The article reveals the peculiarities of the development of the educational movement in the camp of captured Ukrainian soldiers Freistadt (Austria-Hungary) in 1915-1917. It was established that despite all the initial difficulties (due to the opposition of the Black Hundreds) due to the systematic work of members of the Education Department, the Education Section Social and educational circle, the Society «Prosvita» M.Drahomanov during 1915-1917 it became possible to organize the teaching of a fairly wide range of courses and literacy schools (for the illiterate). The decisive role in the organization of educational life was initially played by the Union for the Liberation of Ukraine Educational Department, which included Ukrainian public figures, educators, cooperators with university or high school education, who had developed a national worldview. Through their efforts, the Ukrainian camp organization in Freistadt created appropriate structures from among the prisoners (educational section and the Enlightenment Society), which over time took over the main burden of educational work. Its content differed significantly – if at first the emphasis was on general education courses (so as not to provoke criticism of «politics» from prisoners), then within a year educational institutions paid more and more attention to Ukrainian studies (history of Ukraine, Ukrainian language and history of Ukrainian literature). At the same time, a large number of training hours were devoted to the elimination of illiteracy among prisoners. For many prisoners, education became the meaning of their camp life, and at the same time their national awareness took place, when they – sometimes even unnoticed – began to worry about the problems of Ukraine's self-affirmation in political terms and became adherents of its independence. Thus, on the one hand, educational organizations purposefully prepared prisoners for the future of civilian life in the homeland, and on the other - to educate them conscious and loyal citizens of free ...
The article reproduces some aspects of the life and everyday life of captured Ukrainian soldiers in the Freistadt camp (Austria-Hungary) at the final stage of its existence (end of 1917 – 1918). It is established that the last phase of the Ukrainian captive community in Freistadt was marked by dramatic events, which led to a catastrophic deterioration of the economic situation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire due to the depletion of all its material resources and the impending military defeat in the First World War. Revolutionary events in Russia, the liquidation of the autocratic system there and the military defeats of the Russian army slowed down the destructive phenomena in the empire for some time, but were unable to give a «second» life to the already ineffective imperial organism in the new conditions. The food crisis was first felt by prisoners of war against the Austro-Hungarian warring armies, whose situation deteriorated markedly. The lack of food also had a very negative effect on the situation of Ukrainian prisoners from the Freistadt camp (although it had a special status), leading to a significant reduction in cultural and educational work. At the same time, the life of the community was complicated by sharp internal contradictions between individual members of the camp organizations, which eventually led at the end of 1917 to the temporary cessation of the work of the GUR with the subsequent re-election of its members. However, this conflict was resolved fairly quickly – almost without the intervention of the IED, which did not actually have any effective tools for this at the time. Overcoming this latest crisis has shown the maturity and responsibility of the vast majority of members of the Ukrainian camp community, who were not tempted by the demagogic slogans of one adventurer and his followers. The proclamation of the Fourth Universal marked the highest patriotic uplift of the campers, who believed in the possibility of their speedy return to Ukraine, which needed soldiers-defenders and public workers. Due to this, the vast majority of the camp assets joined the «Sirozhupanna» division, which was formed in Volodymyr-Volynskyi. But the lack of any assistance to the prisoners from the UCR, the fleeting political perturbations, the slowing down of the repatriation process – sowed deep disappointment in the souls of the prisoners. Nevertheless, despite all the difficulties and obstacles, the Ukrainian cultural, educational and national-patriotic work in the Freistadt camp did not stop, thanks to which the camp remained the main base for the formation of the mentioned division. The centre of organized Ukrainian life was the Liquidation Committee, whose members made every effort to restore it after the departure of a large part of the camp. The latter had the opportunity to provide material assistance to those captured Ukrainians who took an active part in cultural and educational work or went to form a division in Volodymyr-Volynskyi. The departure of most Ukrainian activists from the camp as part of the replenishment of the mentioned division (February-March 1918) led to the curtailment of the work of all camp organizations and institutions. And although the camp continued to serve as a base for replenishing the ranks of the «gray-collar workers», the organized Ukrainian life in Freistadit, as of mid-summer 1918, almost did not manifest itself, and by the end of autumn the camp was liquidated. The main achievement of the IED in this camp was a radical irreversible change in the minds of Ukrainian prisoners, which made it possible for real patriots to appear in the camp, ready to defend their homeland with weapons in their hands. ; Відтворено деякі аспекти життя та повсякдення полонених вояків-українців у таборі Фрайштадт (Австро-Угорщина) на завершальному етапі його існуванні (кінець 1917 – 1918рр.). Встановлено, що умови функціонування української таборової громади були ускладнені наростанням кризових явищ в Австро-Угорщині та, зокрема, нестачею продовольчих запасів для її населення. Але попри всі складнощі таборового існування полонені українці знайшли в собі сили та можливості аби діяльно долучитись до процесів національного державотворення в Україні, взявши активну участь у формуванні «Сірожупанної» дивізії. Виїзд більшої частини українських активістів з табору в складі поповнення згадуваної дивізії (лютий-березень 1918р.) призвів до згортання обсягів роботи всіх таборових організацій та інституцій. І хоча табір і надалі продовжував слугувати базою для поповнення лав «сірожупанників», організоване українське життя у Фрайштадіт станом на середину літа 1918р. вже майже себе не виявляло, і вже до кінця осені табір було ліквідовано.
