UKRAINIAN CAUSE IN WASHINGTON DURING THE COLD WAR (FROM THE ARCHIVAL DOCUMENTS OF THE MANUSCRIPT DIVISION OF THE VASYL STEFANYK NATIONAL SCIENTIFIC LIBRARY OF UKRAINE IN LVIV)

Abstract

The article examines activities of the Ukrainian community in Washington in the 1950s and the 1960s. The relevant historical materials kept in the archives of Omelan and Tetiana Antonovych are submitted for scientific circulation for the first time. The papers relate to the activities of the Association of Ukrainians in Washington, headed by O. Antonovych, and of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, headed by L. Dobriansky, as well as to their cooperation with the US Congress in support of the Ukrainian cause. The Ruthenians (Ukrainians) were already mentioned in the Senate document of the 61st US Congress in 1911. After the Second World War, the Ukrainian question came up on the agenda in connection with the formation of the United Nations. The center of Ukrainian political emigration has moved to the US. At that time L. Dobriansky kept continuous contacts with members of the Congress. In 1959 both Houses of the Congress passed the Captive Nations Week Resolution submitted by L. Dobryansky. On June 7, 1960 the House of Representatives decided to issue the brochure known as “Europe’s Freedom Fighter. Taras Shevchenko. 1814–1861 as an official House document”. On June 27, 1964 President D. Eisenhower inaugurated the monument to Taras Shevchenko in Washington, DC. The US Congress celebrated the anniversary of the proclamation of Ukraine’s independence on January 22, 1918 on annual ceremonial meetings with prayers for free Ukraine delivered by the Ukrainian priests. The US Senators and Representatives regularly included statements and letters from the Ukrainian organizations in the Congress Records.