“ENLIGHTENMENT HOUSES” IN VOLYN: PECULIARITIES OF THEIR EMERGENCE AND ACTIVITY (1931-1939)

• Ruslana Davydiuk

  Rivne State University for the Humanities

  https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0485-5121

The article deals with the circumstances of the appearance, forms of activity, and peculiarities of cooperation with the Polish authorities of the Ukrainian cultural and educational organisation «Prosvityanska Khata» (Enlightenment House), whose branches operated from 1931 to 1939 in the villages of the Volyn Voivodeship. It has been proved that the “Enlightenment Houses” represented the pro-government cultural and educational practices of Ukrainians in the Volyn Voivodeship. The methodology of the study is based on chronological, historical and cultural methods, as well as the method of analysis, which helped to clarify the circumstances of the creation of “Enlightenment Houses” within the framework of the “Volyn programme” of voivode Henryk Józewski, to show the forms of work of these cultural and educational centres and their importance for the national identity of Ukrainians. “Enlightenment Houses” began to appear in villages intended to replace the banned “Prosvita” and promote Ukrainian-Polish cooperation. The rapid development of the “Enlightenment Houses” was facilitated by the support of the voivodeship administration. The main forms of work were the distribution of Ukrainian books, newspapers, textbooks, opening libraries, reading rooms, concerts, founding drama clubs, organising national holidays, evenings on the occasion of Shevchenko’s Day, Christmas, Mother’s Day, academies in honour of Ukrainian figures, literary evenings with the participation of Ukrainian intellectuals, numerous courses, and supporting the ideas of Ukrainian-Polish mutual understanding. Later, It is proved that despite the difficulties and obstacles, the activities of the «Enlightenment Houses» were an important factor in preserving the national identity of local Ukrainians.

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