The Conversation Between Stepan Bandera and a Representative of the British Foreign Office: An Unknown Document from the British National Archives

Abstract

The aim of this research is to introduce into scholarly circulation a document titled «Account of a conversation with Stephen BANDERA the Ukrainian emigre leader had with the C.E. King on 20th November [1951]». The document contains records of a meeting between Stepan Bandera, the leader of the Foreign Units of the Ukrainian Nationalist Organization (ZCh OUN), and a representative of the British government, C.E. King, on November 20, 1951. The document is located in the British National Archives as part of the Foreign Office documents collection, which encompasses documents related to Britain's foreign policy from 1762 to 1968. The research methodology involves publication in accordance with the basic rules of archeography, accompanied by comments and a brief introductory article on the historical context of the period when the document emerged. The published document is part of File No. 371, «Foreign Office: Political Departments: General Correspondence from 1906-1966» which contains the political departments' correspondence from 1906 to 1966, including the period of World War II. The meeting with Bandera likely took place in the autumn of 1951 with former representatives of the intelligence department, which was closed in 1946. The scientific novelty of the publication lies in being the first official document from the British Foreign Office published in Ukrainian archeography, which documents the fact of the meeting and conversation with Stepan Bandera. The document was classified as «Top Secret» and was declassified on June 5, 2014. The obtained copies of the document contain closed sections that likely mention personal information about the intelligence department officer present at the meeting, as well as Bandera's request for assistance to the Ukrainian national movement. The conclusions drawn from the published document capture Stepan Bandera's demands and proposals to the British government regarding assistance and support for the Ukrainian liberation movement operating on the territory of the Ukrainian SSR. The representative of the British agency expressed the intention to consider possibilities for providing assistance to the Bandera group, as British intelligence had already provided them support in organizing parachute missions in the western regions of the Ukrainian SSR in the spring of 1951.