Culture as the Foundation of Understanding and Mutual Support

Cooperation Between Ukrainian and Polish Post-War Emigration

Abstract

The article explores the interaction between the Ukrainian and Polish émigré communities during the 1950s–1980s. This important chapter in Ukrainian and Polish cultural history remains particularly relevant today and calls for thorough scholarly examination. The cultural activity of Polish and Ukrainian émigrés served as a powerful force in the struggle against Soviet totalitarianism and as a means of fostering mutual understanding between the two nations. Polish intellectuals played a significant role in helping Ukrainians bring the issue of national independence to the international arena. The study highlights the positive developments that emerged in Ukrainian–Polish relations after the Second World War. A vivid example of such dialogue was the cooperation of the Ukrainian émigré community with the Paris-based journal Kultura and its founder and editor-in-chief, Jerzy Giedroyc. Kultura published literary works and scholarly articles by Ukrainian intellectuals, and it was Jerzy Giedroyc who initiated the publication of texts by writers of the „Executed Renaissance”. Ukrainian diaspora periodicals, particularly the journal Suchasnist, also published works by Polish
authors. The remarkable number of Polish writers whose texts appeared in Suchasnist testifies to the depth of this intercultural dialogue.