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Ukrainian books in Germany
Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, Ukrainian activists in Germany have become even more intensively involved in promoting Ukrainian culture and literature in particular.
One of the main promoters of Ukrainian books in Germany is Danylo Poliluiev-Schmidt, a representative of the NGO IWEK e.V., which is engaged in cultural, political, educational, scientific and social projects in Germany. The main focus of Danylo's volunteer work is books: „I've been living in Germany for over 3 years now, and so I feel the demand and need for Ukrainian-language literature among the diaspora and newcomers from Ukraine.“ Currently, with the support of IWEK e.V., Danylo and his colleagues are implementing several initiatives and actions in parallel:
„Дbook review“ - is a campaign aimed at distributing Ukrainian books through chain and small bookstores. „We negotiate with various stores and connect them directly with Ukrainian publishers to buy Ukrainian literature. As a result, Ukrainian books can now be purchased in the largest bookstore in Germany - the Dussmann Kaufhaus, and in the small family bookshop Braun & Hassenpflug. The latter not only held a cosy official opening, but also plans to purchase further books for hospitals where Ukrainian children undergo rehabilitation“ - says the activist.
In addition, Danylo's team is conducting a charity fundraising campaign „пgive a ukrainian book to an internally displaced person“. It has already been held twice as part of the Lighthouse Ukraine event. The campaign consisted of sending a Ukrainian book to newly arrived children and adults for a donation on the spot. Together with the Ukrainian Plast in Germany (Plast Ukrainischer Pfadfinderbund in Deutschland e.V.), Danylo also launched the project „Read in Ukrainian“, aimed at purchasing Ukrainian books for libraries in Germany with funds from donations. Recently, a Ukrainian shelf appeared in a small but a very cosy Berlin library Heinrich von Kleist.
„I would like to express my gratitude to our sponsor Sergey Sukhanov, who transfers money to us every month to buy books. The first batch of books has already been purchased and is on its way to Germany. We hope that we will have opportunities to work at the level of the Länder,“ says Danylo.
Together with Yevhen Surnyaev, Danylo is the author and co-host of the podcast „Аlarmia? Зlanguage? Зdisbelief?“, in which the guys interview diaspora people from all over the world and discuss current news in a joking and ironic way. Of course, encouraging reading is a huge part of this podcast: there are separate episodes in which the guys discuss books that are currently being read and encourage listeners to read.
The podcast is available on Spotify, Deezer, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast and RSS. Danylo said: „I am fully convinced that the Ukrainian book, as an integral part of Ukrainian culture and identity, in this challenginghe time of the terrible Russian-Ukrainian war will give waves of calm, reflection and the opportunity to plunge into a separate world of fantasy. Another point is that Ukrainian books represent us abroad. When I first brought Ukrainian books to local bookstores and libraries, Germans and Germans could not believe that Ukrainian publishing was producing books of such quality and level. In my opinion, Ukrainian literature and books are also our weapons in the fight for Ukraine in this eight-year war.“
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