The creation of the Ukrainian State was a constant component of the German policy of conquest of east Europe, the conventional German «Drang nach Osten» and the manifestation of German pride, the German sense of racist superiority towards the «disabled to state self-organization» Slavs.
The presented text «Stor Ukraine» (Great Ukraine) is simply a chapter of the book Øst-Europa og den 1000 imperialismmen" (Eastern Europe and German imperialism) by Torolf Elster, published in Oslo in 1939 by Tiden Norsk Forlag as part of the Utenrikspolitisk Library publication.
Great Ukraine
The area called Ukraine has no clear borders, but it is assumed to cover about 700,000 km2 and is inhabited by 40-50 million inhabitants. From this area before the large War 600,000 km2 with a population of 30 million inhabitants belonged to Russia and 100,000 km2 with 10 million was part of Austro-Hungarian. After the large War, the area of Ukraine was divided into 4 states; Poland (132,000 km2 with 11 million inhabitants, Czechoslovakia (11,090 km2 with 600,000 inhabitants), Romania (area with 450,000 inhabitants), Rad Country (area with 33 million inhabitants).
It is crucial to separate between the real Ukrainians and Rusins, who, for example, constituted the majority of the population of Zakarpacka Rusi through linguistic and spiritual differences.
In the 16th and 15th centuries, most of Ukraine's area belonged to Poland, but Ukrainians in 1648 broke their ties with Poland and chose to belong to the Wielkopolska State. In the 20th century, a separatist movement appeared in Russian Ukraine, which led to the Ukrainians receiving certain national rights. Economically Ukraine belonged to the most developed part of the Russian empire, with better developed agriculture and a large manufacture around coal resources and iron ore. Following the Russian Revolution, any Ukrainian leaders attempted to teardrop Ukraine distant from Russia and appointed the Central People's Council. The Council entered into negotiations with the German-Austrian command of the business army, which was handed over by the Treaty in Brest to its management over the territory of Ukraine. In January 1918, the Central Council was removed by Bolsheviks who established a russian republic in Ukraine. The Council requested assistance from German and Austrian troops. In April 1918, Germany replaced the Council with a reactionary government of Cossack hetman Skelepadski. Their goal was to make a vassal against A German state that would warrant them a safe way to Iraq, Arabia and Persia.
These plans went to pieces with the defeat of central states in the War. Ifpadski had to run. 2 years he fought the leader of Petljur's nationalists, leading the Ukrainian peasant movement in an alliance with Piłsudski, together with the counter-revolutionary general Denikin against russian power. In 1919/1920, russian power strengthened in Ukraine. However, there were further contradictions between the Ukrainians and the Greater Russians. In the first years Ukraine received full cultural autonomy, but with time it was gradually limited. Ukrainians have been working for national independency for respective years, but it is an exaggeration to claim that they have tried to undertake any kind of liberation war, which is proclaimed by German propaganda.
In Germany, the Ukrainians' “liberation” plan was not forgiven in the meantime.
The plan to go to Ukraine is as old as the German National-Socialist Workers' organization Adolf Hitler, who in «Mein Kampf» formulates this: «We always end pre-war colonial-trade policy and decision on to a forward-looking conquest policy. erstwhile we talk about fresh areas (to conquer) in Europe, we can first think about Russia and the border areas it controls».
Alfred Rosenberg was the leading national-socialist politician who worked on this programme (the conquest of the East). Rosenberg collaborated with the environment of Russian Rond emigrants, who later formed Russia's National-Socialist Movement, having at least 5,000 members during the Weimar republic. During the period of the Weimar Republic Rond sent hundreds of political agents to east Europe, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Russia. In Berlin, a Ukrainian, “scientific” Institute was established, the aim of which was to plan future political actions towards Ukraine. The Ukrainian Legion was besides established, which maintained constant contact with secret military-terrorist organizations in Poland and Czechoslovakia.
At the 1936 NSDAP convention, Hitler openly talked about the construction of the large Ukraine as a goal of German abroad policy. At the same time, white generals Denikin and Gurko were invited to Berchtsgaden (Alpy), where Hitler offered them leadership of Ukrainian “the movement of liberation”. The leader of the Ukrainian National Unity UNDO has long been in Berlin. He managed to gather together various conflicting communities of Ukrainian nationalists.
In 1934 a joint conference of Skelepadski and the successor of Petljuri, Lewicki in Prague was held, resulting in the Ukrainian legislature held in Berlin the same year, where Rosenberg openly presented German plans: the creation of the large Ukraine through a combination of Russian, Polish, Czechoslovakian and Romanian parts.
It was only after Munich, however, that these plans took effect.
