Information on the thesis

This dissertation gives analysis and generalization of French politics towards
Eastern Galicia in 1918–1923.The unknown aspects of the activity of A. Willaime
and J. Barthelemy military missions in the Galician region were investigated. It was
established that the main factors influencing the formation of the French policy
towards Eastern Galicia were oil and geopolitical interests, in particular, the desire
to organize “a bulwark against Bolshevism” in Eastern Europe. It was found that
during investigated period six Ukrainian missions and organizations operated in
Paris. Propaganda activities of these missions and their links with French political,
military and public figures have been explored.
In the first section – “Historiography, source base, theoretical and
methodological basis of the research” – the methodological principles of work are
characterized, the general level of knowledge about the topics is analyzed and the
main groups of sources are described. It was established that the topic of Ukrainian-
French relations in 1918–1923 was studied insufficiently. Available studies are too
fragmentary, methodologically obsolete and contain inaccuracies. This work is
based on a wide range of materials, in particular, official documents, modern press,
memoirs, private and business correspondence. A large part of unpublished sources
was found in the funds of Ukrainian, Polish and French archives, namely the Central
State Historical Archive in Lviv, the Archive of the Ministry of Defense of France,
the Archive of New Acts in Warsaw, the Library of Symon Petliura in Paris etc. In
this chapter general scientific and special methods of historical research and the
basic principles of scientific knowledge on which this work is based on are
described.
In the second chapter – “French military missions in Eastern Galicia” –
activities of French delegates A. Willaime and J. Barthèlemy who visited Lviv
during the Ukrainian-Polish conflict are described. A number of key facts from the
Henri Willaime biography, his name and military rank, as well as details of his
travels in the Galician region, are specified. The main aspects of the missions under
the chairmanship of Joseph Barthélemy were explored. It was proved that in winter
of 1919 two separate missions, headed by this general, and not one, as it was
considered previously, visited Lviv. It was established that the first of these
missions arrived in Galicia to clarify the circumstances of the Jewish pogrom that
took place in November 1918.
In the third section – “Factors of France’s policy towards Eastern Galicia” – it
is established that the impact on French policy in this region was determined by
economic and geopolitical factors. In particular, it was established that the French
government and the oil industry benefited greatly from the transfer of disputed
territories under the Polish rule. It was found that Eastern Galicia played a
significant role in French plans for the creation of a large and strong Poland, capable
of resisting both Germany and Bolshevik Russia. The genesis of the concept of
“bulwark of Europe” in its Ukrainian and Polish versions was analyzed. Rhetoric of
supporters of Polish (F. Foch, J. Barthèlemy, H. Grappin, E. de Renty, J.
Clémenceau) and Ukrainian (A. Alby, J. Segonne, R. Degouy, J. Pélissier) variant
was studied.
In the fourth chapter – “French Influences in the Ukrainian-Polish Discourse
towards Eastern Galicia” – activities of major Ukrainian missions and organizations
in Paris during 1919–1923, such as the Extraordinary Diplomatic Missions of the
UPR in Paris, the Galician Bureau, the Ukrainian National Committee, Ukrainian
Action Committee, Delegation of Western Ukraine (Galicia) and Carpatho-
Russkaya (Moskvofil) delegation was explored. Their contacts with French political
and public figures, in particular J. Clémanceaux, F. Fosch, J. Pélisier, A. Franklin-
Bouillon, G. de Gailhard-Bancel and others, were analyzed. Positions of these
figures towards resolving fate of Eastern Galicia are determined. It is proved that
propaganda activity of Ukrainian representatives in France were considerably
inferior to their competitors – Poles and Russians, which became one of the reasons
for the defeat of the Ukrainian struggle for Eastern Galicia.
Key words: Henry Willaime, Joseph Barthélemy, Eastern Galicia,
Drohobych–Boryslav oil region, bulwark of Europe, Paris Peace Conference,
Ukrainian People’s Republic mission in Paris, West Ukrainian People’s Republic
mission in Paris.