Exactly 100 years ago, on August 24, 1922, the “Berliner Tageblatt” and the “Handels-Zeitung” published an invitation to see the play “The White Bear and the Black Panther Cat” by the famous Ukrainian writer and political activist Volodymyr Wynnychenko. He lived in Berlin from 1921 to 1923.
August 24 is a special day for Ukraine: the formal declaration of independence dates from this day in 1991, and it is also the day on which the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine began six months ago. This article provides an overview of how the media world has viewed Ukraine over the past 100 years.
The performances of his works were very popular on the Berlin theater stages in the 1920s. His play “The Lie” was performed more than 60 times in Berlin theaters – especially in the “Volksbühne” – his “Black Panther Cat” was filmed in 1922.
In post-war Europe of the 1920s, the Ukrainian émigré press first appeared in the camps where Ukrainian soldiers were interned, and later in the main European centers where émigrés from the Ukrainian Soviet Republic found refuge. The press, which had emigrated, enjoyed all democratic freedoms here, but material and financial bottlenecks severely limited their opportunities. Handwritten or printed materials were produced with particular enthusiasm, belief in the national idea and a sense of deep patriotism.
There were many active organizations in Berlin. Among them are Ukrainian publishers (in particular “Ukrainisches Wort”). Newspapers and magazines “Litopis”, “Politics”, “Ukrainian Flag”, “Ukrainian Youth” were published. Thanks to the support of the former head of state Pavlo Skoropadskyi, the Ukrainian Scientific Institute was opened in 1926 with four research departments.
The films “Arsenal” and “Salto mortale” by the Ukrainian director Oleksandr Dovschenko with the Kiev actress Anna Sten were shown in German cinemas. Oleksandr Dovschenko worked in Berlin as a secretary of the consular department in the USSR trade mission in Germany. Anna Sten became a star of European cinema at the leading German film company UFA, and she was also invited to Hollywood.
Between 1939 and 1945, thousands of forced laborers from Eastern Europe and from what is now Ukraine worked in Berlin as well as throughout Germany in private households, families or in industry. A total of up to 20 million people were deported to Germany and the occupied territories. At least 2.5 million of them came from what is now Ukraine.
On August 24, 1943, the Baden state gazette “Der Führer – Hauptorgan der NSDAP Gau Baden” published an article about melons. The author claims that Ukrainian melons are not as tasty and sweet as German ones. He sees the differences in soil, technology and seed quality as the main reason.
In 1944 the total circulation of all German newspapers was 25 million copies. Methodologically, the propaganda of the National Socialists concentrated on a few topics, which they processed into catchy slogans that appealed to the emotions. The seemingly innocent article, which begins with a description of juicy and fragrant melons, is directly related to the idea of the superiority of the “German race,” which Hitler called the “Aryan superrace.”
After hostilities on the territory of defeated Germany, many Ukrainians found themselves in camps for displaced persons. In Mittenwald in particular, Ukrainians were concentrated. In these camps there was an active cultural life, especially an organization like the Ukrainian Art Movement united talented writers and artists who were in exile. After the war, the Ukrainian Free University was relocated to Munich, which is still a recognized university in Germany today.
The activities of the Ukrainian partisan army UPA were concentrated in Munich, Radio Svoboda broadcasts from here in Ukrainian. There was a Ukrainian publishing house in Munich, a number of magazines were published, including such titles as “Ukrainian Tribune”, “Way of Victory”.
Ukrainian emigration continues to show the world an example of unity and organization. In the 1950s, 280 newspapers and magazines as well as circulars were published in Ukrainian in Germany.
In August 1961, the monthly of Ukrainian émigrés Suchasnist published new works by Ukrainian artists and materials on national politics, Ukrainian cooperation and Jewish problems. The analysis of events in the USSR and the Ukrainian SSR on the pages of Suchasnist magazine, in particular, criticism of the policy of national discrimination and Russification of non-Russian-speaking republics, led to frequent attacks from the Soviet press.
In East Germany, many Ukrainians served in the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSSD). A significant portion stayed here to live with their families. A children’s book publisher in Berlin published children’s books in Ukrainian.
On August 24, 1971, the SED newspaper “Neues Deutschland” published materials about good deeds on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the USSR and the political conflicts related to the Munich Olympics. In the summer of 1972, the Ukrainian Youth Association published an appeal to the youth of the free world. The Ukrainians were not represented as their own national group at the Olympics. Appropriating the victories of one nation at the expense of another is a gross violation of the rights of the Ukrainian people. The emotional protest was printed in three languages.
After perestroika in 1991, in the wake of the dissolution of the Soviet Union, efforts towards independence led to Ukraine’s renewed independence. Under the impression of the failed August coup in Moscow, the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament, passed a formal declaration of independence on August 24, 1991, which was confirmed in a referendum on December 1, 1991 with a large majority.
After the Orange Revolution in 2004, the number of Ukrainian Germans and publications increased a hundredfold. In 2016, the President of Ukraine awarded the Jubilee Medal “25 Years of Independence of Ukraine” to foreign citizens. Among the award winners are many active personalities in Germany – including the director of the Berlin Wall Museum “Checkpoint Charlie”, Oleksandra Hildebrandt. In 1997, a Ukrainian exhibition was opened in the museum. In 2022 it was significantly expanded with exhibits on the war in Ukraine.
