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World War, 1914-1918

Ukraine was a significant battleground on the eastern front during the First World War, with Ukrainians living in two opposing empires. Approximately 3.5 million Ukrainians fought in the Russian Empire’s army, which was part of the Allied Powers, while about 300,000 Ukrainians joined the Austro-Hungarian military, which was part of the Central Powers. The Austrian army included one Ukrainian unit, the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen, which fought against Russian forces in Galicia. Russia occupied the western Ukrainian regions of Galicia, Bukovyna, and Transcarpathia throughout the fall and winter of 1914-1915, repressing the Ukrainian language, the Ukrainian Catholic Church, and other Ukrainian institutions during the occupation. Russian authorities suppressed Ukrainian movements throughout the war.

Austrian authorities suspected western Ukrainians of supporting the occupying Russians and deported thousands of Ukrainians to internment camps, including at Thalerhof, near Graz. The Union for the Liberation of Ukraine, a Ukrainian-independence organization led by eastern Ukrainians who had emigrated or been exiled from Russia, worked in Austrian prisoner-of-war camps to protect Ukrainians who had been captured from the Russian Army. The Union organized cultural, educational, and political activities in the camps, including publishing newspapers and pamphlets. 

Chervona kalyna = Червона калина

A reader containing songs, poems, and stories dedicated to the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen.

Die ukrainische national-politische Bewegung

A brochure written by Mykola Trotsky (Mykola Danko) outlining the historical and political factors surrounding the Ukrainian independence movement mostly before the war and up until the war's outbreak.

Holos probudzhenoho Ukraïntsia = Голос пробудженого Українця

An anonymous pamphlet by a prisoner from the POW camp in Salzwedel emphasizing the importance of using the Ukrainian language and the reading of ancestral Ukrainian literature.

IAk pryĭshlo v Rosiï do revoliutsiï = Як прийшло в Росії до революції

A pamphlet explaining the factors that led to the Russian Revolution before World War I.

Nad Zolotoiu Lypoiu = Над Золотою Липою

Account written by Osyp Nazaruk, a member of the Ukrainian Such Riflemen, with a focus on a battle fought near the Zolota Lypa River in late August 1914 (one of a series of battles between the Imperial Russian Army and the Austro-Hungarian Army knowns as the Battle of Galicia).

Nasha ridna mova = Наша рідна мова

A pamphlet covering the history of the Ukrainian language and some of Ukraine's most prominent writers.

Natsionalnyĭ i sotsialnyĭ moment v ukraïnskiĭ istoriï = Національний і соціальний момент в українській історії

A pamphlet summarizing the main events related to the Ukrainian independence movements throughout history. 

Ridne Pysmenstvo = Рідне письменство

A bibliographic index of Ukrainian literature which 'every Ukrainian should read', first printed in 1916 by the weekly newspaper 'Rozvaha' associated with the POW camp in Freistadt, Austria.

Rosiĭski sotsiialisty i teperishnia viĭna = Російські соціялісти і теперішня війна

This piece contains a lengthy foreword by Mykola Zalizniak, to Iuriĭ Ruchka's brochure 'Russian Socialists and the current war' which provides an overview of the Russian socialists during the war as well as the pre-war situation in Ukraine.

Samostiĭna Ukraïna : R. U. P = Самостійна Україна : Р.У.П.

A brochure containing a speech and an address from the publication about the Revolutionary Ukrainian Party and its place within the Union for the Liberation of Ukraine.

Shcho treba znaty kozhdomu Ukraïntsevy? = Що треба знати кождому Українцеви?

A general pamphlet released by the Union for Liberation of Ukraine, addressing all aspects of the Ukrainian nationality, ranging from language, land, religion, history, patriotic responsibilities among the thirteen covered topics.

Sotsiialïstychnyĭ Internatsional i Viĭna = Соціалістичний Інтернаціонал і Війна

An article expressing the need for democracy in Tsarist Russia and the prospects for the Socialist International in the context of the war.

U vidpovid Napasnykam = У відповідь Напасникам

A pamphlet containing a letter to the editor of 'Ukrainske Slovo', and a reprint of an article in the 'Vistnyk Soiuza vyzvolennia Ukraïny' about 'Russian Ukrainians' by Volodymyr Doroshenko.

Ukrainische Legion

A brief pamphlet describing the pavilion of the 'Ukrainian Legion' at the war exhibition in Vienna's Prater which was organized by the Austro-Hungarian monarchy in 1916, as well as a recounting of when Franz Joseph I visited the Ukrainian Legion on July 23, 1915.

Ukraïnski sichovi striltsi = Українські січові стрільці

An account of the founding and development of the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen regiment.

Ukraintsi, Rosiia i viĭna = Українці, Росія й війна

Notes and materials calling for the independence of Ukraine from Imperialist Russia and the establishment of a Ukrainian democratic republic through a national revolution in the context of World War I.

Vidomosty pro rosiĭsku Ukraïnu = Відомости про російську Україну

A brochure containing information about the political administrative divisions in the Russian territory of Ukraine.

Was muss man vom östlichen Kriegsschauplatze wissen?

A brief pamphlet situating the Ukrainian political aspirations in the theater of war.

Z choho vynykla viĭna ta shcho vona nam mozhe prynesty = З чого виникла війна та що вона нам може принести

A pamphlet issued by the Union for the Liberation of Ukraine outlining the reasons Russia is waging war, as well a brief outline of the political platform of the Union for the Liberation of Ukraine.

Z krivavoho shliaku Ukraïnskykh Sïchovykh Striltsïv = З крівавого шляху Українських Січових Стрільців

An illustrated account of the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen from different authors covering battles, memoirs, and personal letters.

Z mynuloho = З минулого

A piece of writing from the POW camp in Wetzlar containing some recollections from before the war.

World War, 1914-1918