Lesson: Founding of the Museum of the Ukrainian Liberation Struggle in Prague (1925)

Goal: To teach critical reading of sources through «Founding of the Museum of the Ukrainian Liberation Struggle in Prague (1925)»: telling the confirmed from the disputed and judging reliability.

Lesson plan

1. 2 min · Introduction. Ask: “How do we know an event really happened?” Name the topic: «Founding of the Museum of the Ukrainian Liberation Struggle in Prague (1925)».
2. 4 min · Who is it. Ukrainian Free University academics, notably art historian Dmytro Antonovych, were closely associated with the initiative. A historical study by Mykola Mushynka dates the constituent meeting of the museum-owning society to 23 May 1925. Ukrainian state archive fonds 269 describes the museum’s records, but its individual archival files have not been consulted.
3. 6 min · Facts from the dossier. Read the facts. For each, pupils say which source confirms it and whether it can be trusted.
4. 3 min · Summary. Sum up: what is proven, what stays disputed, which sources are missing.

Facts

• January 1925: TsDAHO describes an extract from the statutes of the “Museum of the Ukrainian Liberation Struggle” society, dated January 1925. R0104
• May 1925: The museum was established in Prague on the initiative of UFU professors, especially D. Antonovych. R0104
• 23.05.1925: According to M. Mushynka’s study, the constituent meeting of the society of museum owners took place on 23 May 1925. R0104
• July 1925: TsDAHO exhibits a description of the first page of the first issue of the museum’s “Visti”, dated July 1925. R0104
• 1925–1945: TsDAHO describes D. Antonovych’s leadership of the museum during this period. R0104

Questions to discuss

1. Which facts about «Founding of the Museum of the Ukrainian Liberation Struggle in Prague (1925)» are confirmed by several independent sources?
2. What is the difference between an original document and a later retelling?
3. What data is missing to make the conclusion firmer?

Task

Pick two facts and compare their sources in the dossier: what agrees and what does not. Write a short reliability assessment.