].
  • Siredzhuk, P. (2004). Primary education of the Germans of Eastern Galicia. Kyivska Starovyna, 5, 76—83 [in Ukrainian].
  • Matelski, D. (1999). Germany in Poland in the 20th century. Warsaw; Poznan [in Polish].
  • State Archives of Lviv Region. F. 1. Op. 58. File 1473 (Project for the organization of German schools, accounting records indicating teachers and the number of students, lists of textbooks, etc.) [in German and in Ukrainian].
  • The Archives of Modern Records. Lviv Voivodeship Office, ref. 1185/28 [in Polish].
  • State archive of Ivano-Frankivsk region. F. 69. Op. 1. File 503 (Correspondence with the Stanislav district eldership and posterniki of the state police of the Stanislav district about the activities of German organizations in the district) [in Russian].
  • The Archives of Modern Records. Lviv Voivodeship Office, ref. 1185/12 [in Polish].
  • Central State Historical Archive of Ukraine in Lviv. F. 863. Op. 2. File 6 (Statutes of the academic local group of the «League of Christian Germans in Galicia») [in German].
  • State archive of Ivano-Frankivsk region. F. 69. Op. 1. File 993 (Registration sheets of German organizations and societies in the Stanislav district) [in Russian].
  • State archive of Ivano-Frankivsk region. F. 69. Op. 1. File 365 (Circular orders of the Stanislav Voivodeship Administration on the registration of residents of German nationality and information from police authorities on the number of German schools and their personnel in the district) [in Russian].
  • The Archives of Modern Records. Lviv Voivodeship Office, ref. 1185/23 [in Polish].
  • State archive of Ivano-Frankivsk region. F. 2. Op. 1. File 156 [in Russian].
  • State archive of Ivano-Frankivsk region. F. 2. Op. 1. File 227 [in Russian].
  • State archive of Ivano-Frankivsk region. F. 287. Op. 1. File 1 [in Russian].
  • The Archives of Modern Records. Lviv Voivodeship Office, ref. 1185/12 [in Polish].
  • The Archives of Modern Records. Lviv Voivodeship Office, ref. 1185/20 [in Polish].
  • Siredzhuk P. (2005). From the history of trade of the Germans of Eastern Galicia. Kyivska starovyna, 2, 81—86 [in Ukrainian]
  • Steinlauf, M.C., Gutman, Yisrael, & Mendelsohn, Ezra (Eds.). (1989). Mark Arnshteyn and Polish-Jewish Theater. The Jews of Poland between Two World Wars (Pp. 399—411). Hanover, NH: Published for Brandeis University Press by University Press of New England.
  • Siredzhuk, P. (2008). Socio-economic situation and cultural life of the German minority in Eastern Galicia (20s—30s of the 20th century). Ternopil: Economic Thought [in Ukrainian].
  • Central Archives of Historical Records. Record books of the Evangelical Augsburg and Helvetian communes 1764—1939. Retrieved from: http://www.agad.gov.pl/inwentarze/KEAH299xx.xml (Last accessed: 25.04.2024) [in Polish].
  • Grelewski, S. (1937). Protestant denominations and religious sects in contemporary Poland. Lublin: Scientific Society of the Catholic University of Lublin [in Polish].
  • Central State Historical Archive of Ukraine in Lviv. F. 863. Op. 2. File 1 [in Ukrainian].
  • Roskau-Rydel, I. (2010). Social and organizational life of Galician Germans in Lviv in the interwar period. Lviv. City, society, culture. Offices, officials, institutions (Vol. VII, pp. 534—541). Krakow [in Polish].
  • The Archives of Modern Records. Lviv Voivodeship Office, ref. 1185/6 [in Polish].
  • Pankiv, I. (2005). Public and socio-political relations of German settlers in Pokuttya (second half of the 19th—30s of the 20th century). Ecological problems of the Carpathian region: materials of the scientific and theoretical conference (Ivano-Frankivsk, December 19, 2005) (Pp. 89—95). Ivano-Frankivsk [in Ukrainian].
  • Davis, N. (2006). Europe. History. Kyiv: Solomiya Pavlychko Publishing House «Fundamentals» [in Ukrainian].
  • Churchill, V. (2018). Memories of the Second World War (Vol. 1). Kyiv: Zhupansky Publishing House [in Ukrainian].
  • State archive of Ivano-Frankivsk region. F. 2. Op. 1. File 534 [in Russian].
  • Pelensky, Z. (1929, march 17). National minorities in Geneva. Dilo, 59, 1—2 [in Ukrainian].
  • Patsula, Y. (1996). Historical prerequisites, political incentives and moral and social consequences of the mass resettlement of Volyn Germans to their historical homeland at the beginning of World War II. German colonies in Galicia. History — Architecture — Culture. Materials. Reports and communications (Pp. 196—203). Lviv: Manuscript [in Ukrainian].
  • The Archives of Modern Records. Lviv Voivodeship Office, ref. 1185/15 [in Polish].
  • Trubaichuk, A.F. (2004). German-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Border 1939. Ukrainian Diplomatic Encyclopedia: in 2 vol. (Vol. 2). Kyiv: Knowledge of Ukraine [in Ukrainian].
  • Meshkov, D. Germans of Ukraine during the Second World War. Retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heim_ins_Reich (Last accessed: 25.08.2024) [in Ukrainian].
  • Heim ins Reich. Retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heim_ins_Reich (Last accessed: 25.08.2024).
  • Serpen, O. (2019). Galician Germans tell stories: historical documents, eyewitness memoirs, scientific articles. 20 stories. Lviv: Lviv Polytechnic Publishing House [in Ukrainian].
  • Panchuk, M., Kovalchuk, O., & Chirko, B. (2006). German settlements in Ukraine: history and present. Series «Ukraine: History and Modernity» (Issue 1, pp. 320—323). Kyiv; Mykolaiv: Publishing House of Mykolaiv State Humanitarian University named after Petro Mohyla [in Ukrainian].
  • Vasylchuk, V. (2006/2007). Ukrainian Germans (50—80s of the 20th century). Galicia. All-Ukrainian scientific and cultural and educational magazine, 12/13, 156—160 [in Ukrainian].
Our authors
Kuzmenko Oksana Senior Researcher, Candidate of... read »
Olena Fedorchuk. Senior Research Fellow, Ph.D. read »
Stepan Pavluk. Prof., full member of NAS of Ukraine,... read »
Olena Nykorak. Senior Researcher, Doctor of Arts read »
On field exploration of russian and belarusian ethnologists and etnolinguists in Ukrainian Polisia 1945—1980s
In the study based on a wide range of literary materials have been comprehensively characterised field research in Polisia of Ukraine, performed by Russian and Belarusian ethnologists during 1945—1980s as well as Moscow ethnolinguists and other researchers from ethnologic centres of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus in the course of realization of Ethnolinguistic Atlas of Polisia program. Particular attention has been paid to geography, methods, themes and research results of scientific projects.
Read »

