Divided memory
World War II as remembered in Ukraine
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
As in most East Central European countries, a fundamental reevaluation of the past began after the fall of the communist regime in Ukraine. In Ukraine, though, the interpretation of history is even more controversial. Since the Ukrainian declaration of independence in August 1991, the Great Patriotic War has been at the centre of heated public debates. At stake here is the creation of a new “Ukrainian idea”, and so also Ukraine’s permanent political location in the East or West of Europe. World War II therefore remains the central political and mental watershed in Ukrainians’ historical memory.
(Osteuropa 4-6/2005, pp. 88–104)