Borshchyk Y. Oral Sources for the History of Ukrainian-Polish Relations in Volhynia During the Second World War: Typology, Interpretation, Verification.

The thesis is devoted to the analysis of oral sources to the history of the Volhynia tragedy, namely their typology, interpretation and verification. With this goal the theoretical and practical particularities of the method of oral history were outlined. The features of the collecting, recording and further usage of the Ukrainian and Polish oral testimonies of those events are analyzed; the study also deals with the set of documentary sources on the topic. The materials not only from the official State institutions but also from private and non-governmental collections were processed. The scheme of typology of oral sources is suggested. The problem of reliability of testimonies, collected through half a century after the Second World War is discussed. Author conducted а verification of oral testimonies by documentary sources when it was possible. Thus the conflict of individual Ukrainian and Polish memories on the Volhynia tragedy of 1943 was outlined. The role of oral sources in history is highlighted in the context of those historical events. The results of field work and personal interviews are described and proper conclusions are made.