Ukrainian Public Nationalism in the General Government

Most research on Ukrainian nationalism in the 20th century focuses on the OUN and UPA and their armed struggle for Ukraine’s independence. Ernest Gyidel’s book stands apart. It deals with a little-studied page in the history of nationalism, namely its public expression in the legal press under German occupation in World War II. He uses Krakivski Visti (Cracow News)—the leading Ukrainian newspaper of the General Government—as a case study due to its unique status of being less constrained by German censorship.

Gyidel walks us through a variety of nationalistic expressions, from articles attacking Poles, Jews, and Russians to texts celebrating great Ukrainian writers, commemorating the national sacrifice, and discussing the threats of mixed marriages. He reminds us that the history of Ukrainian nationalism was written not only by people with guns and bullets but also with typewriters and printed words.