Photo: Jessica Zychowicz standing fourth from left, UCRDC volunteers, graduate students (seated).
An inquisitive and engaging group of University of Toronto graduate students were introduced to the UCRDC during a class field trip on March 23, 2016. Jessica Zychowicz, PhD and Post-doctoral Jacyk Fellow, teaches the course “Gender and Society in Modern Ukraine” and lead her class of MA candidates at the Centre for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (CERES), UofT on a visit to the Documentation Centre. The students showed interest in the UCRDC and its activities, particularly the recording of oral histories, for as a class they have read Martha Bohachevsky-Chomiak’s book Feminists Despite Themselves: Women in Ukrainian Community Life 1884-1939, and discussed women’s organizing activities in the 1920s-30s within the broader socio-political context of the early Soviet era.
Iroida Wynnyckyj, UCRDC Archivist, welcomed Dr. Zychowicz’s class to the Centre, introduced its staff and volunteers, and showed a promotional video giving them an initial overview of the Centre. Board member Nadia Luciw gave a tour of the Centre and introduced the students to the collections in the Archives. Next was a brief “stop” at the National Holodomor Awareness Tour (HNAT), with a welcome and explanation of the “Bus” project by Roma Dzerowicz. Following, UCRDC board member Chrystia Kolos informed the class and gave a user access demonstration on the online electronic catalogue of Oral Histories at the Centre.
After familiarizing themselves with the Holomodor Research and Education Consortium (HREC) which is located on UCRDC premises, the group returned to a more focused classroom setting by listening to a presentation of the bookExtraordinary Lives of Ordinary Women. The students had already become familiar in class with this compilation of twentieth century oral histories in women’s studies. As book editor, Ms. Wynnyckyj proposed that this study of primary source interviews as a collection could be re-titled appropriately as “extraordinary lives of extraordinary women”. Analysis of these life stories indicates that the Ukrainian women’s movement was characteristic of similar self-help women’s movements of emergent colonial countries since 1945, and an important dimension of East European and Soviet history. The participants then were treated to meet live one of the book’s subjects: Mrs. Volodymyra Luczkiw, UCRDC senior volunteer.
In the context of current events, Dr. Zychowicz later commented on the illegal imprisonment in Russia of Ukrainian pilot Nadia Savchenko which had been mentioned in passing, and after the UCRDC visit, will be discussed next in class in greater depth.
For added perspective, UCRDC volunteer Krystyna Kiszczuk Killam spoke about the lives of Ukrainian women as displaced persons and newly-arrived in Great Britain after World War II. To highlight the ongoing project activities at the Centre, UCRDC student researcher Zorianna Kulyk explained her work involvement around compiling a collection of testimonies of Ukrainians who rescued Jews during WWII, an initiative of the Ukrainian Jewish Encounter (UJE).
By John Pidkowich, UCRDC Board Member
tel.: 416-966-1819
fax: 416-966-1820
email: office@ucrdc.org
Contact Us:
The UCRDC produces documentary films, prepares educational materials, and sponsors lectures, conferences and exhibits on various topics related to Ukrainian issues.
It also functions as a resource centre with catalogued archives, oral histories (audio and video), photographs, memoirs and personal archives.
The UCRDC depends on voluntary donations – both individual and institutional - for its financing.
It provides receipts for tax purposes.
The one-hour documentary deals with the 1932-33 Famine-Genocide in Ukraine
Harvest of Despair
Between Hitler and Stalin: Ukraine in World War II, the Untold Story
The one-hour documentary recounts events in Ukraine on the brink and during the course of World WarII.
Archive
UCRDC Archive, established in 1988, acquires, preserves, and makes available documentary sources relevant to the Ukrainian Canadian Community. Access to the archival holdings is provided for legitimate researchers, academics and students. Materials available include ─ video and audio interviews, videos, films, photographs, documents, and books.
“In its archives, the UCRDC has a collection of oral history testimonies of Ukrainian Canadians who served in the Canadian Armed Forces during WWII ...
Oral History – Canadian Armed Forces
Travelling exhibit about the internment of Ukrainians in Canada, 1914-20, includes full text of the exhibit panels.
Exhibit included the showing of Yuri Luhovy’s film about internment, Freedom Had a Price
The Barbed Wire Solution
The UCRDC cooperates with Leonid Finberg of the Center for Studies of the History and Culture of East European Jews, Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, on the project "I am my brother's keeper."
