The oun and Nazi Germany

After the assassination of Yevhen Konovalets (the OUN’s leader) by a Soviet agent in Rotterdam in 1938⁵ the OUN split into two factions: moderate OUN-M (Melnykites), lead by Andry Melnyk; and radical OUN-B (Banderites), lead by Stepan Bandera. The two factions were hostile to each other. This hostility led to assassinations from time to time. For example, two prominent Melnykite leaders (Omelian Senyk and Mykola Stsiborsky) were killed by Banderites. In general, hundreds of OUN-M and OUN-B members were killed in mutual struggle.

At the beginning of the war Germans cooperated with both factions of the OUN. Ukrainian nationalists welcomed the German invasion of the USSR since they believed that the war would give them an opportunity to create a Ukrainian independent state. One of the results of German/OUN cooperation was the formation of the Legion of Ukrainian Nationalists consisting of two units – Nachtigall and Roland. These units were trained and equipped by Germans and their number did not exceed 600 soldiers.⁶ Both these units belonged to the OUN-B faction. The OUN-B hoped that they would become the core of a future Ukrainian army, while the German command planned to use them for punitive actions on the occupied territories.

At the beginning of the war the OUN-B and the OUN-M formed the so-called expeditionary groups (похідні групи) with the aim of establishing local Ukrainian administration and propagating nationalistic ideology in Eastern Ukraine. These groups did not have much success. East Ukrainians were shocked by their propaganda of ethnic exclusivity and radical anti-Russian and anti-Jewish attitudes. East Ukrainians were mostly interested in improvement of their living conditions under any regime. They surprised West Ukrainians by their indifference to the idea of Ukrainian statehood.

On 30 June 1941, the OUN-B (supported by the Nachtigall unit) decided – without consulting the Germans – to proclaim the establish­ment of a Ukrainian state in recently conquered Lviv. Bandera’s close associate, Yaroslav Stetsko, was chosen to be premier. The OUN-B thought that having been put before this fact the Germans would accept it, rather than risk a confrontation with Ukrainians at the beginning of the war.

Despite the fact that Ukraine’s independence was proclaimed “under Germany’s protectorate,”⁷ Berlin’s reaction was negative. The Nazis believed in their racial superiority over other nations and underestimated the usefulness of cooperation with Ukrainian nationalists. They thought that the Soviet Union would soon collapse under the onslaught of Wehrmacht.⁸ Thus, the cooperation with the OUN was not very valuable. After refusing to withdraw the act of proclamation of Ukraine’s independence Bandera, Stetsko and their associates were arrested by the Gestapo (secret police) and put into a concentration camp (they were released only in September 1944).⁹

Famous British politician Winston Chirchill, who occupied the post of Britain’s prime minister at the time, signed with relief when he learned about Hitler’s decision not to grant Ukraine independence. He remarked: “If Hitler proclaims Ukraine’s independence the Western allies will lose the war; if not, the Great Britain will win.”

The OUN-B leadership was assumed by Mykola Lebed. M. Lebed had been the OUN-B leader until May 1943 when he was replaced by Roman Shukhevych.¹⁰ The OUN-M officially dissociated itself from the OUN-B’s proclamation. Hoping that the Germans would respect the OUN-M’s loyalty, A. Melnyk and his associates established public organizations, organized local self-government in cities, and formed auxiliary police. In October 1941 in Kyiv, members of the OUN-M started to form a political organization called Ukrainian National Council, composed largely of East Ukrainians. They hoped that it might become Ukraine’s government.

The Nazi had different plans, however. In November the Ukrainian National Council was disbanded. Over 40 leading members of OUN-M, including the poetess Olena Teliha, were shot, and their newspaper Ukrainske Slovo was closed. After these repressions both factions of the OUN went underground. The Ukrainian military units Nachtigall and Roland were sent to Belarus to fight against local Soviet partisans.¹¹