The Nazi Occupation Regime in the Kirovohrad Region in 1941–1944: The Problem of Overcoming the Stereotypes of Soviet Historiography

Abstract

The article provides a historiographical analysis of recent local history studies devoted to the history of the Nazi occupation regime in the Kirovohrad region during the period of 1941–1944. The author highlights and emphasizes significant differences in the interpretation of the nature of the Holocaust within the framework of regional history and focuses on the evolution of scholarly views on this issue from the early 1990s to the present day. The author undertakes a constructive critique of personal sources and periodicals used in the works of local historians, as well as identifies erroneous estimates of losses and inaccuracies in certain facts related to the coverage of the Holocaust in the region.

The study of the problematic field of research on the history of the Kirovohrad region during the occupation of the General District of Mykolaiv (“Kreisgebiet Nikolajew”) of the Reichskommissariat Ukraine made it possible to identify new approaches to interpreting the forms and methods of activity of the marching (expeditionary) groups of the OUN-B and OUN-M in the Central Ukrainian region, particularly in the city of Kirovohrad and in the towns and villages of the Kirovohrad region. It is noted that due to the considerable efforts of local historians, the probable number of nationalist insurgents and the locations of their organizations were determined, and ultimately a collective portrait of an OUN activist was created as a reflection of a specific, conditional social cross-section of wartime society.

An integral component of the occupation regime was the everyday life of the civilian population. The author analyzes studies devoted to various forms of collaboration, as well as the organization of daily life and labor in the towns and villages of the Kirovohrad region during 1941–1944.