World War II Displacement and the Resilience of Ukrainians: Ethnolinguistic Identity in Chicago

• In Event: Language and Memory: Decolonization, War, and Identity in Contemporary Ukrainian Narratives and Language Use

Abstract

Stories of the immigrant experience are important for diaspora communities as they help give members a sense of shared history, and reasons and explanations for how and why the community became displaced from its homeland. As these stories pass from one generation to another, they bind younger generations to their ancestors’ struggles. This paper examines the narratives of World War II driven immigration among Ukrainian-Americans, collected prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. These narratives exclude much of the post-1992 Ukrainian immigrant community, framing them as merely self-serving economic opportunists in contrast to those who fled after World War II, who are seen to be resilient caretakers of Ukrainian culture and identity, despite their past and ongoing oppression. The recent Russian aggressions against Ukraine, however, have paved the way for a reinterpretation of diaspora history, and reevaluations of Ukrainian identity among this community. Rather than further dividing the community based on generation of immigration, the direct actions of the Russian government have led the community to unify in its support of Ukrainian sovereignty and maintenance of a distinct ethnolinguistic identity.

Author

• Elizabeth A. Peacock, U of Wisconsin-La Crosse