Ukraine : Clash of nationalisms during two world wars

Conference-debate (in French) with  Alain Colignon (CegeSoma/State Archives) as guest speaker

A discussion led by Chantal Kesteloot (CegeSoma/State Archives)

Both in the First and in the Second World War, Ukraine was the theatre of a fierce struggle between two major nationalisms, disguised in an imperial form: that represented by the German Reich - in two different versions - and that embodied by the Russian-Soviet state. Whoever controls these rich arable lands whose soils are abundant in resources of all kinds (coal, gas, bauxite, ...) and located in a key geopolitical area, would also have direct or indirect power over vast parts of the Black Sea and hold a valuable connection to the oilfields of Kuban and the Caucasus.
But in spite of these antagonistic ambitions, the Ukrainian peoples were able, by trial and error and often under a lot of hardship, to build the core of a nation, a state framework... and even to keep it alive through the vicissitudes of history from 1914 to 1945.
The non-profit association “The Friends of CegeSoma” invites you to discover this part of history in order to be able to better understand the challenges of our times.

Alain Colignon  is a historian from the University of Liège. He heads the library of CegeSoma/State Archives since many years.
Furthermore, he is the author of various works on the history of occupation and private life of the population in wartimes; he also specialises in the study of wartime collaboration and resistance, and currently works on a publication about Walloon society between 1930 and 1940.