History has been employed as an offensive weapon to justify the present actions taken by Vladimir Putin in his invasion of Ukraine. Putin has described Ukraine’s nationhood as a historical anomaly The official line at the beginning of the invasion was that the aim was to ‘de-Nazify’ the country, calling upon Russia’s own suffering at the hands of Nazi Germany in the 1940s. The Russian government propaganda campaign of heavily fabricated stories about the situation on the ground has attempted to control the narrative today.

In response, many around the world have sought to better understand Ukrainian history.  It has entered our news coverage and books on Ukraine’s past have entered UK bestseller lists.

Many individuals around the world have been inspired to raise humanitarian aid for the people of Ukraine. Professional genealogist Natalie Pithers went several steps further, inspired by ‘Live Aid’ to create an event that drew upon her networks of historians and genealogists. In her work helping people to uncover their family histories Natalie appreciates the power of history as a tool for understanding ourselves and the world around us. As local historians we know that the customs and traditions of a place and its people are intertwined with the history of individuals and of families.

Over 200 historians and genealogists offered their time and expertise to present talks, host a section of the livestream, and help behind the scenes. ‘History for Ukraine’ was born. A 24-hour speakathon from 12pm UTC Saturday 26 March until 12pm UTC Sunday 27 March where historical knowledge will be shared for free while listeners are invited to donate what they can to the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.  Things moved at a great speed to make this idea a reality, powered by many volunteers and Natalie’s excellent project management. Over 40 speakers from all backgrounds and all over the world have united under one banner. Headline speakers include Charles Spencer, Philippa Gregory, Janina Ramirez, Saul David, Nick Barratt, Suzannah Lipscomb, Kate Williams, Kate Lister, Deborah Sugg Ryan, Nathen Amin, Tracy Borman, Miranda Kaufmann and Fern Riddell.

There are also several talks touching upon Ukrainian history. Cat Jarman on Ukraine’s history in the Viking era, Elaine Chalus on ‘Ukraine and Canada’, and Michelle Chubenko on ‘Digital Genealogy in Ukraine’. Interspersed between all the talks will be short videos about Ukraine, its history, and people made by individuals currently living in and fighting for their homeland.

At present, the people of Ukraine are under attack 24-hours a day, living in fear or forced from their homes. It is the hope of the event organisers that those watching will give generously to aid them across 24-hours of their own time.

For all information on how to watch and donate please go to the website: History For Ukraine

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the British Association for Local History (BALH). Any content provided by our contributors is of their own opinion and is not intended to malign any individual, group, organisation, or entity.