Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies
Канадський інститут українських студій
430 Pembina Hall, University of Alberta www.cius.ca Tel: (780) 492-2972
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G T6G 2H8 cius@ualberta.ca Fax: (780) 492-4967
News Release
Contact: Mykola Soroka FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tel: (780) 492-6847
E-mail: msoroka@ualberta.ca
Winnipeg conference to examine Ukrainians in Canada during the Second World War
Photo: Members of the Ukrainian Canadian Servicemen’s Association, London, England, 1944.
October 20, 2011 — The Second World War marked a turning point in the history of Ukrainians in Canada. The conflict simultaneously heightened tensions within the Ukrainian community while uniting fractious and formerly hostile organizations in common cause with Canada’s war effort. The war further helped to change mainstream perceptions of Ukrainians as an undesirable “foreign” element in Canadian society that was troublesome to assimilate, and made sudden and unlikely Allies of the Western democracies and the Soviet Union as the European conflict widened with the Nazi invasion of the USSR.
The history of Ukrainians in Canada during the Second World War remains understudied in comparison to earlier periods (the pioneer era is quite well documented and a major monograph on the interwar years from the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies will appear in 2012), notwithstanding the publication of ground-breaking manuscripts on this era by Thomas Prymak and Bohdan Kordan. As such, certain questions about this time remain not only unanswered, but in some cases not even posed.
To start addressing some of these issues, the CIUS Kule Centre for Ukrainian Canadian Studies and the Centre for Ukrainian Canadian Studies (University of Manitoba), in partnership with the Ukrainian Cultural and Education Centre “Oseredok” are sponsoring the“Becoming Canadian: Ukrainians in Canada during the Second World War” conference, to be held in Winnipeg on 11–12 November.
Eleven papers related to the theme of the event are scheduled to be presented. The speakers all hail from Canada, coming from as far west as Edmonton and as far east as Ottawa. Among the topics to be covered will be Ukrainian Canadians on the eve of the Second World War (with a specific note regarding reactions to the Carpatho-Ukraine crisis in 1938–39); Ukrainians in the Canadian armed forces during the conflict (including an examination of the activities of Ukrainian-Canadian chaplains); Ukrainian Canadians on the home front; and others. The conference will also include a screening of a vintage film illustrating the Hollywood view of the war in Ukraine. As well, the proceedings, which start on Remembrance Day, will include a special commemoration of Canada’s war veterans.
The “Becoming Canadian” conference will take place at the Ukrainian Cultural and Educational Centre (Oseredok) in Winnipeg, and be open to the public, with a $40 registration fee for both days and $25 for a single day. The amounts cover the cost of lunch and coffee breaks on the two days, as well as Friday night’s film screening, which will be open only to registered participants. Students can attend for free, pending a display of their school identification. Pre-registration before 7 November is required for attendance. This can be done by phoning Oseredok at (204) 942-0218. For further information phone the CUCS at (204) 474-8907. To access the conference programme go tohttp://www.ualberta.ca/CIUS/Becoming_Canadian.pdf .
The Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies (CIUS) is a leading centre of Ukrainian studies outside Ukraine that conducts research and scholarship in Ukrainian and Ukrainian-Canadian studies. If you would like more information on the Institute, please visit our website atwww.cius.ca or contact Dr. Bohdan Klid at (780) 492-2972; cius@ualberta.ca.
Канадський інститут українських студій (КІУС) — провідний осередок українознавчих студій поза межами України, покликаний розвивати науково-дослідну роботу з української та українсько-канадської тематики. Щоб отримати детальнішу інформацію, просимо відвідати наш веб-сайт www.cius.ca або зв’язатися з д-ром Богданом Клідом (780) 492-2972; cius@ualberta.ca.
