THE IMAGE OF PACIFICATION OF EASTERN HALYCHYNA IN 1930 IN LIGHT OF POLISH AND UKRAINIAN PRESS

Abstract

The pacification conducted by the Polish authorities in Eastern Halychyna in 1930 was the consequence of conflict escalation and pressure put by both the Polish and Ukrainian sides since the end of World War I. As a result of the Treaty of Riga of 1921 and finally, the provisions of the Conference of Ambassadors in 1923, a large percentage of Ukrainians found themselves on the Polish side of the border against their will. Attempts to regain their independence and the fight undertaken in 1918 ended in failure, which only intensified the conflict1. In addition, the inefficient national policy of Poland, as well as the unwillingness to cooperate with the Ukrainians, made it impossible to find a satisfactory solution to the issue. For both the Polish and the Ukrainians, Eastern Halychyna was a priority. There was no such compromise that could meet the expectations of both sides. Social attitudes among the Ukrainians favored the radicalization of their views and led to the rise of nationalism. In 1920, the Ukrainian Military Organization (UMO) was established, which has set itself the goal to continue the fight for independence against Poland using even more extreme methods2.UMO’s activists were fighting not only against the Poles but also the Ukrainians who were ready to establish cooperation with the Polish Government. The next couple of years brought more sources of disagreement, such as the issue of Ukrainian education and economic reform, which only deepened the conflict. Under such conditions, the crisis erupted. In June of 1930, the public was informed about the alleged negotiations between the Government and the Ukrainian National Democratic Alliance (UNDA). This led to the mobilization of Ukrainian nationalists coming out against any agreement. It was connected to the rise of the Organiza- tion of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), and UMO became an armed part of it3. Taking drastic measures, they wanted to prevent the agreement and raise the national issue. It resulted in the so-called partial pushback of UMO. First, the sabotage and later on the pacification affected, directly and indirectly, a huge part of the population living in the area of   Eastern Halychyna.In the era, when there were practically no other mass media, the press was the most important public mouthpiece. It not only served an informative function, but its primary goal was opinion-forming. The press significantly influenced the attitudes and moods of the nation and could even change the course of action. By manipulating the facts, using the right language, fighting with arguments, the press was able to create the desired picture of the events. By looking at the events through the prism of the press, we can look at them from the inside, and thanks to the regularity of press publication (daily in this case), we can follow their development. The aim of this paper is to present the selected issues related to the events, named by the historiography as «the pacification of Eastern Halychyna», in the light of archival materials as well as Polish and Ukrainian public opinion expressed in the press: the «Słowo Polskie» and the «Dilo».