Hi Karinda, thanks for the message. I know the Paulencu family (there are many spellings). Do you know St-Elijah Pioneer Museum, where thiere is the restored Paulencu house?

@@StElijahMuseum Yes, my great grandfather was born there (Jim Paulencu) in I think 1907? and its his wedding picture on the website. I remember him eating garlic like candy and onions like apples as a teenager, as he did not die until about his 90’s. His house in Timmons was still full of the symbols and culture, and he was tough and independent. I have never been myself to the museum but I am planning a visit, which is how I found this video. I likely spelled the last name wrong, Paulencu was my grandmother’s maiden name. It’s fascinating to consider that we think we have it tough, and yet the hardship and adversity they endured with far much stronger community and happiness is astounding. I wish I had more connection to the culture, but only fried onions and garlic on everything we cook seems to have trickled down. I will hopefully also make it to Voloka one day, if things settle for those unfortunate people.

@@karindadockrill3629 Yes, they did not have an easy life. It is fascinating to think of how they lived. I do hope you can make to the St-Elijah Pioneer museum one day. All the best.

We hear you south of your border. What is to become of us decent people?

прошу :-)

So glad that you enjoyed the film. It is sad when these great historic documents get lost and forgotten. It is our history :-)

@@StElijahMuseum yes absolutely! My Father was the first in our family to be born in Canada. in 1940 at the Mundare Hospital that is in the footage :) Now in Mundare that same hospital is a private family home if you can believe it. We visit the Peter and Paul Shrine (the Grotto, or Golgotha) often as it is so beautiful there. It was a great treat to see these places feature in the National Film Board video.

so happy you enjoyed the film greetings back to you

TotalѢ WarѢ - GALIZIEN Can I ask you a question? If so, that would be great. But I’ll ask you anyway. Do you know anyone with the last name of “Kostyuk”? I know absolutely nothing about my fathers side. If you could possibly tell me anything, that would be great, thanks. Also, I live in Canada.

@@matymatty6763 You are racist toward Ukrainians!

@@JulianKostuik this surname is very common in Ukraine so I think everybody supposed to know at least one person

@@JulianKostuik Hi! I am writing you from Kyiv! I know many people`s whose surname is Kostyuk. It's one of the most popular surname in Ukraine.

+Rainbow Crew Glad you found it interesting!

Да, я долго об этом думал. Надо создать специальный фонд для развития и защиты Украины из заграницы.

No sorry. Doesn't ring a bell.

Wow, Taras,that's amazing! I am not sure how to find out who the people were that appeared in this video. It is an National Filmboard of Canada movie so they might have some information in their archives. Do you recognize your Great Uncle in some of the scenes? Where did he live? Where did his family immigrate from?

Taras Hlynka This was made in 1943, if your great uncle was in here, he possibly lived another 10 years before he died. But I have no idea about your family history. The only history of Ukraine that I know is my fathers side. But I only know very little. I don’t know any other family members on my fathers side all the way up to my grand mother who is in her early 90’s. My last name might be familiar to a few people. But I don’t know any other Ukrainian family members.

@@JulianKostuik I know you posted this 3yrs ago so not sure if you have found out any more info but there is a book titled Ukrainians in Alberta. It has profiles of some of the first immigrant families that settled in the area of Mundare, Andrew, Smoky Lake area. I didn’t see your family name in the book but it has excellent info on the history of what the conditions were like when Ukrainians immigrated to Canada( Alberta specifically) and the specific challenges they faced once here. It explains where and why groups settled in the areas that they did and how they created new communities that quite often mirrored the villages that they came from in Ukraine. There are many other history books that you can download where you might find more info on your family. On a side note, I know there are some Kostiuk’s that are buried at St.Elias cemetery in Wandering River, AB as that is where my family is from.

@@JulianKostuik Anthony Hlynka was the first Canadian MP of Ukrainian descent. He was Member of Parliament for Vegreville, I believe. After the war, he was instrumental in lobbying for Ukrainians displaced by war to be allowed to immigrate to Canada. He lobbied in Ottawa for this, and in London, England, at international conferences. It is likely that he would have attended the 1942 celebrations in Mundare, at which a contingent from Vegreville is visible. I can recognise quite a few faces but didn't see him among the speakers, which he likely would have been if he had been there.

Дякую. Чому ти так думаєш?

@@StElijahMuseum Далеко ,не всі українці знають історію , традиції , релігію, наших предків .

Так, це також стосується багатьох українців Канади. З історією завжди є чому вчитися.

@@StElijahMuseum Історія повторюється . Особливо останнім часом з подіями на сході України .

Learn your history. Every era gives new immigrants opportunities and challenges. The eastern European immigrants that came to Canada starting at the turn of the 20th century were met by prejudice and racisms calling them by the dominant Anglo culture putting them down as being lazy and treating them as dirty garlic eaters. They were given a piece of land for a small amount of money and had to make it productive in a year. But productive meant that they could grow a little grain there, enough to bring to market. For the most part they were practicing subsistence living (what today we would view as poverty), as they had done as peasants in their regions of origin. The climate was unfamiliar, but the land was not. They worked hard, for sure, but it wasn't until the children and grandchildren of the original immigrants were able to ride the massive wave post war prosperity that they found a foot hold in the dominant economy. It is easy to romanticize and mold the past to one's own political vision. Building our knowledge and understanding history, and how it relates to the present, is more productive and a better hommage to our immigrant ancestors.

My dad a Newfoundlander married my Ukrainian mom. My mom was the best mother you could ask for until she got into the vodka. Now she a true reckless alcoholic slav.

Many came at the turn of the century. They didn't have land and saw opportunity in Canada.

@@StElijahMuseum didn't have land in Ukraine? It's funny, Ukraine is biggest European country with area of 603,628 km2

Good point Vadym! I know that my ancestors come from the Bucovina province, there was the remnants of the feudal system, the difficult of buying fertiles land. These were people that were relatively poor, and the Canadian government came offering almost free land.

They came from what is now the Lvyv Oblast, East Galicia. They began immigrating here in 1891 until 1900. There were waves after this, but this film focuses on the first wave of Ukrainian immigrants and their descendants. They came here to escape centuries of Polish/Austria oppression. They never lived in a country called Ukraine, because it didn't exist as a Nation State until long after they came here. Their immigration papers would have stated that they were coming from the Austrian Empire.

the film was made during World War Two. The Ukrainians depicted in it had emigrated to Canada between 1891 and 1920, most, with some coming during the 1930s. As we see in the film, the Ukrainian Canadians, rather than "running away" were enlisting in His Majesty's Canadian Armed Forces.