Galicians In The Carpathian Sich People’s Defense Organization

Abstract

In the article the author examines the influence of Ukrainians from the Ukrainian lands occupied by the Polish state on the formation of the paramilitary structure of Carpathian Ukraine - the Organization ofNational Defense «Carpathian Sich» in 1938­1939. According to the researcher, Galician radicalism was misunderstood by some Transcarpathian public and political figures who were not ready to quickly distance themselves from Czechoslovakia and build statehood. The political struggle within the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists did not contribute to the effective work of Galicians in the autonomy. However, the Galicians’ focus on building an independent state and relying on their own armed forces was justified. The culmination of the sacrifices of Galicians for the sake of Carpathian Ukraine was the armed confrontation with Czechoslovak troops and military resistance to the Hungarian occupation of the region in mid-March 1939.