Slavic Lives Matter: The Lack of Attention for the Polish-Ukrainian Conflict during the Second World War in German and Russian Historiography1

ABSTRACT For various reasons, the Polish-Ukrainian conflict of 1941–1942 has not received in-depth treatment in Russian and German historiography. Russians have little interest in the history of Poland and Ukraine, preferring to study either their own country or Western European countries; German historiography concentrates on studying the Holocaust and pogroms in this region.1 ‘Slavic Lives Matter. Nevnimaniye k pol’sko-ukrainskomu konfliktu v gody Vtoroy mirovoy voyny v nemetskoy i rossiyskoy istoriografii’, translated by Dr. Harold Orenstein. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author; they do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Journal of Slavic Military Studies. The latter is explained by the fact that the Shoah [Hebrew for ‘catastrophe’, specifically used to refer to the Holocaust] occupies the central place in historical research in Germany; everything that is associated with it is of considerable interest. A second reason for the disproportionate attention presumably is the fact that the Ashkenazi (Jews whose ancestors are from Central and Eastern Europe) are a Germanic people — Yiddish is closely related to German, English, and Dutch. Accordingly, in the minds of researchers who are native speakers of these languages, what may subconsciously arise is a pattern of pogroms - ‘Slavs attack the Germans’, that is, ‘foreigners are attacking our people’ - and the associated emotions and desire to understand the issue. As for the Ukrainian-Polish conflict of 1943–1944, in Germany only and exclusively representatives of neo-Soviet historiography have written about this; they see Ukrainian nationalists as an absolute evil. However, they do not glorify the Polish Home Army, nor do they promote the idea of Polonophilia or victimization of the Poles, i.e., they attempt to create an illusion of objectivity, impartiality, and balance regarding this issue.