BOOK NOTES

History of the Galicia Division covers complex historical issues

"On the Horns of a Dilemma: The Story of the Ukrainian Division Halychyna" by Taras Hunczak. Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, April 2000, 256pp., $44.50 (cloth).

"On the Horns of a Dilemma" provides a factual account of the history of the Ukrainian Division Halychyna (Galicia) during World War II. Much has been written and speculated about Division Halychyna, but Taras Hunczak, professor of history and political science at Rutgers University, employs his own research of primary sources to arrive at an accurate representation of the events surrounding this influential military unit.

Amid the flames of World War II, Ukrainians saw the opportunity to achieve independence, or at least some form of autonomy for their country. In an effort to avert the yoke of impending Soviet tyranny, the youth of Halychyna in 1943 enlisted in a newly formed volunteer division of the German army, called Division Halychyna.

Under the umbrella of the German army, this division fought on the front lines against the Soviet forces in western Ukraine and against Communist armies in Slovakia and Yugoslavia.

Prof. Hunczak's book traces the military exploits and political fortunes of Division Halychyna through 10 chapters that cover the division's organizational framework; recruitment; the Battle of Brody; the 1st Division of the Ukrainian National Army; prisoner of war camps; and other topics.

The author notes in his preface to the book that the Galicia Division, "despite its rather limited importance in the general constellation of forces in the struggle of giants known as World War II, has continued to be controversial in the United States, Canada and even in Great Britain. The basis for this interest in the division is its alleged participation in criminal operations against the civilian population."

"One does not hear of the many other non-German Waffen-SS divisions, but the Ukrainian Division seems to be important even 46 years after the last shot of World War II was fired. It was this seemingly politically motivated preoccupation with this Ukrainian formation, based frequently on either fragmentary information or even hearsay, that convinced me to look into the history of the unit," Dr. Hunczak explains.

Captivating and concise, "On the Horns of a Dilemma" explains complex historical issues regarding the Galicia Division with a reassuring measure of simplicity.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, September 10, 2000, No. 37, Vol. LXVIII

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