Radziwill, Olena.

 National Aviation University-Druk. (Kyiv, Ukraine)

“War for War: World War II and the Great Patriotic War in School Textbooks on the History of Ukraine (l969-2007)”

School courses on national (Ukrainian) history, and school history textbooks in general, are one of the most important factors in the (re)construction of historical memory in contemporary Ukraine. Currently, teachers, parents, journalists, and historians are all focusing their attention on how schools and textbooks teach Ukrainian history. Therefore, analysis of the interpretation of World War II / the Great Patriot War in contemporary and Soviet-period school textbooks is a topical subject.
In the research, changes in approaches to the interpretation of World War II / Great Patriotic War in schoolbooks on the history of Ukraine for secondary school are investigated.  School textbooks on the history of Ukraine recommended or approved by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine are basic material for the analysis. The following textbooks have been the most accessible in Ukrainian schools during the period since independence: M.Koval (1991); S.Kultschitskiy(1991); Y.Kurnosov (1991); V.Sarbey (1991); F.Turchenko, P.Panchenko, M.Tymchenko (editions of 1995, 1998, 2001, 2006, 2007); S.Kultschitskiy, Y.Shapoval (2004); N.Hupan, O.Pometun, H.Freiman (2007); Y. Hrytsak (1996, republished in 2000), one of the most popular textbooks for specialized humanitarian schools; as well as textbooks for the introductory course “Essentials of the History of Ukraine” for the 5th year (V.Mysan (1995, 2005); V.Vlasov and O.Danylevska (1999, 2005).  The textbooks of the Soviet period – school book for 9-10th years of the secondary school “The  History of Ukrainian SSR” by F.Los and V.Spitsky (1969) as well the textbook by V.Sarbey and V.Spitsky (1985) are also analyzed for comparison.
The main accent is made on the most disputable topics in the history of World War II starting from the proper use of the terms “World War II” and “The Great Patriot War”, the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact, the reasons of the Soviet Army defeat at the beginning of the war, the role of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and Ukrainian Insurgent Army (OUN and UPA), and the Soviet underground resistance and the partisan movement, as well as the results and influence of the war on Ukraine.