Boikos’ pandemonium: categories of evil deceased
In the article have been presented some research-work on peculiarities of Boikos’ traditional demonological notions as for so-called evil deceased; on the basis of field records and ethnological literary sources quite a number of scum categories have been defined as well as essential habits, modes of behavior and functions of these personages of people’s demonology.
Read »

Wax candle as ukrainian Christmas and epiphany ritualistic text
For the first time in native ethnology the article has brought some results of special study in sign functionality of a wax candle under the context of Ukrainian Christmas and Epiphany ritualistic text (ritualism of Christmas Eve, New Year, Epiphany Eve and Feast of Epiphany). The study has stated extremely high semiotic position of a wax candle as projection of Sun, mediator between the spheres of sacral and prophane elements, symbolic analogue of human existence, apotropy, cultural symbol re-establishing borders of acculturated space.
Read »

Traditional folk clothes of velikobychkovsky hutsuly of XIX — the first half of XX century
In the study based upon numerous field materials, literature sources as well as ethnographic, historio-cultural and regional museum collections has been performed complex analysis in traditional folk clothes by Hutzul population of Velyky Bychkiv village in Transcarpathian region. Detailed descriptions of femi­nine and masculine clothing complexes of the mentioned area have been presented. In characterizing of those main attention has been paid to the detail of cut in separate components of dress; cut of feminine shirt has been added as an illustration.
Read »