Ukrainian Economic Academy and Ukrainian Technical-Economic Institute (1922–1945)
| Name | Ukrainian Economic Academy and Ukrainian Technical-Economic Institute (1922–1945) |
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| Catalog Number | T-UHA | |
| Volume | 25 inventory units; 2 box | |
| State of Cataloging | The entire collection has been catalogued and is freely accessible to researchers | |
| Languages of Documents | Mostly Ukrainian |
The Ukrainian Economic Academy (1922–1935) in Poděbrady was one of the most important Ukrainian institutions in Czechoslovakia and was the first school founded by the Ukrainian Civic Committee, a central organisation of Ukrainian émigrés in Czechoslovakia in 1921–1925. The chancellors of the academy were gradually Ivan Shovheniv, Borys Ivanyts’kyi and Serhii Tymoshenko. The directors of the institute included Borys Ivanyts’kyi, Borys Martos, Luka Bych, Leonid Frolov and Serhii Komarets’kyi. In 1935, the academy ceased its activities, but its tasks had been undertaken by the Ukrainian Technical-Economic Institute (1932–1945), which after the Second World War moved from Poděbrady to Regensburg, Germany, where it continued in its work.
The Ukrainian Economic Academy was a private, polytechnic-type university and consisted of three faculties. It gained fame very quickly and Poděbrady became the second most important centre of Ukrainian émigrés in Czechoslovakia. During 1922, the Publishing Society emerged, including student and professors of this school. It initiated the publication of Ukrainian books, magazines and proceedings on various themes, chiefly economy, law, sociology, chemistry, architecture, natural sciences, agronomy, hydrology, and forestry. The academy also comprised a library with collections of Czech, Ukrainian as well as foreign-language literature mainly on Ukrainian economy. During the existence of the school, a total of 786 students were accepted for studies; in the first ten years, lectures were given by 118 pedagogues, among whom 92 were Ukrainian and 26 Czech.
The Ukrainian Technical-Economic Institute was officially founded as part of the academy to provide its students with the possibility of distance learning. In reality, however, it was a reaction to lower state subsidies. After three years of its existence, the institution thus entirely assumed the role of the academy including its internal structure; the only thing that had changed was the form of the studies – full-time studies were no longer possible. The salaries of the academic staff were limited; some of the employees worked there even for free. In spite of that, the school successfully continued in its activities; in 1932–1937, for instance, 749 students began their studies there under the guidance of more than 70 pedagogues.
The collection comprises archival documents from 1925–1942. Personalia (Inv. No. 1) in the ‘The Basic Documents’ file contain especially materials concerning the activities of Kostia Matsievych, one of the Ukrainian teachers. In the ‘Accounting’ file, we can find for instance the budget of the academy for 1925 (Inv. No. 2). It is also worth mentioning the disciplinary rules of the school in the ‘Other’ file (inv. j. 19). The correspondence contains only little information.
Further archival documents concerning the activities of the academy are deposited in the National Archives in Prague, specifically in the MZV-RPA 98-102 or UM 9 and UM 17 boxes. The collection of the Ukrainian Economic Academy, Poděbrady, in the State District Archives in Nymburk (headquartered in Lysá nad Labem) is also large. The issues of some associations affiliated to the academy may be found at the Archives of the Capital City of Prague as well. In Ukraine, the materials of the academy and institute are deposited in the 3795 and 3879 collections at the TsDAVO of Ukraine (Tsentraľnyi derzhavnyi arkhiv vyshchykh orhaniv vlady ta upravlinnia Ukrainy – the Central State Archives of the Higher Organs of Power and Administration in Ukraine) in Kiev.