The Ukrainian Question in the Swiss Press 1914–1918

Abstract

A significant area of interest of the Swiss press during the First World War was the issue of the right to self-determination of nations, in particular small or emerging ones. This subject became part of Switzerland’s image policy attaching great importance to liberation ideals. One of the nations that were in the field of interest of the Swiss in this context was the Ukrainians. Relatively scant knowledge on them, and frequent cases of confusing them with representatives of the neighboring nations required the introduction of the issue of Ukrainian identity to the readers, which was the main reason for press publications concerning the Ruthenians (Rusins) in the first months of the war. The changing geopolitical situation, the shifting front lines and the defining of their own political expectations by the Ukrainians over the next years accordingly changed the Swiss perspective. The most important stages in the presentation of the Ukrainian question in the Swiss press during the war were: the capture of Galicia by the Russians in September 1914, the Austro-German offensive in the summer of 1915, the conceptualization of Ukraine’s political future throughout 1916, as well as the Brest negotiations and involvement of Ukraine in the German plan of „Mitteleuropa”. The fall of the idea of Ukraine’s independence prevented the verification of Swiss opinions about this nation and its state-building capacities.