As part of the Summer School of the mentoring program “Roots and Wings: History That Unites,” history and humanities teachers from Ukrainian schools learned more about one of the key figures of the Ukrainian liberation movement — Colonel of the Ukrainian People’s Army (UNR), commander of the Sich Riflemen Corps, and founder and first leader of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, Yevhen Konovalets.
The lecture “Yevhen Konovalets: The Path of a Warrior and Statesman” was delivered by Oleksandr Kucheruk, historian and head of the “Museum of the Ukrainian Revolution” sector at the National Museum of the History of Ukraine. He spoke about Konovalets’ military and political path, his role in the struggle for Ukrainian statehood, the circumstances of Konovalets’ assassination, the commemoration of his memory, and the significance of his figure for understanding the Ukrainian liberation movement of the 20th century.
On the occasion of the return of Yevhen Konovalets’ remains to Ukraine, the teachers viewed unique museum items connected to the legendary Ukrainian statesman from the collections of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine. Among them were his Lithuanian passport, wristwatch, death mask, photographs, Konovalets’ manuscript, a cigarette case inscribed “Glory to Ukraine,” and other museum items.
The mentoring program “Roots and Wings: History That Unites,” implemented by the Pylyp Orlyk Foundation for history and humanities teachers at Ukrainian schools, helps educators, among other things, use museum spaces and historical heritage as tools of modern education.
As a reminder, on May 25 the exhibition “THE PATH OF HEROES. In Memory of Symon Petliura” opened at the National Museum of the History of Ukraine. This project, created with the support of the Pylyp Orlyk Foundation, has significant importance for restoring the integrity of Ukrainian historical memory — for the first time since independence, Ukraine can display in person the personal belongings of the Supreme Otaman of the UNR Army Symon Petliura, leading figures of the Ukrainian liberation movement Yevhen Konovalets and Andrii Melnyk, and items belonging to military and political figures of the Ukrainian Revolution of 1917–1921.
