Searching for Place: Ukrainian Displaced Persons, Canada, and the Migration of Memory

Myroslav Shkandrij is head of the Department of German and Slavic
Studies at the University of Manitoba and the editor of The Cultural
Renaissance in Ukraine: Polemical Pamphlets, 1925–1926.

Searching for Place is a story of the Ukrainian displaced persons who
came to Canada after the Second World War. The main narrative describes
the political complexion of the Ukrainian community in Canada, how this
community tried to aid refugees in Western Europe at the war’s end,
the responses of both Western powers and Canadian authorities to these
efforts, and the manner in which this historical episode has
subsequently been represented. The author draws on first-hand
accounts—interviews, archival documents, and correspondence.

In order to explain the issues, Luciuk delves into a number of related
topics: the relations between communists and nationalists in Canada, the
government surveillance of both communist and nationalist groups, the
debate concerning the presence of war criminals in Canada, the Ukrainian
Division “Galicia,” Jewish–Ukrainian relations, and press coverage
of issues.

The nature of this postwar immigration to Canada, the government’s
screening of the new arrivals, and the public to their resettlement are
among the controversial topics Luciuk addresses. He demonstrates the
refusal in Western circles to countenance the refugees’ political
aspirations (an independent Ukraine), and the prejudice against this
emigration that stemmed from their appearance as an unwelcome
complication in Allied–Soviet relations. Western powers did not
recognize Ukrainians as a nationality and were prepared to send back
most refugees to the USSR in accordance with the terms of the Yalta
agreement. The lobbying and relief work of the Ukrainians from
Canada—and the desperate efforts of the refugees
themselves—succeeded, at least partially, in overcoming these
attitudes and saving many from a summary execution. Particularly
shocking are the frequently cynical and callous attitudes expressed
toward the refugees by Canadian government personnel who in the name of
political expediency often turned a blind eye to the brutalities of
Soviet rule.

Functioning as a subtext throughout the book is the evolution of a
distinctly Canadian identity among Ukrainian immigrants. This sometimes
led to a conflict between earlier immigrations and recently arrived
Ukrainians, bringing with it the realization that Ukrainian life in
Canada had produced a different mentality and sensibility. Luciuk
explores this tension, suggesting that the revolutionary fervor of
nationalists gradually gave way to a refocusing onto local issues.

Extensive footnotes, bibliographical information, and a detailed index
provide the interested reader with numerous leads for further
investigation.