Dec
4
If your dziadek and babcia came from Galicia, did they ever say anything about their Ukrainian or Jewish neighbors?
The myths that immigrants from Galicia may have passed on to their American children and grandchildren were the starting point of a lecture Nov. 23, in Daemen College’s Wick Center. It was presented by Dr. Tomasz Pudlocki, a Jagiellonian historian who was invited to campus by Dr. Andrew Wise, associate professor of history. The lecture was given in support of the initiatives of the exchange program in history between Daemen and the university in Przemysl.
Existing from the late 18th to the early 20th centuries, Galicia was one of three partitions of Poland covering roughly what is now the southern part of the country and western Ukraine. It included Krakow, Lwow, and Przemysl and was part of Austria-Hungary at a time when Poland did not appear on the map. The three cultural groups living there were Polish, Ukrainian, and Jewish.
Dr. Pudlocki, himself a native of Przemysl, noted that Galicia was a typical Central European land with poverty and political tensions. But, he said, the land was mythologized by the Austrian rulers. Politicians use history as a tool to influence people’s way of thinking, he explained.
In the case of Galicia, Pudlocki said, the Austrian emperor wanted people to feel good about their country so he promoted the image of
neighbors living a happy, simple life in a land of abundant hills and small rivers. He wanted the residents to see how Austria was good for the region and that Austrian people wanted the place to be nice with all the pleasures of everyday life.
To that end, he established imperial clubs or bars, each typically displaying his picture on the wall. In effect, he sowed the seed of nationalism, a concept so popular that it changed people’s way of thinking.
Before World War I, Pudlocki said, neighbors were so intrigued by nationalism, chauvinism, that they did not live peacefully together any more; they perceived each other as the enemy. They began to characterize one another. In Galicia, Poles were believed to be noblemen and rulers, but not clever enough to regain independence The Jews were cunny merchants and businessmen while the Ukrainians were the peasants, always treated badly.
In Israel, the Jewish population perceived Galicia as a huge graveyard where only anti-Semitism existed, nothing more.
Nevertheless, Pudlocki maintains that the three cultural groups share a common heritage or history, one that can be divided into two periods, one prior to the 1850s and the other after 1860.
Prior to the 1850s, they lived in a small town territory where life went slowly ahead. They were far away from Vienna and they focused on their small life and pleasure.
But after 1860, they began catching up industrially. Ivan Franko wrote short stories about the Borislav Oil Field describing lots of workers, horrible conditions to live. There was huge pollution lack of ecological awareness and filth seen everywhere: shops, watering holes, train stations.
But it was during this period of industrialization that the people of Galicia grew up to democracy. City councils were formed and there was an unwritten rule that the deputy mayor had to be Jewish. Political parties formed and differing viewpoints were debated.
The army played a role in defining the common heritage of Galicia. Towns took pride in their military casinos, orchestras, and clubs. Moreover, there were beautiful avenues, boulevards, lots of fancy shops, and it was a time of prosperity.
There were two major universities, many colleges, and an abundance of cultural, economic, charity, and athletic organizations. Pudlocki also alluded to the theater, newspapers, and many artists, writers, and poets.
In addition, religious institutions transmitted patterns of behavior, norms, ways of thinking, and they were the inspiration and sponsor of initiatives (charity, culture, art, science). They were also the protectors of Polishness, Ukrainianess, Jewishness. Yet, Dr. Pudlocki offered a number of examples of how the Jewish assimilated to Polish culture.
At the end of World War I, however, nationalistic animosities were aroused when Poles fought with Ukrainians for land.
Dr. Pudlocki believes that while the church continues to promote sectarian sentiments, the descendants of Galicia are now doing their homework and arriving at the realization that they all share a common heritage. He anticipates that people from the diaspora, such as American students participating in the Daemen-Przemysl exchange program, can view history more objectively and help the residents of the former Galician territory understand that they have a common bond.
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