Ukrainian National Democratic Alliance - Political Programme

Political Programme

UNDO like other western Ukrainian political parties considered Polish rule over current western Ukraine to be illegitimate, advocating the independence of western Ukraine. It sought to promote Ukrainians' well-being within the Polish state until independence could be achieved, and in so doing opposed the terrorism and violence of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists because such actions resulted in negative repercussions on the Ukrainian population. UNDO was essentially democratic in nature, guided by varying amounts of Catholic, liberal, and socialist ideology. UNDO supported constitutional democracy and the "organic development" of Ukrainian society that would prepare it for independence once the opportunity arose. The approach of "organic development" focused on building up Ukrainian institutions, promoting Ukrainian education, and fostering Ukrainian self-reliance organizations that could operate independently from the Polish authorities. In so doing, UNDO hoped to achieve through peaceful means that which was not attained through war. UNDO supported agrarian reform and the development and expansion of the Ukrainian cooperative movement, particularly agricultural and financial cooperatives. UNDO also maintained close relations with the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. Ukrainian women's organizations actively participated in UNDO, which sent a woman representative to the Ukrainian parliament where she attained the position of party spokesperson.

UNDO pursued a dual policy with respect to Poland's next largest minority, the Jews. UNDO protested acts of antisemitism and cooperated with Jewish representatives in the Polish parliament. It supported Jewish civil rights and fought against Polish attempts to limit Jewish cultural practices. For example, UNDO's representatives in the Polish parliament joined their Jewish colleagues in voting against an attempt to limit kosher slaughtering. UNDO's support for the Jews was largely driven by the belief that actions against Jews would set a precedent for future discrimination against Ukrainians. Following a Polish pogrom against Jews in 1936, an UNDO leader published an article called "After the Jews Will Come Our Turn." Despite its rejection of violence and discrimination against Jews, UNDO also engaged in an economic struggle against them by supporting Ukrainian cooperatives through boycotting non-Ukrainian (and thus, often, Jewish) businesses. While rejecting Polish offers of cooperation against Jews, UNDO spokesmen also blamed Jews for spreading Communism in Ukrainian villages.

Seeing Poland as the main enemy, in the 1920s while Soviet Ukraine was experiencing a cultural revival, a significant segment of the UNDO leadership had a pro-Soviet orientation. Dmytro Levytsky, party leader, wrote in 1925, "We are firmly convinced that, much like abstract communism, the Soviet form of government is alien to the mindset of the Ukrainian nation. But as we register facts, we cannot make note of certain facts while ignoring others. Therefore, we state the well-known and unquestionable fact that the national idea is growing, strengthening, and developing in Soviet Ukraine." After Ukrainization ended, and news of Soviet crimes devastating Ukrainian society in the 1930s (such as the Holodomor) filtered into western Ukraine, UNDO radically altered its position towards the Soviet Union, coming to consider it the principal enemy of Ukraine. With this in mind, UNDO's programme evolved into seeking a new understanding with Poland. This alienated some of its supporters and brought it into conflict with the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists.