Objekt des Monats
Jedes Objekt in der Sammlung des Deutschen Auswandererhauses erzählt eine ganz persönliche Auswanderungs- oder Einwanderungsgeschichte. In dieser Rubrik stellen wir Ihnen jeden Monat ein anderes Objekt vor – eine Fotografie, ein Dokument oder ein persönliches Erinnerungsstück.
Spoon
Historical Context
On November 7 (20 according to the Gregorian calendar) 1917, the Central Rada (Central Council), a representative body of the Ukrainian national movement, issues its III Universal (Legal Act), proclaiming the establishment of the ‘Ukrainian People’s Republic’ (UPR). This marks the first time a Ukrainian national state is created, though it receives little international recognition. Shortly after, a civil war begins throughout the former Russian Empire, with both the Bolsheviks (the ‘Reds’) in the capital and various opponents of Soviet power (the ‘Whites’) at the periphery not recognizing Ukraine’s independence. Initially, the UPR, dominated by left-nationalist forces, finds support from Central Powers, who, however, violently dissolve the Central Rada in April and install the conservative military dictatorship of General Pawlo Skoropadskyj. The UPR briefly resurfaces but has only relatively weak support from the population and is crushed by the Reds, the Whites, and the newly formed Polish state until 1920. The UPR government operates in exile until the Soviet Republic of Ukraine declares its independence in 1991.
Today, the sovereignty of Ukraine is questioned by Russia, among other things, citing the lack of a national state tradition and changes in the political borders of the Ukrainian Soviet republic during Soviet times.
Short biography
Jelisaweta Kozak (Kosak) was born in 1985 in a small Ukrainian village as the daughter of a diplomatic farmer and a teacher. She studied law in the city of Zaporizhzhia, where she worked until the outbreak of war on February 24, 2022. At the beginning of the Russian invasion, she was on a skiing holiday in the Carpathians. Together with her friend, she crossed the border into the EU and arrived in Bremen ten days later. The Zaporizhzhia region is still contested, with parts annexed by the Russian Federation on September 30, 2022.
Significance of the object
Initially, Jelisaweta Kozak found the gift from her parents, a spoon engraved with her name that they brought back from vacation, too kitschy. Thus, the piece of cutlery remained unused for a longer time. However, she later took it with her on the skiing trip to more easily distinguish the spoons under outdoor conditions. After fleeing across the border, the spoon traveled to Bremen with her and is now part of the collection of the German Emigration Center. It is therefore not a consciously chosen souvenir but, rather by chance, one of the few belongings brought from Jelisaweta’s homeland. The exact number of people fleeing in connection with the war in Ukraine can only be estimated. In early May, the UN estimated there were 4.4 million refugees and 7.7 million internally displaced people.
Do You Also Have …
… a story of emigration or immigration in your family that you would like to share with the German Emigration Center together with the related objects and documents for its collection? Then please contact Dr. Tanja Fittkau by phone at +49 471 / 90 22 0 – 0
or by e-mail at: t.fittkau@dah-bremerhaven.de