World that no Longer Exists – the Common History of Poles and Ukrainians: Jakimowicz M. Świat, który już nie istnieje. Polskie i ukraińskie opowieści biograficzne (1918–1956)

Abstract

One of the important historical sources are the accounts of eyewitnesses to history. They build an oral history that allows us to look at the facts – known from other primary sources – from a different perspective. It is especially important in situations when the historian meets conflicting national narratives, which create their own myths and are used in political games both internal and external, strengthening their own party electorate and influencing the foreign policy of a given country. Narratives are reinforced by the media and promoted by political elites. The history of Poland and Ukraine is full of conflicting narratives. Marcelina Jakimowicz, in her book “Świat, który już nie istnieje. Polskie i ukraińskie opowieści biograficzne (1918–1956)” analysed very well the memoirs of people who were born in Eastern Galicia in Polish-Ukrainian families, survived the Second World War and either left for Poland or stayed in Ukraine. In this way, she showed many aspects of the life of this very distinctive social group. It was a such group whose world, shaped in the pre-war multinational Borderlands, no longer exists.