1. Dariusz Kałan Centre for East European Studies, University of Warsaw
The Ukrainian Question in German Foreign Policy (March September 1939)
Dariusz Kałan
Centre for East European Studies, University of Warsaw

2. Synopsis
The role and place of Ukraine on Adolf Hitler’s political thought
Pro-German orientation of Ukrainian independence movement
German-Ukrainian relations between 1938 and 1939

3. Theoretical roots of Nazi expansion strategy
Völkisch ideology
„…Healthy society existed primarily in the ideal peasant community, in which each citizen is entitled to land and communion with the soil…”*
Geopolitik
(Friedrich Ratzel and Karl Haushofer)
„…Struggle for territorial expansion followed natural law and therefore a nation’s territorial gain is a sign of racial purity, vigour and health…” *
*Ihor Kamenetsky. German Colonizations Plans In Ukraine during World War I and II

4. The economic exploitation of Ukraine by Adolf Hitler
„…Where is [in Europe] a region capable of supplying iron of the quality of Ukrainian iron? Where can one find more nickel, more coal, more manganese, more molybdenum? (…) And, on top of that, so many other possibilities! The vegetable oils, the heave plantations to be organized. With 100,000 acres devoted to the growing of rubber, our needs are covered…”
13rd October, 1941, „Hitler’s Table Talk”

5. Why Ukraine was essential on Adolf Hitler’s political thought ?
Place of direct colonization by German colonist
Great economic potential
Indispensable transit area
Reservoir of cheap labor force…
…and saboteurs undertaking actions against the USSR

6. The reasons of pro-German orientation of Ukrainian independence movement
The experience of German intervention in 1918
Hetman Pavlo Skoropadsky with his officers, 1918

7. The reasons of pro-German orientation of Ukrainian independence movement
2. Mutual disappointment with the Treaty of Versailles
Ukraine during the interwar period

8. Carpatho-Ukraine: „Ukraine’s Piedmont”? (October 1938 – March 1939)

9. „Great Ukraine” by Joachim von Ribbentrop
„…We can carry on implementing the ideological purpose of our eastern policy, which is to create “Great Ukraine” consisting of all ethnographic Ukrainian territories in the USSR, Poland and Transcarpathia.(…) Obviously, this country will survive only thanks to unconditional devotion to Germany. The partition of Poland and the USSR will result in the augmentation of our activity in the east and finally make us to rule according to the maxim “divide et impera”. We are aware that the first step to bring it off is Carpatho-Ukraine…”
22nd January, 1939

10. Supporting of non-Russian nationalities by Alfred Rosenberg
WHAT TO DO? …To promote various non-Russian nationalities within the USSR…
WHAT FOR?
…In order to impair unity of the Soviet Union and therefore to make small nations to be subordinated to Germany…

11. The reasons of the decline of Carpatho-Ukraine (October 1938 – March 1939)
Lack of international support as well as Hungarian and Polish hostility
A deep division within the OUN
The German approval for Hungarian intervention

12. Germany as the lesser of two evils by Andrij Melnyk
„…We have no active allies on the world, apart from Germany. They are against all our occupants …”
April 1939

13. Ukraine after the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (August - September 1939)
Growing opposition against conciliatory policy of Melnyk within OUN
Long-anticipated unification of Ukrainian territories after the USSR’s invasion of Poland
Soviet political and economic repressions of Ukraine

14. Thank you for your attention Nagyon szépen köszönöm Dariusz Kałan daka@o2.pl