Bottled up during almost five to seven decades of communism, and one of chaos, the demons of World War II are being let loose in Ukraine. Each group has felt unfathomable pain: Russians starved to death in German war camps, Jews exterminated en masse, Poles massacred in Volyn, Ukrainians dead on every road and every warring side. The horrors of that war, more so in the blood lands of Eastern Europe than anywhere else, meant treason, fratricide and gratuitous violence were a common occurrence.
But while the Russians, Poles and Jews have had years to hone their historical narratives, and develop the institutions to spread their message, Ukrainians have not been afforded this chance. That they feel bullied by the propaganda that has regrettably seeped into the war’s memory is understandable.
Recently revealed cases of former Ukrainian Nazi SS unit members living abroad have once again painted Ukrainians as opportunistic Nazi sympathizers. While some did collaborate and commit war crimes, it is also important to consider the desperate position of a people fighting for their nation’s independence, free of Stalinist or Nazi rule. So some chose the enemy of my enemy is my friend principle, but all faced difficult decisions that cannot be comprehended today.
Ukraine needs its own history, one that is honest and does not gloss over the dark parts, but also has sympathy for the plight of a people who for centuries longed for their own country. It needs leaders to reconcile the different nations that have lived in Ukrainian lands, and not divide them to score political points.
James Temerty, a Canadian of Ukrainian descent is among the pioneers of this process. His Ukrainian Jewish Encounter initiative, designed to bring the two people together, find truth about the common path and reconcile, is one step in the right direction.
On June 24, Temerty received the inaugural Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Medal of Honor, a special award established to mark those who work towards reconciliation and closer ties between the two peoples. It was symbolically awarded to him by Rabbi Jaakov dov Bleich and Archbishop of Ukraine’s Greek Catholics Sviatoslav Shevchuk.
Ukraine needs peace and understanding within its peoples, and good relations with its neighbors. Those who work towards those goals deserve all the praise and recognition they can get.
