THE MOOD OF DISPLACED UKRAINIANS AND THEIR ADAPTATION TO LIFE IN POST-WAR WEST GERMANY

Abstract

How the adaptation of displaced Ukrainians to the new realities of life in post-war West Germany influenced their mood are analyzed. Among the social factors that influenced the mood of displaced Ukrainians can be identified: everyday problems, homesickness and homeland, the threat of forced repatriation in the USSR, re-emigration from West Germany. The uncertainty of the future, the unsettledness of life, longing for the homeland, the fear of a very real threat of forced repatriation made the first post-war years generous in despair, depression and hysteria. The displaced Ukrainians were overwhelmingly affected by the unsettled lifestyle (uncomfortable housing, lack of clothing and personal hygiene) and constant malnutrition. Part of them was overcome by longing for the Motherland, which sometimes led to the voluntary return of displaced persons to the USSR. However, the overwhelming majority resisted forced repatriation, they were seized with a sense of fear for their lives and the lives of their relatives. Being susceptible to panic, a large part of displaced Ukrainians ended their lives with suicide. In addition to such radical measures, the displaced people still injured themselves and as a result fell into hospitals, where they remained unattainable for repatriation bodies. The determining factors that influenced the mood that dominated the re-emigrants were the hospitality of the host state, the provision / non-availability of work in the specialty for which they counted, the level of wages, the quality of living conditions.