Union of Ukrainian Émigré Scouts

The central research idea

The Union of Ukrainian Émigré Scouts (SUPE) became an important organisational node of Ukrainian scouting in emigration when organisational responsibility for international contacts passed to Prague after Plast's dissolution in Ukrainian territories under Polish control in 1930. However, Plast groups in Prague and Poděbrady had existed since 1921–1922, so SUPE was not the beginning of Plast in Czechoslovakia. [P01; P02; P03]

The project concerns not only the political setting but also everyday educational work: camps, first-aid and cartography courses, girls' groups, youth press and Czech–Ukrainian scouting gatherings. This provides material for a separate exhibition, “Ukrainian and Czech scouts in interwar Prague”. [P01]

Identity, dating and leadership

Background: Prague, Poděbrady and the Ukrainian Plast Command

The Ukrainian Third Club of Senior Scouts operated in Prague in 1921 and maintained links with the Czech scout union; a group connected with the Ukrainian Husbandry Academy (R0035) was established in Poděbrady in 1922. According to the historical account, the Prague club had 21 participants in three units in 1923. In 1925 Yaroslav Ivantyshyn, an academy student, organised the Ukrainian Plast Command, which maintained links with Plast's leadership in Lviv. [P01; P02]

Interaction with the Czech scouting movement is one of the best examples of organic cooperation. Ukrainian organisations did more than rent space in Bohemia: they participated in Czech scouting celebrations and international youth gatherings. However, official SUPE membership of a particular international scouting federation has not been confirmed: the historical account explicitly reports unsuccessful attempts to join the International Scout Bureau in London. [P01]

SUPE in 1930–1934: establishing the structure

The first congress on 2 November 1930 adopted the statutes. The documentary historical account formulates three aims: education, uniting scouts abroad and representing the Ukrainian scouting movement. These are the contents of statutory formulations in a research publication, but a facsimile of the original and confirmation of legal registration are needed before quoting them in Czech or English. [P01]

The second congress on 7 June 1931 is also called “founding”. This is not a contradiction to remove by editing: there were different stages of formation, including adoption of statutes, organisational establishment and changes of leadership. The Czechoslovak administration's statutory registration act has not yet been found in the material examined; only that act can answer the legal question. [P01; P04]

According to the account, seven units operated in Řevnice in 1931, three in Prague and smaller groups in Brno, Danzig, Kraków and Paris. Ukrainians participated in the first Slavic scout rally in Prague in 1931, where they maintained their own display. A separate event record should be created with a programme, photographs and confirmation of the delegation's status; the rally is not the SUPE founders' conference. [P01]

Following leadership changes in 1931–1934, SUPE continued working as a network coordinator, but internal differences and the separation of the women's group Ukraina in 1933 show that not every Prague scouting initiative had the same leadership. A correct database needs separate organisational nodes and time limits for membership. [P01]

Education, press and international contacts

Camps and practical skills. Prague references mention a first-aid and cartography course (1934), travelling camps, novice groups, forest schools and instructor training. In Řevnice, scouting was closely linked to the Ukrainian gymnasium: children's groups, flag-making workshops, lectures, celebrations and summer camps. A photographic exhibition needs catalogued historical photographs with dates and names, rather than a generic image of present-day Plast. [P01; P05]

Publishing heritage. The typescript Visty Ukrainskoi Plastovoi Komandy appeared in Poděbrady in 1926–1929; later publications included Visty SUPE and Plastovi Visty (1934), while Prague issues 77–80 of Molode zhyttia formed part of broader Plast periodical publishing. Publications should be catalogued issue by issue, with city, year, editor, rights, a digitised copy and repository. [P01]

Contacts and their classification. Czech scouts held joint events with Ukrainians, while SUPE representatives maintained links with groups in France, Austria, Poland, Yugoslavia, Transcarpathia and elsewhere. A report can establish participated_in_event or corresponded_with, whereas legal_member_of or internationally_recognized require documents from the body itself. [P01; P03]

Archival repositories and publications to seek

Fond 4016 contains documents from 1919, although SUPE emerged organisationally in 1930; a file's covering date is not the institution's founding date. [P04]

Scenarios for the website and a future route

An interactive exhibition, “Scouts of two countries”. Compare statutes, the languages of labels, badges, Plast stamps from 1931, photographs of the Slavic rally and Czech scouts' testimony. Historical official symbols must be distinguished from present-day emblems whose rights belong to their rights holders. [P01]

“From the castle to the forest camp”. The starting location is Poděbrady, followed by Řevnice and Prague, but the route must not contain guessed addresses of camps or premises. After field verification, archival cards, QR codes linking to biographies and photographic comparisons can be added. [P01]

Material on girls' education. The Fourth Olha Kobylianska girls' scout unit in Prague, the Ukraina group, participation in international events and publishing initiatives deserve a separate archival catalogue, but the legal status of each group needs establishing individually. [P01]