The History of the Galician Division of the Waffen SS. Vol 1: On the Eastern Front, Michael Melnyk

Full interview with Michael James Melnyk on "The History of the Galician Division of the Waffen SS. Volume 1: On the Eastern Front, April 1943 to July 1944", Norwich, England, United Kingdom, 27 February 2018.

Concerns the administration, political environment, diplomacy, discussions, exchange of documentation between the interested German parties, training, and the raising of the Division (14-та гренадерська дивізія зброї СС «Галичина») as a military force. Up until the battle of Brody, the division was a well-trained, well-armed military unit
1:02 Inclusion of personal accounts of veterans
1:24 Batch of photos. Best photographs, best documentation, best personal accounts
1:52 Whenever you make a historical statement, you need the evidence to back up your claim
2:05 Interviewed 150 division veterans over 25 years, e.g. officers, NCOs, rank and file
2:24 Some of the most interesting accounts; Veterans in England live in a time capsule, have a remarkable memory for detail
3:10 Father was a member of the unit. I wanted to learn what he experienced during World War Two
2:25 No Ukrainian community in the United Kingdom anywhere near where I lived, divorced from the language, society, community. A personal endeavour
4:25 Significant part of the legacy of the Ukrainian community in this country. Diaspora in the UK rest on the veterans of the division. Vast majority of division veterans were very reticent, most were peasants, lacked a basic education, lacked a sufficient command of the English language to articulate their experience
5:50 Extraordinary people who experienced things that defy belief
6:35 Ukrainian Insurgent Army (Українська повстанська армія)
7:12 To understand the Galician Division one must place everything into context. And the context was the political activities at the time. Galicia was occupied by the Poles, Russians, and the Germans. Germans wanted manpower to support their crumbling eastern front, Ukrainians ultimately wanted political recognition. Forming a military unit could achieve that political end
8:30 Recruitment, training, then deployment. Why did people join? Partisans who wanted to be part of a formal military unit, joined fearing forced labour, joined because they were ultra-nationalists
9:25 Battle of Brody, division came into direct conflict with vastly superior Soviet force
9:38 Batch of photos. People experienced direct personal loss at the hands of the Poles, Soviets
10:30 German philosophy: Slavs were untermenschen (sub-human). Germans didn't regard Ukrainians as equals
10:59 In the eyes of the Ukrainian creators, the division was a matter of expediency, i.e. sacrificed short-term form for long-term substance: political recognition. Ukrainian creators of the Galician Division would propel Ukraine onto the international stage. In May 1945, Galician Division was a talking point with Churchill, Stalin, Trueman and the Pope
12:55 The Germans never regarded the Ukrainians as allies. Never
13:17 Ukrainians are a very religious people. Support of the church for the division was critical
13:42 Training was thorough and exhaustive to the extent that serious injuries and fatalities were commonplace. Ukrainians subjected to exceptionally strict, draconian discipline
14:37 Organization of Ukrainian Nationalist sent personnel to serve in the division. Purpose was to exercise political influence, prevent Germanic influence
15:10 Division deployed to Poland winter 1944, accusations of conduct have not been substantiated
15:50 Deployed to Brody sector in summer 1944
17:00 Galician Division of the Waffen SS did not participate in the Volhyn massacre, Jewish Holocaust
18:05 Prior to enlisting into the division, some Ukrainians served in police units and may have taken part in anti-Jewish activities
18:50 Uniate priests attached to the division
21:10 Research and documentation on the division
22:50 Galician division certainly were not Nazis. The division swore an oath to the Ukrainian nation. Ukrainian nationalist movement, Stepan Bandera. In WW2, 2 million Soviets fought with Germany
25:45 Batch of photos. Comprehensive photographs collected over 25 years. Photos hidden in Ukraine in a beehive for 50 years
27:10 Gaining trust from veterans, confessions about profound, disturbing stories. One account of soldiers who had frozen to death. Some would confess on their deathbed because they didn't want to jeopardize their family
41:08 Batch of photos
46:13 Photograph of Ukrainian nationalists tortured, murdered by Soviets between 1939-41 removed from jails

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