The plan of the large Ukraine began to be implemented in the Zakarpacka Rus, where alleged Karpacka Ukraine received political independence. The prime minister of the recently appointed state, Voloszyn, was oriented towards Germany and appointed German military «government», economists and began building war fortifications. German soldiers undertook a fight against Hungarian self-defense troops in January 1938. A series of unrests in Poland and Romania have been led to. Ukrainian politicians demanded full territorial autonomy in the Polish Sejm, as in Karpacka Ukraine. A bill was introduced, entirely written in Berlin. The road by all Czechoslovakia was planned to lead to Ukraine and Romania.
A number of events between September 1938 and January 1939 show clearly that Germany was working at that time with the task to make large Ukraine as a German vassal state and assumed that their task would be carried out with the silent consent of Western powers. However, the implementation of German plans to make the large Ukraine resulted in a number of local conflicts that had to be resolved.
In Poland, the government-related large landowners supported German plans, but only in terms of weakening the russian Union, but were against the creation of a German vassal state in Ukraine. German activities were someway part of plans to grow Polish landowners, but they were opposed to including Poland's territories in the recently created state. The relations between Poland and Germany became tense. Beck intended to argue German plans in Ukraine through force on Horthe to take over Karpacka Ukraine in March 1939.
Hungary had a strong reason to argue the German plans of large Ukraine due to the fact that it threatened to lose the German wheat marketplace for Hungary. Most Hungarian wheat is exported to Germany.
In the division of Czechoslovakia, Romania faced a large dilemma, which was an ally of both Czechoslovakia and Poland. The Romanian government powerfully protested against the Hungarian business of Karpacka Ukraine, besides due to the fact that it resulted in strengthening its enemies Hungary and extending their borders with Romania. Beck succeeded in convincing Romania to recognise the Hungarian conquests as this made it hard for Germany to make the large Ukraine, which would consequently entail a claim against Romanian areas of Bukovina and Besarabia.
Also in Carpathian Ukraine itself, the votes were divided. Along with the Ukrainian separatists' environment, there were, as in general across Ukraine, movements of large-Russian nationalists for whom the fight for a large Slavic empire was aimed, in cooperation with Russian immigrant organizations. This decision did not want to be utilized as a tool for German conquest policy. The German expansion resulted in bloody clashes between these directions.
In the end, Russian immigrants besides voted mostly against the creation of the large Ukraine. This was the case with Generals Denikin and Gurko, who, in another cases, remained loyal to German national socialism and to young Russian contender to the czarski throne, Dimitr Pavlovich, who besides powerfully protested against German plans of large Ukraine. It was naturally unimaginable for the russian Union to abandon Ukrainian territories without a full military loss. Ukraine for Russia means not only the 5th part of the population, but 30% of fertile farmland and almost 50% of grain production. 2/3 of russian coal reserves, 50% of manganese production, 60% of iron and steel production. Dneprospórzy provides 1/3 of the full electricity of the russian Union.
Until the summertime of 1939, they worked Germany further over its plans of the large Ukraine – most likely besides to have a tender element, make an emphasis on the russian Union. The «government» of Ukraine of the Carpathian Prime Minister Voloshin was transported to Germany and incorporated into the office that prepared the action in Ukraine and further «ministers» received their ministerial fees.
One Ukrainian MP of the Polish Sejm was summoned by Hitler, but refused to join the action. On the contrary, the Ukrainian National Council, which worked for Ukrainian autonomy in Poland, declared its loyalty and fulfilment of its obligations to the Polish State in a critical situation of emergency, «until they pass».
Hitler temporarily suspended his creations of the large Ukraine, but succeeded in obtaining the result, an crucial goal: a pact about German-Russian friendship.
German abroad Minister von Ribbentrop went to Moscow on 28 September 1939 to set the final limits.
In his speech in Reichstag on October 6, Hitler announced that a Polish state would be established under German control, which would lie between the Russian border and the German pre-war border. Hitler besides announced the displacement of the population and the solution to the judaic issue. Germany from border countries, the Czech Republic and Moravia are resettled into the corridor area and Poznań, later besides Germany from Hungary and Romania. The judaic state is to emergence around Lublin, but this cannot be utilized against Germany and the russian Union," Hitler said.
They were immediately taken for transporting Jews from Austria, the Czech Republic and Moravia and advanced Silesia.
80,000 km2 from the old Poland area was incorporated into Germany as 2 fresh major provinces, Vest-Preussen and Posen, while the regions of Katowitz and Zichenau became government districts.
Germany had to be prepared to keep alternatively long-term troops in Poland, which turned out to be not easy to pacify. In order to accomplish their goals, Germany was forced to strengthen the russian Union in South-East Europe and in Pribaltics.
The fresh trade agreement, which was signed at the time of Ribbentrop's visit, may in the long word be of large importance to the German economy.
Torolf Elster
(translation from Norwegian Bogdan Kulas)
