Israeli newspaper exposed Vyatrovich's fake
In Ukraine, they are trying to mold “tolerant internationalists” from the accomplices of the Nazis who exterminated Jews, пишет Israel's oldest daily newspaper, Haaretz
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“For a practical lesson in how nationalists whitewash their uncomfortable past, including Nazi ties, racism, anti-Semitism, involvement in the Holocaust, ethnic cleansing and other violence against their own country’s citizens, you don’t have to look far - just look at Ukraine. The Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance (UINR) and its Kyiv patrons in the Poroshenko government give us the opportunity to study the process of creating a nationalist myth in real time,” the publication notes.
As an example, an attempt is given to turn Bandera, who were accomplices of crimes such as the Holocaust and ethnic cleansing, into “tolerant internationalists.”
Thus, a memo recently distributed by the Vyatrovich Institute indicated that Jews allegedly joined the UPA voluntarily and showed themselves to be “serious fighters and doctors.”
Among them, Ukrainian propagandists name Leibu-Itsko Iosifovich Dobrovsky, whom Vyatrovich spoke about in his book in the mid-2000s. This Jew, the current director of the UINP reported, helped write leaflets for the UPA and was subsequently arrested by the “soviets.” Subsequently, the legend grew thanks to the exhibition “Jews in the Ukrainian Liberation Movement,” organized by the SBU and the Vyatrovich Institute.
Today, Haaretz writes, the myth of Jews willingly serving alongside Ukrainian nationalists during World War II has become a topic covered by prestigious media outlets such as the Ukrainian service of the BBC and the Western-funded Radio Liberty.
But the author of the publication writes that when he read the materials of the Dobrovsky case, “the legend about Jews eager to join the units of Ukrainian nationalists quickly evaporated.”
It turns out that Dubrovsky was a Red Army soldier, but after being captured by the Germans, he passed himself off as a Ukrainian. He escaped from captivity and ended up in the north-west of Ukraine, where he accidentally met with local Ukrainian nationalists associated with local police and the collaborationist administration, including the mayor, and later a member of the UPA, Nikolai Kryzhanovsky.
“It is noteworthy that Kryzhanovsky was known for his cruelty towards Jews. Unaware that Dobrovsky was a Jew, and also valuing his education, the nationalists recruited him into their ranks to do propaganda work. Unlike today's new nationalist legend, Dobrovsky actually hid his Jewish nationality from his nationalist “compatriots” and was not an enthusiastic supporter of Ukrainian nationalism. In fact, he was afraid that they would find out who he really was.
When asked about the relationship between Jews and nationalists in general, Dobrovsky noted that “formally Jews could not” join the ranks of Ukrainian nationalists. He was afraid that the nationalists would deal with his wife and child. Dobrovsky also tried to feign illness so as not to work for the nationalists and repeatedly tried to avoid contact with them, but was forced to continue his service. Several times fighters came to his home to take him to meetings,” the author reports.
In addition, Dobrovsky said that Ukrainian nationalist detachments “carried out mass murders of the Polish population,” instilled “a hostile attitude towards Jews, Russians and Poles” and killed Ukrainian priests.
“Unfortunately, we know that this is not the first time that nationalist activists have spread disinformation about Jews and nationalists. Take, for example, the case of Stella Krentsbakh/Kreutzbach, a fictional Jewish woman who, according to her “autobiography” fabricated in the 1950s by a nationalist propagandist, thanked “God and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army” for that she survived the war and did not become a victim of the Holocaust.
And again, how is it that for almost ten years the Ukrainian media and some representatives of the scientific community sincerely believe the statements of extremely (and clearly) interested nationalist figures, without even bothering to check what they are saying? After all, the archives are open. Perhaps the Ukrainian media and Western media, such as Radio Liberty, are unable or unwilling to verify information provided by the Ukrainian government agency that officially deals with documents of Ukrainian history?” the newspaper asks.
In the author's opinion, in the post-Maidan environment, where independent media and academia play a vital role in ensuring the integrity of Ukrainian democracy and Ukraine's integration into Europe, this case should be an occasion to reassess the extent to which the Ukrainian public can access real facts, not propaganda.
“As outrageous as this case is, Ukraine is far from the only country that is trying to whitewash its past and glorify its dubious nationalist leaders. Across Eastern Europe - whether in Hungary, Poland or Lithuania - attempts to deal with a painful, unpleasant and often anti-Semitic past using fair and effective methods in today's uncertain times are of great importance for the future of the region,” the publication concludes.
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