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« 2026. # 1 (187)

The Ethnology Notebooks. 2026. № 1 (187), 213—224

UDK 316.772: 94 (304):008

DOI https://doi.org/10.15407/nz2026.01.213

The date the article was first submitted to the publication 30.01.2026

The date the article was accepted for publication after review 22.02.2026

The date of publication (publication)

RECURSIVE COMMUNICATION EVENTS IN THE CONTEXT OF «ETHNIC CLEANSING» DURING WORLD WAR II AND THEIR REFLECTION IN CONTEMPORARY PUBLIC AND SCIENTIFIC DISCOURSE

HAIUK Iryna

  • ORCID ID: https://ORCID 0000-0002-1296-0872
  • D-r of cultural studies, DPh, Associate Professor
  • of the Department of the art’s management
  • of Lviv National Academy of Arts,
  • 38, V. Kubiyovycha str., 79011, Lviv, Ukraine,
  • Contacts: e-mail: irinahayuk@gmail.com

Abstract. The purpose of the the study. The aim of the article is to analyse historical context of the events that led to the mass killings of Poles, Armenians and Ukrainians during World War II (foremost in Kuty in 1944) and their interpretation in the public and scientific spheres of Ukraine and Poland, and to identify the main characteristics of the communication field in which Ukrainians, Poles and Armenians interacted in the 1st half of the 20th century.

Research methodology. The research is based on N. Luhmann’s theory of social systems and communication, the sociology of everyday life, the principles of the new historical approach, and general scientific methods of comparative analysis and synthesis.

Results. It showed that all legal documents defining genocide lack (or ignore) an important component regarding the role of the state in committing genocide, which would be entirely logical to highlight, since only the state has sufficient power and administrative resources to organize such mass killings. It has been proven that for such a negative communication field to arise, in which the dispositions of Ukrainians and Poles at a certain time became so antagonistic that they led to physical violence, there had to be previous repeated verbal and practical actions that made such a scenario possible. Based on an analysis of the memories of Bukovinian Armenians, the author shows that there was a gap between the real content of the daily life of Armenians in pre-war Bukovina (the sociology of everyday life) and the dominant concept of the 2nd Polish Republic, which was largely negative and condescending towards Ukrainians.

Novelty. It has been revealed that recursive communication chains appear and are intensively used precisely in propaganda to shape the image of the Other. This is due to their ability to create the appearance of a logically sound message, when in reality it is based on a set of classic logical fallacies. It has been shown that the unwillingness of some Polish scholars and society to investigate the causes of the tragic events is linked to their refusal to recognize the Ukrainians’ right to their own sovereign state, for which it is necessary to maintain a constructed negative image of Ukrainians.

Keywords: Armenians, communication, genocide, Poles, recursive events, Ukrainians, war.

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