Ivan Franko and Lviv Ukrainian Students in a Polemical Confrontation with Henryk Sienkiewicz in 1907

Abstract

The article deals with the aggravation of the Ukrainian-Polish confrontation in 1907 due to the struggle for the Ukrainian-Polish / Polish status of Lviv University and the participation of Henryk Sienkiewicz in this confrontation. At the beginning of 1907, “Ruthenian” students once again demanded the introduction of the Ukrainian language of instruction at several faculties. This demand was supported by the Norwegian writer, Nobel laureate B. Bjørnson, who spoke out in defense of Poles from German oppression, and also called on Poles not to oppress Ukrainians. I. J. Paderewski and H. Sienkiewicz objected to the Norwegian, claiming that no ethnic group was oppressed in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Moreover, the Poles comprehensively helped the development of education and culture of Ukrainians in Eastern Galicia. Ivan Franko polemically opposed the articles of Polish artists, trying to prove with arguments and facts the falsity of their statements, and argued against B. Bjørnson’s outdated information about Galician Ukrainians. Each of the participants in the polemic sought to select and cite only arguments and facts that were convenient for him, which made the polemic, despite the participation of such literary and social authorities, unproductive. Ukrainian students of Lviv University filed a lawsuit for defamation against H. Sienkiewicz, who wrote that they allegedly feasted during the declared hunger strike. The Polish writer lost the lawsuit, realizing the importance of interethnic understanding and continuing to avoid attacks against Ukrainians.