Ukrainian nationalism : politics, ideology, and literature, 1929-1956 / Myroslav Shkandrij.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 293-317) and index.

Introduction -- Politics -- Interwar nationalism, 1922-38 -- The war and postwar years, 1939-56 -- Ideology -- Dmytro Dontsov -- The organization of Ukrainian Nationalists -- Nationlist literature between myth and modernism -- The myth of palingenesis -- Literature -- Olena Teliha -- Leanid Mosendz and Oleh Olzhych -- Yurii Lypa -- Ulas Samchuk -- A change of heart : Yurii Klen's "Adventures of the Archangel Raphael (1948) -- Dokia Humenna's representation of the second World War in her novel and diary -- Conclusion

Both celebrated and condemned, Ukrainian nationalism is one of the most controversial and vibrant topics in contemporary discussions of Eastern Europe. Perhaps today there is no more divisive and heatedly argued topic in Eastern European studies than the activities in the 1930s and 1940s of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN). This book examines the legacy of the OUN and is the first to consider the movement's literature alongside its politics and ideology. It argues that nationalism's mythmaking, best expressed in its literature, played an important role. In the interwar period seven major writers developed the narrative structures that gave nationalism much of its appeal. For the first time, the remarkable impact of their work is recognized.