Description

This presentation explores the biography of Ivan Yuriiv (Johannes Juriiff). He was an officer of the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen, a member of Ukrainian Military Organization, Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists. After the split of this party, he cooperated with Andriy Melnik’s men – OUN (m). During WWII Yuriiv joined Sonderkommando 10 A (Einsatzgruppe D).This detachment took active part in extermination of the Jewish population in Ukraine and the Russian Federation. Who actually was Ivan Yuriiv? What political point of view did he have? How deeply was he involved in crimes of National Socialists? An integral part of OUN (m) ideology till the end of WWII was hatred of the Jews. What role did Yuriiv’s political affiliation play in his activities during WWII? The Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists – OUN (both the Bandera and the Melnyk factions) were actively involved in the establishment and activities of the Ukrainian People’s Militia and Ukrainian Auxiliary Police in different regions of Ukraine. This police structures played an important role in the extermination of the Jews. What was role of Ivan Yuriiv as OUN (m) activist in creation of Ukrainian Auxiliary Police in Ukraine? What was his post-war destiny in Western Europe and Canada? Such questions in the context of “ordinary men/willing executors discussion” using new unpublished sources from German, Ukrainian, American and Israeli archives will be addressed during the presentation.