During the conference, the organizers wish to discuss issues that so far have not been given much attention at international conferences, namely the social issues and the relations between Poles, Ukrainians, and Jews in the Ukrainian-Polish borderlands under the German occupation and the Holocaust 1941–1944. These issues, although dealt with by individual researchers in those countries, have not yet been studied comparatively, which, in turn, would make it possible to compare and confront research results.  This is particularly important, given that those territories were the scene of the 'Final Solution'.

The conference aims at a meeting and joint effort in dealing with issues concerning the Borderlands region (Western Ukraine), and an exchange of experiences and research approaches by Polish, Ukrainian, and Israeli scholars. It is our intention that this conference develop into an extended comparative workshop and initiate dialog as well as facilitate contacts between scholars who deal with the history and social life of Poles, Ukrainians, and the fate of the Jews that inhabited those territories. By this initiative, the organizers hope that it will become a springboard for further fruitful cooperation and exchange, as well as for educational projects aimed at the dissemination of the knowledge of these issues.

The conference is organized by the Polish Center for Holocaust Research of the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, of the Polish Academy of Sciences and it’s Association, represented by Jakub Petelewicz  with the Ukrainian TKUMA Center, represented by its director, Dr. Igor Shchupak. The Israeli coordinator is Dr. Aharon Weiss (JOINT, Jerusalem).

During the conference we would like to explore the following essential issues:

- Ukrainians, Poles, Jews in the eve and in the face of Nazi occupation and the Holocaust

- Issues of the Ukrainian national idea development and attitude to “Polish” and “Jewish” questions;

- “Ukrainian” and “Jewish’ questions before Polish eyes: political, military and social aspects;

- Jews during the Holocaust period, facing the “Ukrainian” and “Polish” questions.

Conference languages: Polish, Ukrainian, Russian.

Detailed program will e announced at the end of May 2009

Contacts:

Polska:                                                           Ukraina:

Jakub Petelewicz                                             Igor Shchupak

e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it                e-mail:  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it     This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

tel: +48 603 257 594                                         tel: +38-0562-38-69-12,

fax: +48 22 657 28 74                                       fax: +38-056-778-05-95,

cell: +38-050-340-45-66