The Fire-fighting Activities of the National and Cultural Societies in Eastern Galicia in the 1920s – 1930s

Abstract

Abstract. The purpose of the research is to elucidate the development of fire-fighting movement in Eastern Galicia in the 1920s and 1930s through the prism of the history of national cultural societies in the region: “Gymnastics and Fire Society “Sokil” / “The Ukrainian Sports Society “Sokil-Batko”; Rukhanka Fire Society “Sich” / Rukhanka Fire Society “Luh”. The methodology of the research is based on the principles of scientificity, historicism, structuralism and criticality. There have been used general scientific methods of scientific knowledge (analysis, synthesis, generalization) and special historical methods: historical genetic, historical systemic, historical typological, historical comparative. There has been applied a problem chronological approach in order to clarify the main aspects of the firefighting movement in the historical retrospect, as well as a systemic structural approach in order to determine the historical development patterns of the fire-fighting movement during the interwar period. The Scientific Novelty. Based on a wide historiographical and source base, the main milestones in the fire-fighting direction formation of the Sokil-Sich societies in the 1920s and 1930s have been outlined thoroughly; the forms of this activity have been generalized. The Conclusions. Due to World War I and the national competitions for the Ukrainian statehood, including the Polish-Ukrainian War, there was the decline of national cultural societies, in particular, the rukhanka-fire societies, such as “Sokil”, “Sich”. The institutional restoration of these societies faced a considerable resistance by the Polish administration, which was not satisfied with the national patriotic direction of organizations, their active practical activities in training young people, teaching military affairs, and later fire defense. Despite the fact that the fire-fighting societies “Sokil” and “Sich” from the beginning of their activities, and later in a restored form during the interwar period, became a significant support for state firefighting for ideological reasons, especially after the beginning of the “pacification” measures, their activities were limited or prohibited.