Stepan Bandera was a Ukrainian fascist, nationalist and Nazi-collaborator who led the Bandera faction of the OUN (Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists).
Life
Bandera was born on 1 January 1909 in the village of Staryi Uhryniv, located in the eastern part of Galicia, the easternmost province of the Habsburg Empire.[1] He was involved in the nationalist movement from a very early age. He joined the UVO, a precursor to the OUN, in 1927, shortly before moving Lvov.[1] The OUN was established in 1929, which the UVO merged into. Bandera became active in the nationalist movement, being arrested many times by Polish authorities until the Nazi invasion of Poland.
When the Nazis invaded Poland, Bandera escaped from prison and continued to organize with other nationalists under the new Nazi government. While most Ukrainian nationalists at the time were not anti-semitic, Bandera was a pioneer. Bandera even petitioned the Nazi governor of Poland, Hanz Frank, to kill all the Jews and Poles in what he considered to be Ukrainian territories.[1]
Rise to leadership
A split grew in the OUN as some members didn't trust the Nazis. On February 10th, 1940, Bandera gathered members that supported the Nazis in Krakow to proclaim a new organization - the OUN-B (OUN-Bandera).
Participation in the Holocaust
Rehabilitation
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Rossolinski-Liebe, Grzegorz (2015). Stepan Bandera: The Life and Afterlife of a Ukrainian Nationalist. Columbia University Press. ISBN 9783838266848