THE POLITICAL TRIALS OF THE SECOND POLISH REPUBLIC CONCERNING UKRAINIAN NATIONALIST PROPAGANDA AND AGITATION IN THE STANISLAWIW VOIVODESHIP

Abstract

The study provides a comprehensive analysis of political trials related to the persecution of the Ukrainian national movement in the Second Polish Republic during the period 1932–1939. Based on archival criminal and judicial case files, it examines the functioning of the Polish judicial system in cases involving individuals accused of manifestations of Ukrainian national activity, anti-state agitation, the dissemination of nationalist ideas, participation in Ukrainian public organizations, and support for the national liberation movement. The mechanisms of interaction between the police, the prosecution authorities, and judicial institutions in the criminal prosecution of members of the Ukrainian population are investigated, while the nature of judicial practice in politically motivated cases is also determined Particular attention is devoted to political trials against Ukrainian clergy, public figures, members of cultural and educational organizations, advocates of Ukrainian schooling, and individuals whom the Polish authorities associated with the Ukrainian nationalist underground. The study reconstructs the circumstances surrounding the initiation of criminal proceedings, the content of indictments, the course of judicial hearings, the arguments advanced by both the prosecution and the defence, as well as the distinctive features of convictions and acquittals delivered by courts of different instances. It establishes that judicial practice was far from uniform: alongside numerous convictions, there were cases in which appellate courts overturned verdicts or acquitted defendants owing to insufficient evidence. The article further reveals the influence of the state’s nationality policy on the formation of criminal-law approaches to evaluating the activities of Ukrainian public and religious leaders. It highlights judicial responses to the use of the Ukrainian language, the development of Ukrainian education, the activities of cultural and educational associations, the dissemination of political leaflets, criticism of the Polish authorities, and expressions of support for the idea of Ukrainian statehood. The relationship between the socio-political conditions of the interwar period, the radicalization of the Ukrainian national liberation movement, and the transformation of the state’s repressive policies is also analysed. On the basis of archival sources, the study concludes that political justice constituted an important instrument of state policy toward the Ukrainian population. At the same time, a number of judicial decisions demonstrate that some members of the judiciary sought to adhere to the existing norms of criminal law despite considerable political pressure