International Conference

Ukrainian-Polish-German-Jewish Dialogue

May 12 - 13, 2004, Lviv

Bertelsmann Foundation (Germany)
Independent Cultural Journal “Ї” (Lviv, Ukraine)

Topics

1. “Ukrainians, Poles, Jews, and Germans”

2. “Jewish Life Today: Ukraine and Germany”

3. “New Borders and Border Regions in Europe – Ukraine Between the European Union and Russia”

List of Participants
Photos

Programme

Wednesday, May 12, 2004

05:00 p.m. Welcome

Olexander Sendega      
Head, Lviv Regional State Administration

Werner Weidenfeld
Member of the Executive Board, Bertelsmann Foundation, Guetersloh; Director of the Centre for Applied Policy Research at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich

Lord Weidenfeld of Chelsea
Chairman, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London

05:30 p.m. Ukrainians, Jews, Poles and Germans

Myroslav Popovych
Director, Institute for Philosophy, Kiev

Rita Süssmuth
Former President of the German Bundestag; Member of the Board of Trustees, Bertelsmann Foundation, Berlin

Konstanty Gebert
Publisher, “Midrasz” Monthly, Warsaw

Shlomo Avineri
Professor, Political Science; Hebrew University; Former Director-General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jerusalem

08:00 p.m.  Dinner

Dinner Speaker:
Avigdor Lieberman
Minister of Transport of the State of Israel, Jerusalem

Thursday, May 13, 2004

09:00 a.m. Jewish Life Today: Ukraine and Germany

Leonid Finberg
Director, Institute of Jewish Studies, Kiev

Zvi Gitelman
Dept. of Political Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Rachel Salamander
Director, “Literaturhandlung“, Munich/ Berlin/ Vienna; Publisher, “Literarische Welt“, Munich

11:00 a.m. Coffee break

11:30 a.m. Europe´s New Borders and Border Regions – Ukraine Between European Union and Russia

Borys Tarasyuk
Former Foreign Minister; Deputy and Head of the “Narodnyj Ruch Ukrainy” Faction, Verkhovna Rada, Chairman, Parliamentary Committee on European Integration; Director, Institute for Euro-Atlantic Cooperation, Kiev

Bogumila Berdychowska
Head, Department for Cultural Development and International Cooperation, The National Centre for Culture, Warsaw

Dietmar Stuedemann      
Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, Kiev

01:30 p.m. Lunch

03:00 p.m. Ethnic and religious Identities and the Development of the Ukrainian Nation – Introduction and Tour of the historical Center of Lviv

Vasyl Kujbida
Former Mayor of Lviv; Deputy Chairman, “Narodnyj Ruch Ukrainy”, Kiev

Taras Voznyak
Adviser to Head of Lviv Regional State Administration, International Cooperation; Chairman and Editor- in-Chief, “Ji”, Lviv

08:00 p.m.Dinner
Dinner Speaker:
Adam Michnik
Editor in Chief, “Gazeta Wyborcza”, Warsaw

List of Participants

“Ukrainians, Poles, Jews, and Germans”

The Current Situation

An independent, non-communist Ukraine was declared in 1917. But the country was not able to maintain independence for long. Its borders were never identical with those of the modern state. During much of its history the Ukrainian people stood in the shadow of their two large neighbours, the Polish and the Russians.

The Jewish population suffered considerably even before the Shoah committed by Germans, as a result of recurring confrontations between Russians, Ukrainians and Poles. In the 19^th century, Ukraine formed the core of the Pale of Settlement of Jews. The Jewish community in Ukraine is one of the oldest and most culturally rich in the world. Over the course of more than a thousand years, it influenced Jewish religion and culture. The history of Hassidism and that of Zionism would not be what they are today if not for the influence of Ukrainian Jews.

Ukraine today is a multi-ethnic country with a number of religious minorities. In contrast to many other former Soviet republics, Ukraine did not experience massive ethnic or religious conflict as a result of independence.

20^th century history, World War II and the Shoah have seriously affected the way that Ukrainians, Poles, Jews and Germans perceive each other. A significant degree of mistrust and prejudice lingers, yet new historical perspectives can increase interest in positive aspects of shared history.

Problems

Repeated conquest and division of the country, the murder of the elite and resistance fighters by the Communists as well as by the Nazis were traumatic key experiences for Ukrainians, Poles and Jews. The genocide of Jews virtually destroyed one of the largest and most important Jewish communities in the world.

Ukrainians, Poles and Jews were all, in different ways, victims of both the Communists and the Nazis. Even after the war, negative stereotypes of the “other” affected each group’s collective history. Many investigations into the behaviour of individuals during the war, about the mass murder of Jews or expulsions of entire populations were either answered from a non-objective perspective or were not discussed. This allowed a vicious circle of clichés and half-truths about those who committed atrocities, their helpers and victims to flourish.

A shift in the political and societal situation made it possible for historians to undertake unbiased research into the relationships between Ukrainians, Poles, Jews and Germans, which continues today. Aspects of each individual group’s history, forced exile and restitution are often painful elements in this discussion. They enable a search for a common denominator, and examination of the fascinating multi-faceted relationship between these groups, especially in western Ukraine, in the areas once known as Galicia and Bukovina.

Few complex relationships offer as much material for future research as that between Ukrainians, Poles, Jews and Germans. Ukrainian-Polish-Jewish-German reconciliation, which must be discussed with a sense of responsibility for the past, remains an important challenge in the process of European integration.

Questions for Discussion

How did the relationships between Ukrainians, Poles Jews and Germans change over the course of history?

Can the diverging versions of history be brought together to form a common historical narrative?

What positive experiences do Ukrainians, Poles, Jews and Germans share?

