Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists
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The Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) was a political organization founded in 1929. It emerged from the clandestine Ukrainian Military Organization and was influenced by nationalist theories emphasizing the nation's primacy. The OUN engaged in acts of sabotage and assassinations of Polish officials, gaining a following among students and youth, particularly in Galicia.1
During World War II, western Ukrainian territories were occupied by both Soviet and Nazi forces. The OUN itself experienced a significant split in 1940 into two factions: OUN-M, led by Andry Melnyk, and OUN-B, led by Stepan Bandera. These factions differed in their ideology, strategy, and tactics. While the Nazis permitted a limited linguistic and cultural revival under their oversight, political activities were generally banned, with the exception of the OUN.23
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UkraineWestern Ukraine under Polish rule…a broader underground movement, the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN). Authoritarian in structure, conspiratorial in its methods, and influenced by political theories that stressed the primacy of the nation over the individual and will over reason, the OUN carried out acts of sabotage and assassinations of Polish officials. Although these…
Read More…a broader underground movement, the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN). Authoritarian in structure, conspiratorial in its methods, and influenced by political theories that stressed the primacy of the nation over the individual and will over reason, the OUN carried out acts of sabotage and assassinations of Polish officials. Although these…
Read More- UkraineWestern Ukraine under Soviet and Nazi rule
…were banned, except for the OUN. The OUN itself was rent by factional strife between the followers of Andry Melnyk, who headed the organization from abroad after the assassination of Konovalets by a Soviet agent in 1938, and the younger supporters of Stepan Bandera with actual experience in the conspiratorial…
Read More…were banned, except for the OUN. The OUN itself was rent by factional strife between the followers of Andry Melnyk, who headed the organization from abroad after the assassination of Konovalets by a Soviet agent in 1938, and the younger supporters of Stepan Bandera with actual experience in the conspiratorial…
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