Out of a dead end
The most important thing for Giedroyc and Osadchuk in exile was to initiate the difficult dialogue between Poles and Ukrainians, which had not been possible until 1991. When in 1952 Kultura published a letter by Father Majewski which included these significant words: ‘Let the Lithuanians enjoy their Vilnius, and let the bluish-yellow banner fly in Lviv’, it initiated a difficult Polish-Polish discussion on the recognition of the Eastern border. This had to be a prelude to any talks with the Ukrainian side.
Osadchuk observed its aftermath, fearing the worst. Giedroyc, however, saw it differently:
I draw different conclusions from it than you do. It inspired me with optimism, not pessimism. Most of the responses are positive [...] You must admit the fact that such a discussion is already a phenomenon and, unfortunately, I cannot imagine anything like it in the Ukrainian press.
One of Giedroyc’s strategic goals was to reach an understanding with the Ukrainians. In 1955, he wrote to The Berliner: ‘I still care about getting out of this dead end in Polish-Ukrainian relations.’ To this end, he tried to build the credibility of Kultura as a voice that reminded the world about Ukraine.
Another important piece of the puzzle was Jerzy Giedroyc’s publication of an anthology of Ukrainian poetry and prose entitled Rozstrzane Odrodzenie (The Executed Renaissance), edited by Yuri Lavrinenko, whom the editor of Kultura had approached after a recommendation by Yuri Shevelov. The volume was published in Ukrainian in 1959 and quickly caused a sensation. Also because it was a Polish emigrant hub publishing Ukrainian writers in their original language. Giedroyc also came up with the title (although it had already been used by Lavrinenko), which was soon to become the name of an exceptional generation in the history of Ukrainian literature.
The correspondence between Giedroyc and Osadchuk contains many interesting details about the work on the anthology, as well as the subsequent efforts to promote it. Kultura attached great importance to the latter. Among other things, the editor came up with the idea of using Ukrainian athletes who had attended the 1960 Olympics in Rome, and distributing the publication in the Ukrainian SSR through them. Giedroyc was delighted with the publication of Oleksandr Mazurkewycz's book Zarubizhni Falsyfikatory Ukrajinśkoji Literatury [‘Foreign Falsifiers of Ukrainian Literature’] in Kyiv in 1961, which was a response to the anthology. This is how he shared his emotions with Osadchuk:
They’re writing about us as a counter-revolutionary Polish publication in Paris. I’m very happy about this, because it proves that the anthology, despite all the difficulties, has arrived and is circulating in Ukraine.
One gets the impression that Giedroyc was sometimes more Ukrainian than the Ukrainians in his efforts to promote the Ukrainian cause in the world. His inexhaustible energy and great commitment rarely found understanding on the other side. ‘I thought I would be able to prepare something together with your [Ukrainian] friends for the festival, but they don't answer my letters either,’ he lamented to Osadchuk. The latter, in turn, answered him with a dose of his typical sense of humour:
Our people are as eager to write as more or less the Cossacks in Repin's painting.
The courage of the Kultura community to discuss the most difficult subjects soon became its trademark. This applied to matters within Poland, as well as to Polish-Ukrainian and Polish-German issues. In 1953, Giedroyc wrote: ‘It is time a counterpart to Kultura was found from the Ukrainian side. Unfortunately there’s no sign of one.’ Years later, Osadchuk had to admit with bitterness that he was right: ‘On our side, unfortunately, we have nothing that would even approximately equal your merits.’
Giedroyc was often surprised by the lack of response from Ukrainian emigration circles to initiatives or important texts in Kultura concerning bilateral matters. Although he maintained contacts with various people in Ukrainian émigré circles (such as Ivan Koshelivet︠s︡ and Ivan Lysiak Rudnytsky), he did not manage to move forward on the most difficult issue, namely the massacres in Volhynia near the end of WWII. He made efforts to have an article written on the subject by Borys Lewytzkyj, who – despite his initial agreement – ultimately decided not to do it.
Despite his deep conviction that a Polish-Ukrainian accord was necessary, Giedroyc was sometimes frustrated. In 1979, he wrote to Osadchuk:
Co-operation with the Ukrainians is sometimes thorny [...] I’m keen to normalise relations, not exacerbate them. But after so many years of effort and frustration, one would like to see some response from the other side as well. Some kind of reaction.