The Intellectual Environment of the Formation of Ukrainian Oriental Studies in Emigration in West Germany (1945–1952)
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: A comprehensive analysis of the formation and development of Ukrainian Oriental studies in West Germany during the DP period (1945–1952) is carried out for the first time based on a wide range of little-known sources. The main attention is focused on the process of institutionalization of Oriental studies in the Ukrainian Free Academy of Sciences and the Ukrainian Black Sea (since 1945 – Maritime) Institute, which functioned as institutions alternative to Soviet science and were aimed at preserving and developing Ukrainian humanities in post-war forced emigration. Libraries were part of the institution structure, enabling the conduct of research. Particular attention is devoted to individual scholars–orientalists whose studies in the fields of Egyptology and history of nomadic peoples on Ukrainian lands, Ukrainian-Turkish and Ukrainian-Crimean Tatar relations, the liberation struggle of the Crimean Tatar people in the twentieth century, and the history and culture of India and Turkey as well, laid the foundation for the further development of Ukrainian Oriental studies in exile. The role of camp periodicals and publishing initiatives in Oriental studies promotion is also highlighted. Based on the biographical sketches by Marko Antonovych, Vasyl Dubrovskyi, Edige Kirimal, Omelian Pritsak, Abdullah Soysal, and others, a collective portrait has been created of the researchers-orientalists who united in the Oriental Studies Group, later, the Section of the Ukrainian Free Academy of Sciences. It is established that the Ukrainian Oriental studies centers and researchers constituted an important integral part of the intellectual environment emerged in the DP camps. The institutionalization of Ukrainian Oriental studies during the DP period was of great importance, as it ensured the coordination of the scholarly activities of Ukrainian scientists, created conditions for their communication, and facilitated the formation of a shared methodological field. Members of the Oriental Studies Group, later the Oriental Studies Section of the Ukrainian Free Academy of Sciences, outlined key focuses in the development of the Oriental studies and initiated regular scholarly research, conferences, and discussions, which became a crucial factor in preserving the continuity of the national tradition in Oriental studies in emigration and laid the foundation for the establishment of Ukrainian Oriental studies as a distinct scientific field.
Source: The World of the Orient
Authors: Alla Atamanenko, Halyna Klynova-Datsiuk
Language: English
Subfield: Religious studies
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7220932317