How can Ukrainians, Poles, Jews and Germans build bridges to encourage reconciliation, beyond what occurs on a government level?

What role does anti-Semitism – whether Ukrainian, Polish, or German – play in this debate?

Goals for Discussion

The initial round of discussions should shed light on the development of mutual perceptions. The discussion should lead to new questions focusing on common experiences.

“Jewish Life Today: Ukraine and Germany”

The Current Situation

More than a decade after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the resulting mass exodus of Jews from the former USSR, mostly from Russia and Ukraine, less than 500,000 Jews remain in Ukraine. Most of those who left settled in Israel, but many went to the United States or to Germany.

A renaissance of Jewish belief and culture began in earnest in Central and Eastern Europe in the late 1980s. Sudden relief from government sanctions against religious practice and accompanying pressures to assimilate meant that a new, self-confident Jewish identity could develop, one that would have been impossible a generation earlier.

Problems

The mass exodus of Jews has had dramatic demographic repercussions. More than half of the current Jewish population in Ukraine are elderly. Most are in desperate need of social, medical and, of course, financial support; their pensions do not suffice for their basic needs. Jewish communities in Ukraine are striving to meet these needs, with assistance from international Jewish organisations and local business people.

The development of Jewish cultural and social support in Ukraine has had the effect that mixed marriages no longer automatically result in assimilation. Members of such families now often identify themselves as Jewish. Yet these people often lack the most rudimentary instruction in their faith, due to Communist repression. They desperately need assistance in learning about their own culture and religion.

In Germany, Jews today can hardly fall back on the traditions of the community that the Nazis expelled and murdered. As with other communities of “New Jews” in Europe, today’s German Jewish community differs greatly from that of the pre-war period. They have complex ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds, numerous loyalties and identities and form a heterogeneous group. Integration of a large influx of non-religious Jews from the GUS is a mammoth task facing Jewish communities in Germany today.

The multi-faceted kaleidoscope of backgrounds, identities and degrees of familiarity with tradition may enable new Jewish identities in Ukraine, Germany as well as in other European countries. Following centuries of discrimination and persecution, Jews in Europe today are able to determine how and where they live. The revitalisation process of Jewish culture is still in its infancy and its outcome has yet to be seen. In Germany, for example, there is considerable non-Jewish interest in Jewish history, culture and in the religion itself.

Yet it would be premature to speak of “normality” in terms of Jewish life in Germany. As ever, or perhaps even more than in recent years, Jews often feel discriminated against or under threat.

Questions for Discussions

What social, cultural and political problems do Jewish communities face in Ukraine and in Germany?

What kind of assistance do Jewish communities require to meet the various challenges they face?

How have the non-Jewish populations in Germany and in Ukraine reacted to the renaissance of Jewish life in their respective countries?

What are the roles played by Israel and the conflict in the Middle East in relationships between Jews and non-Jews in Ukraine, in Germany, and in Europe in general?

Goals for Discussion

The participants have the opportunity to discuss the possibilities and perspectives for Jewish life in Ukraine and in Germany. The issue of whether a “new anti-Semitism” exists will be discussed at this juncture.

“New Borders and Border Regions in Europe – Ukraine Between the European Union and Russia”

The Current Situation

After the close of the Cold War, Ukraine found itself in a precarious situation, caught between two geopolitical forces: An expanding European Union and NATO on one hand, and an unstable reintegration of the former Soviet Union under Russia on the other.

In contrast to its Central European neighbours, Ukraine could not count on joining the European Union right away. This left Ukraine rather dependent on Russia.

Another factor is that Ukraine historically was at the cradle of the Russian concept of statehood by virtue of the medieval Kievan Rus, whereas western Ukraine (once known as Galicia), was – from the Middle Ages and for years to follow – part of the Polish-Lithuanian state. Later, the concept of “Mitteleuropa” (Central Europe) of the Imperial and Royal Empire was promoted from was Galicia and Bukovina, cobbled together under the Habsburg system.

This Ukrainian swinging from East to West is often called a culture conflict. In this scheme, western Ukraine is synonymous with Europe while eastern Ukraine is seen as being pan-Slavic or Eurasian.

At the same time, the issue of identity is hotly debated within the European Union. The European Union increasingly is equated with Europe itself. This lends ever-greater significance to questions of boundaries.

Problems

The strategic challenge facing Ukraine is to settle its relationship with its neighbours. In terms of the European Union, political and economic transformation towards a full-fledged democracy and market economy is necessary so that the two can come closer. On the other hand, the continuation of close co-operation with other GUS countries, especially Russia, is as essential as ever.

With the entry of Poland, Slovakia and Hungary into the European Union in May, 2004, the Union’s eastern border is with Ukraine. This has forced these new members of the Union to introduce a visa requirement for Ukrainian citizens. This not only has economic effects on border traffic; it has serious psychological consequences. There is a danger that Ukrainians who look west will perceive these measures as analogous to a new “Iron Curtain”, a cordon sanitaire.

The European Union must have clear ideas of how relationships with its eastern neighbours, including Ukraine, Belarus and Moldavia, ought to develop. In contrast to the countries that now have joined the EU, the populations in these countries feel a strong attachment both to Europe and to Russia. This also raises the issue of European demarcation, which keeps Russia at an arm’s length.

Questions for Discussion

What effects will the eastern enlargement of the European Union have on its relationship with Ukraine?

What consequences will this have on economic and political transformation in Ukraine?

How can the European Union assist economic and political progress in Ukraine without overstretching itself while helping new member states integrate into the Union?

What role can Russia play in this context?

Which scenarios are plausible regarding the further development of Ukraine between Russia and the European Union?

Goals for Discussion

Discussion should evaluate opportunities and risks involved in Ukraine’s further development of relations with the European Union and Russia.