Ukrainian - Jewish Relations
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В суботу 5 -ого березня 2016, через головний вхід Інституту
Св. Володимира ввійшов великий гурт дітей та молоді - члени осередку СУМ - Mississauga зі своєю головною булавною
Зоряною Кілик. Зоряна, під цю пору, працює в УКДДЦ над проєктом: 'Українці що допомагали жидам - євреям під час Голокосту". Як дбайлива виховниця, Зоряна дуже хотіла розказати дітям про Українсько-Канадський Дослідчо-Документаційний Центр та показати їм, що в Центрі зберігається та відбувається.
Діти мали змогу подивитися на анімаційний фільм 'My Baba's Kitchen' створений Стефцею Туренко. Стефця пояснила дітям як вона зацікавилася розповідями своєї бабуні і як це спонукало її створити фільм. Дівчинка у фільмі, допомагаючи своїй бабуні ліпити вареники, довідується, як бабуся приїхала до Канади і зустрілася з дідусем.
Цим коротеньким і дуже доступним фільмом молода канадська українка зуміла передати глядачам важливість родинної історії та збереження її для майбутніх поколінь.
Фото: Стефця Туренко розповідає дітям про фільм
Божена Ґембатюк
Молодь відвідує УКДДЦ
Academic Visits to UCRDC
Photo: UCRDC Archivist Iroida Wynnyckyj (left) meets with visiting Prof. Natalia Khanenko-Friesen, oral history program director, Ukrainian Heritage Research Centre, University of Saskatchewan
March 18, 2016
The groundbreaking oral history project Children of Holodomor Survivors Speak consists of interviews with children of the survivors of the Ukrainian Holodomor (genocidal famine) and is the first such project to address its impact on the lives of the second generation of survivors in the diaspora.
We are grateful to the Temerty family for their gift of support which made this project possible.
The 21 interviewees for this project are:
Children of Holodomor Survivors Speak
UCRDC Honoured by Mustafa Dzhemilev’s Visit
Mustafa Dzhemilev, leader of Crimean Tatars and elected Deputy in Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine’s Parliament) visited UCRDC May 19, 2016 during his short working visit to Canada, which was hosted by the Canadian Association of Crimean Tatars headed by Rustem Irsay.
Mr. Dzemilev was most impressed with the extent of topics and quality of materials found in the UCRDC Archives. Their importance is a benefit to Ukrainian Canadians and seen as a contribution to Canada in general.
Writing in the Crimean Tatar language, Mr. Dzhemilev commented in the UCRDC guest book on the significance of the Centre for Ukrainians and an example for every nation that seeks to preserve its archival documents and the truth about its own history.
(Left to right) Marta Baziuk, Elvira Saale, Bozhena Gembatiuk, Mustafa Dzhemilev, Rustem Irsay
Excerpts of Mustafa Dzhemilev’s comments in Ukrainian and English translations are found below.
"Трагічна доля українців, страшні злочини проти волелюбного народу, гірка історія, яку намагалися викреслити злочинці радянської влади - все це зібрано в цьому надзвичайному музеї. Вся правда, яку Ви збирали важким трудом, - дуже важлива для усього світу. Я вдячний Вам за Ваш неперевершений труд, мої брати та сестри, і вдячний всім людям, які допомогали Вам у Вашій відданій праці."
З пошаною, Мустафа Джемілєв
“The tragic fate of Ukrainians, terrible crimes against a freedom-loving people, a bitter history which the criminal Soviet regime attempted to eradicate – all this has been collected in this extraordinary museum. The entire truth which you have collected [here] with great effort and difficulty is very important for the whole world. I am grateful for your unsurpassed efforts, my brothers and sisters, and thank everyone who assisted you in your dedicated work.”
Mr. Dzhemilev writing in the UCRDC guest book
Members and collaborators of the UCRDC wish to express our great sadness at the passing of Orest Subtelny, our long-time historical advisor.
Orest Subtelny (1941-2016) was a Professor in the Department of History and Political Science at Toronto's York University. A prolific scholar, he is best known for his book "Ukraine a History", which was published by the University of Toronto Press in four additions to date (first edition 1988, fourth edition 2009).
The book has been translated into Ukrainian, Russian and other languages. The Ukrainian version is available as an audio-book (36 hrs and 36 min).
Please see Globe and Mail article/obituary about Orest Subtelny.
Globe and Mail Article Obituary on Orest Subtelny 22 VIII 2016.pdf
For more information:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orest_Subtelny
Дирекція, добровольці й адміністрація Українсько-Канадського Дослідчо-Документаційного Центру складають Родині і Друзям
св.п. Ореста Субтельного
Найщиріші Співчуття.
УКДДЦ особливо оцінює Його важливий науковий вклад в українську історію.
вічна йому пам’ять.
