Belarusian émigré periodicals in Europe, the USA, and Canada

In the early 1950s, DP camps in Germany were being dismantled. Researchers estimate that 140,000 refugees remained in West Germany, and others, unwilling to return to their countries of origin, headed to new destinations. Belarusian refugees migrated to Great Britain, the USA, Canada, and Australia. These new countries became centres of the cultural life (including publishing) of the Belarusian diaspora. Some publications which originated in DP camps moved with people to new destinations. For example, the literary journal Baiavaia uskalos’ [Battle ascent] began publication in Oldenburg in 1949; as of 1954, it was published in Toronto. The literary journal Shypshyna [Wild rose], moved from Regensburg-Michelsdorf to New York. Despite including a wide range of categories (youth, religious, humour, political, and literary publications) it was common for early émigré periodicals to have short runs due to financial constraints. As the geography of immigration widened, so did the variety of immigrant organizations established in host countries. These organizations published their own periodicals, brochures, and leaflets.

In Canada, the majority of periodicals emerged in the late 1940s and early 1950s in Toronto. As of the early 1960s, as the émigré community grew and became established, bulletins and newsletters produced by several Belarusian Canadian organizations began to characterize the majority of Belarusian publishing output. The Belarusian Canadian Alliance, for example, was established in 1948 in Toronto and became a major Belarusian-Canadian organization. Other organizations include the Byelorussian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, the Byelorussian Institute of Kastus’ Kalinowski, the Byelorussian-Canadian Publishers and Arts Club, and Byelorussian National Association in Canada. The newspaper Belaruski Emihrant [Belarusian Immigrant] was established in 1947 and ceased its publication in 1954. Edited by the writer Kastus’ Akula, Bielaruski Emihrant became the official newspaper of the Belarusian Canadian Alliance. Other Canadian publications in the Pashkievich collection include short-lived satirical publications Dsiatsel [Woodpecker: a monthly of satire and humour] (1952-1953) and Puha [The Whip] (1950-1951), the literary journal Paless’e [Polesie] (1955) and the historical publication Dakumanty i fakty [Documents and facts] (1952-1957).

Émigré periodicals are a remarkable group of primary sources for studying refugee experiences during and after the Second World War, the subsequent resettlement of immigrants in their host countries, the history of immigrant organizations, as well as the role of the activists and writers involved in the establishment, production, and dissemination of these publications.