Background
After World War I and the dissolution of Austria–Hungary, the territory of Eastern Galicia (Halychyna), populated by a Ukrainian majority but with a large Polish minority, was incorporated into Poland following a Polish–Ukrainian War. During this conflict the Polish advantage in trained soldiers, particularly officers, played a significant role. Between the wars, the political allegiances of Ukrainians in eastern Galicia were divided between moderate national democrats and the more extreme Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists. The latter group itself splintered into two factions, the less extreme OUN-M led by Andriy Melnyk with close ties to German intelligence (Abwehr) and the more extreme OUN-B led by Stepan Bandera. When Poland was divided between Germany and the Soviet Union under the terms of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact in 1939, the territory of eastern Galicia was annexed to Soviet Ukraine. In 1941 it was conquered by Germany.
Ukrainian leaders of various political persuasions recognised the need for a trained armed force. The German had earlier considered the formation of an armed force made up of Slavic people, but they decided this to be unacceptable as they regarded Slavs as subhumans. At the beginning of 1943, growing losses inclined Nazi leaders to alter their initial opinions.
Read more about this topic: 14th Waffen Grenadier Division Of The SS (1st Ukrainian)
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