Historical Inquiry

The “Historical Inquiry” project, run by the Department of Education of the National Congress of Ukrainian Associations in Italy (CNAUI), sets out to tell the real history of Ukrainians in Italy and their contribution to the struggle for freedom, democratic values and human rights. It is an initiative about people, events and facts that long remained little known, yet are an important part of both Ukrainian and European history.

At the heart of the project is research into the activity of Ukrainians in Italy across different historical periods — notably during the Second World War, when Ukrainians took an active part in the partisan Resistance, and in the post-war years, when they built communities and cultural and educational centres. “Historical Inquiry” helps us see Ukrainians not merely as migrants, but as active participants in historical events and defenders of freedom.

The project is one of the permanent strands of the CNAUI Department of Education’s work and is carried out through open online conferences, lectures and meetings. One of its key events was the online conference “Little-Known Pages of History: Ukrainians in the Partisan Resistance in Italy”, held on 7 April 2025. It brought together researchers and interested listeners around the theme of Ukrainian participation in the fight against Nazism in Italy.

A major role in the project’s development is played by the historian Yurii Klymchuk, PhD, who studies Ukrainian participation in the anti-Nazi Resistance in France and Italy. His research draws on archival material from several countries and offers a fresh perspective on the Ukrainian presence in Europe’s history of the struggle for freedom. It is this research that has provided an important foundation for the public discussions held as part of “Historical Inquiry”.

A distinctive feature of the project is its cooperation with Italian historians and scholars, which makes for a lively dialogue and places the Ukrainian experience in a wider European context. This cooperation fosters mutual understanding and strengthens ties between the Ukrainian and Italian academic communities.

Engaging young people is central to “Historical Inquiry”. Students and young activists can join the meetings, put questions to researchers, take part in discussions and discover the history of Ukrainians in Italy as part of their own identity. The project does more than pass on knowledge: it encourages the younger generation to take an interest in history and to preserve the memory of the past.

Besides its themed conferences, the CNAUI Department of Education regularly holds educational online meetings that address the history, culture and life of the Ukrainian community in Italy. The themes of “Historical Inquiry” weave naturally into these conversations, which keeps the project alive and ongoing.

“Historical Inquiry” helps to build a comprehensive picture of the Ukrainian presence in Italy, shows the contribution Ukrainians have made to Europe’s shared history, and reminds us that the struggle for freedom and human rights has many names and many stories — Ukrainian ones among them.

Hashtags:
#ІсторичнаРозвідка
#НКУАІ
#УкраїнціВІталії
#УкраїнськаДіаспора
#ІсторичнаПамять
#ЮрійКлімчук
#УкраїнціТаСвобода
#РухОпору
#МолодьВДіаспорі
#УкраїнськаІсторія