This study examines the German-sponsored Ukrainian Legion of Self-Defense (Ukrains'kyi Legion Samooborony, ULS), both its rank and file and its Ukrainian and German officers. Drawing upon sources in German, Ukrainian, American, and Israeli
What involvement did the ULS have in anti-Jewish actions during World War II?The paper reveals that ULS Legionnaires participated in anti-Jewish operations, including a reported massacre of approximately thirty Jews in Pidhaitsi in early 1944, and other targeted killings against local populations.How did the composition of the ULS reflect various Ukrainian political movements?The ULS included Mel'nykites, Petlyurists, Banderists, and Easterners, indicating a diverse ideological background, with Mel'nykites being the predominant group contributing to its ranks.What was the impact of German officers on ULS operations and ideology?The study finds that German officers like Siegfried Assmuss promoted a form of collaboration that facilitated the encroachment of Ukrainian nationalism while actively participating in war crimes against civilians.
Melnykites (Ukrainian: Мельниківці, romanized: Melnykivtsi) is a colloquial name for members of the OUN-M or OUN(m), a faction of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) that arose out of a split with the more radical Banderite…
Andriy Atanasovych Melnyk [a ] (Ukrainian: Андрій Атанасович Мельник; 12 December 1890 – 1 November 1964) was a Ukrainian military and political leader best known for leading the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists from 1938 onwards and…
Olena Ivanivna Teliha (Ukrainian: Олена Іванівна Теліга; July 21, 1906 – February 21, 1942) was a Ukrainian poet and activist of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and later the OUN-M [1 ] of Ukrainian and Belarusian ethnicity…
Just published, the articles in Yad Vashem Studies 41:1 address people’s decisions and actions during the Shoah. Two authors published in this volume, Yuri Radchenko (Ukrainian auxiliary police in Kharkiv) and Stefan Klemp (German police in…
Between 1938 and 1939, he was the personal secretary to Avhustyn Voloshyn, the nominal Prime-Minister of Carpatho-Ukraine during its several days of independence in March 1939 before it was occupied by Hungary following the First Vienna…