Between Politics and University Life: The Student Population of Lviv in the Interwar Period

Abstract

The article is concerned with the student body of the Jan Kazimierz University in Lviv in the interwar period. At that time, Poles, Ukrainians, and Jews, as well as Romanians and Russians, studied at the university. The University of Lviv was one of the most important academic centers in the Second Polish Republic. Students had strong political beliefs during that time; often they were members of political factions and groups that operated inside and outside the walls of educational establishments. This led to the development of conflicts at the university. One phenomenon that had an impact on how interpersonal conflicts arose was the development of a strong nationalist ideology in Ukraine during the late 1930s. Other factors contributing to conflicts on the basis of nationality included the difficult economic situation of students at that time and the personal attitude of some members of the intelligentsia. The policy of the Polish state and the general political and economic situation in the city and in the country also had a significant impact on relations in the academic milieu. In the 1920s, just after Poland had regained independence, the Polish-Ukrainian conflict intensified at the university, which led to the establishment of the Ukrainian Secret University. Later, the struggles of nationalist Polish youth for the introduction of the numerus clausus principle at the university, and then of a bench ghetto for Jewish students, became more intensive. The objective of this article is to characterise the academic milieu of the Jan Kazimierz University, emphasising the role of politics as a factor shaping relations between students of different nationalities.