"Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the heroes!" The Portrayal of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) in the Museums of Lviv

Abstract

This thesis examines the portrayal of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) in the museums of Lviv, Ukraine. Founded in 1929 by veterans of the Polish-West Ukrainian War and nationalistic student associations, the primary objective of the OUN was to attain a sovereign and united Ukrainian state. The OUN is an exceptionally controversial group. Though it is currently venerated within the Ukrainian Nationalist narrative – which predominates in Western Ukraine (more specifically, Galicia) and in the Ukrainian diaspora in North America – for allegedly paving the way for Ukrainian independence, the OUN has not always been afforded such adoration and its place in history remains contested. While many Galician Ukrainians lionize the OUN as heroic freedom fighters and martyrs, other ethnic groups and Eastern Ukrainians tend to remember the OUN for its collaboration with Nazi Germany and its atrocities committed against Poles and Jews. The OUN holds an exceedingly prominent place in the collective memory of the Western Ukrainian city of Lviv. The city’s numerous museums devoted to Ukraine’s so-called “Liberation Struggle” serve as mass disseminators of the valiant portrayal of the OUN to the general public. The problem is that the public has neither the comprehensive understanding of Ukraine’s complicated wartime history, nor the historical training necessary to effectively analyze the museums’ representation(s) of the OUN. This thesis attempts to answer two questions: First, how is the OUN portrayed in Lviv’s museums? Second, does this portrayal accurately represent the OUN? In order to address these questions, this thesis examines the city’s four most prominent museums related to Ukraine’s Liberation Struggle: the Lonts’kyi Street Prison Museum, the Museum of General-Lieutenant of the UPA [Ukrainian Insurgent Army] Roman Shukhevych, the Lviv Historical Museum’s Struggle of the Ukrainians for Liberation and Independence exhibit, and the Museum of Ukraine’s Liberation Struggle. This thesis argues that the OUN is consistently portrayed as a heroic organization in the museums of Lviv. The museums glorify the OUN for leading Ukraine’s Liberation Struggle against the oppressive occupation regimes and highlight the martyrdom of OUN members for an independent Ukraine. This valiant portrayal does not accurately represent the OUN. This thesis elucidates that Lviv’s museums, rather than providing nuanced accounts of the OUN, misrepresent the organization’s relationship with Nazi Germany and expunge acts of OUN perpetration.