The Ukrainian opposition manifested itself primarily in the underground Ukrainian Partisan Army
(UPA):
The spread of the insurgent struggle acquired such strength that at the end of
the occupation the Germans were in control nowhere but in the cities of Ukraine
and made only daylight raids into the villages. ... They [the Ukrainian
guerrillas] espoused the idea of an independent Ukrainian state and the slogan
"neither Hitler nor Stalin." (Ukraine: A Concise Encyclopaedia, Volume 1, p.
884)
During the most intensive fighting against the Germans in the fall of 1943 and
the spring of 1944, the UPA numbered close to 40,000 men.... Among major
losses inflicted upon the enemy by the UPA, the following should be mentioned:
Victor Lutze, chief of the SS-Sicherungsabteilung, who was killed in battle in
May, 1943.... (Ukraine: A Concise Encyclopaedia, Volume 2, pp. 1089-1091)
Up to 200 innocent Ukrainians were executed for one German attacked by
guerrillas. In spite of this a total of 460,000 German soldiers and officers
were killed by partisans in Ukraine during the War. (Andrew Gregorovich, World
War II in Ukraine, Forum, No. 92, Spring 1995, p. 21)
Photograph of partisans
executed by the Nazis.
Photograph of young woman executed by the Nazis, and
young man about to be executed, for partisan activities.
If Morley Safer feels impelled to instruct 60 Minutes viewers that Ukrainians were loyal Nazis,
then he should also pause to explain how it is that the Ukrainians were able to reconcile their
loyalty with German contempt:
When the time came to appoint the Nazi ruler of Ukraine, Hitler chose Erich
Koch, a notoriously brutal and bigoted administrator known for his personal
contempt for Slavs. Koch's attitude toward his assignment was evident in the
speech he delivered to his staff upon his arrival in Ukraine in September 1941:
"Gentlemen, I am known as a brutal dog. Because of this reason I was appointed
as Reichskommissar of Ukraine. Our task is to suck from Ukraine all the goods
we can get hold of, without consideration of the feelings or the property of
the native population." On another occasion, Koch emphasized his loathing for
Ukrainians by remarking: "If I find a Ukrainian who is worthy of sitting at the
same table with me, I must have him shot." (Orest Subtelny, Ukraine: A
History, 1994, p. 467)
Koch often said that Ukrainian people were inferior to the Germans, that
Ukrainians were half-monkeys, and that Ukrainians "must be handled with the
whip like the negroes." (Andrew Gregorovich, World War II in Ukraine, Forum,
No. 92, Spring 1995, p. 15)
If Morley Safer wishes to proclaim to the 60 Minutes audience that Ukrainians were enthusiastic
Nazis, then he should simultaneously explain how Ukrainians were able to maintain their
enthusiasm as 2.3 million of them were being shipped off to forced labor in Germany:
By early 1942, Koch's police had to stage massive manhunts, rounding up young
Ukrainians in bazaars or as they emerged from churches or cinemas and shipping
them to Germany. (Orest Subtelny, Ukraine: A History, 1994, p. 469)
If Morley Safer insists on announcing to 60 Minutes viewers that Ukrainians were devoted Nazis,
then he should explain to these viewers how Ukrainians were able to maintain their devotion when
the Kiev soccer team - Dynamo - beat German teams five games in a row, and then received the
German reward:
Most of the team members were arrested and executed in Babyn Yar, but they are
not forgotten. There is a monument to them in Kiev and their heroism inspired
the film Victory starring Sylvester Stallone and Pele. (Andrew Gregorovich,
World War II in Ukraine, Forum, No. 92, Spring 1995, p. 21)
If Morley Safer will not swerve from his position that Ukrainians were keen on Naziism, then he
should explain how Ukrainians were able to maintain their keenness when their cities were being
starved:
Koch drastically limited the flow of foodstuffs into the cities, arguing that
Ukrainian urban centers were basically useless. In the long run, the Nazis
intended to transform Ukraine into a totally agrarian country and, in the short
run, Germany needed the food that Ukrainian urban dwellers consumed. As a
result, starvation became commonplace and many urban dwellers were forced to
move to the countryside. Kiev, for example, lost about 60% of its population.
Kharkiv, which had a population of 700,000 when the Germans arrived, saw
120,000 of its inhabitants shipped to Germany as laborers; 30,000 were executed
and about 80,000 starved to death.... (Orest Subtelny, Ukraine: A History,
1994, p. 469)
Among the first actions of the Nazis upon occupying a new city was to plunder it of its
intellectual and cultural treasures, material as well as human, and yet somehow - if we are to
believe Morley Safer - being so plundered failed to dampen the enthusiasm of the Ukrainians for
Naziism:
Co. 4 in which I was employed seized in Kiev the library of the medical
research institute. All equipment, scientific staff, documentation and books
were shipped out to Germany.
