28th October 2024
Thame Rotary Club are sponsoring the showing of “The Carol of the Bells” a Ukrainian film, at the Long Crendon Library, Long Crendon, Bucks., HP18 9AF on Friday 15th November 2024 at 19.00.
Tickets can be obtained from this link:
https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/longcrendonfilmclub
It is estimated there are just under 300 Ukrainians now living in Thame. 4 of them are members of Thame Rotary. There is more information about Thame Rotary Club on their website www.thame.rotary1090.org and Facebook page www.facebook.com/thamerotary
“The Carol Of The Bells” is based on a true story about a specific historical time in Ukraine during the Second World War. Over the last 300 years, Ukrainians on both banks of the Dnipro tried to unite into one state. At the beginning of the 20th century, this possibility became most realistic. What changed in the 20th century?
The First World War weakened both the Russian and Austro-Hungarian Empires, giving Ukrainians the opportunity to try again to unite into one state. The residents of the right-bank region, which belonged to the
Russian Empire, were the first to declare an independent Ukrainian state. On January 22, 1918, in Kyiv, the Ukrainian People’s Republic was formed . The state had territory delineated by borders, a coat of arms, an
army, a monetary system, and a language, and it established diplomatic relations with 20 other countries.
Great Britain and France were among the first to recognize the Ukrainian
People’s Republic. Meanwhile, the Austro-Hungarian Empire began to crumble in the west. On October 17, 1918, the Kingdom of Hungary announced its withdrawal from the Austrian Empire and declared its independence. Following Hungary, other countries began to leave the empire. On October 19, an independent Ukrainian state was formed with its center in Lviv, called the Western Ukrainian People’s Republic. The stormy events of the 20th century were rapidly gathering momentum. In the East, the Soviet Bolsheviks were growing in power, replacing the fallen Russian Empire. In the West, the rise of Nazi Germany became a dominant force, threatening the balance of Europe. Both regimes laid claims to the territory inhabited by ethnic Ukrainians, intensifying the struggle. Even the unification of two independent Ukrainian states could not withstand the pressure from these powerful forces, and Ukrainians once again found themselves divided by foreign-imposed borders.
The plot of “The Carol Of The Bells starts in 1939 in Stanislav City (now Ivano-Frankivsk) in western Ukraine, under Polish rule. Ukrainian and Polish families arrive at a Jewish house to live. The Ukrainian family fled the Soviets because the husband had fought for the Ukrainian People’s Republic. The Polish family moved to Stanislav after the military husband’s promotion. Life under the same roof foreach nation wasn’t easy, but everything changed in September 1939. By the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, western Ukrainian lands were annexed by the Soviets, and units of the Red Army entered Stanislav. All families faced the same danger.
The story focuses on children from three families: Ukrainian, Polish, and Jewish. During World War II, the children endured brutal occupation. Both Soviet and the Third Reich authorities deprived them of their parents. Yaroslava, a Ukrainian girl, dreams of uniting the world through the melody of Shchedryk (Carol Of The Bells). This famous Christmas song,
composed by Mykola Leontovych between 1901 and 1919, tells of a swallow bringing news of coming wealth. Traditionally sung on January 13, New Year’s Eve in the Julian Calendar, it’s known in Ukraine as Malanka or Shchedry Vechir.
