Olena Humeniuk

Europe was an important center of Ukrainian emigration between the World Wars. The main reason Ukrainians emigrated at the beginning of the 1920s was the defeat in the national-liberation struggles of 1917 and the 1920s. At the beginning of the 1920s, Ukrainian emigration to European countries consisted of former soldiers, who were interned in camps. But in the middle of the decade, students were the largest emigrating group. After the closure of internment camps in 1923 and 1924, the greatest part of those interned was admitted to European or even Ukrainian universities in Europe. The foundation of cultural and educational organizations in the internment camps was the main reason for these processes.

During the interwar period, countries such as Czechoslovakia, Poland, Germany, and Austria were the most important centers for Ukrainians. More than one hundred thousand Ukrainian emigrants were concentrated in Europe. Young people represented a considerable part of them. The youth movement within the Ukrainian emigration consisted of three constituents: students, scouts, and so called "falcons" or "sokols."

This project looks at the ways in which Ukrainian young people were under the influence of the many social, cultural, and political changes and movements in Europe. They were involved in all these movements, but also contributed to the transformation processes in interwar Europe.