ORAL NARRATIVES OF OSTARBEITERS: PLOT-CREATING ELEMENTS AND SEMANTIC STRUCTURE

Abstract

The article analyzes the oral narratives of ostarbeiters about labor slavery in Germany during the Second World War. The folklore of this thematic group is an integral part of the huge array of Ukrainian folk literature, generated as a result of repressions of the fighters for freedom and state independence of Ukraine under the military occupation of the 20th century aimed at subjugating its people and subjecting them to the will of their enslavers. It is noted that in the territory captured by the Nazi invaders, the involvement of the able-bodied population in various jobs locally and abroad was carried out by means of recruitment, special mobilization and other actions of forcible capture of people. This became a moral and physical test for the population of Ukraine at that time, which was also widely reflected in its art constituent , in particular, in folklore. Our research has shown that a detailed description of everyday life can be traced in the oral narratives of ostarbeiters, For Ukrainians who got a job at industrial enterprises, the main conflict of the narrative story was the problem of finding the means of survival. That is why one of the most common motives in a number of episodes is the motive of starvation and searching for food. It is emphasized that an important place in the narratives studied by us is occupied by the description of living conditions, details of everyday life, the working day schedule, and the specifics of work. The image of a German is vividly expressed, and through sympathetic, sometimes benevolent attitude and support it is constructed into the image of a "stranger" as a "different their person ". It has been observed that in the collected narratives the Germans appear not only as evil-doers (enemies), but also in some cases as benefactors and helpers who helped in one way or another in a difficult situation. A special place in such stories is occupied by the figure of a helper, who acts as one of the mandatory structural units in the system of story characters.