Oleksandr Valentynovych Potylchak (Ukrainian: Олександр Валентинович Потильчак) is a researcher of Ukrainian history during World War II and the postwar period. He holds a doctoral degree of historical science (since 2006).

Biography

Potylchak was born on July 7, 1965 in the family of worker and white-collar worker in the village Lytvynivka of Kyivo-Sviatoshynskyi (now – Vyshgorodskiy) district of Kyiv Region. He graduated at Technical College-4 in Bila Tserkva (1984) and worked as a locksmith of test equipment and automatics for Hostomel Gl* Plant (Kiev region). Potylchak did his military service in the Armed Forces of the USSR (1984–1986).

He studied at the historical faculty of the Kiev Pedagogical Ins*ute named after O.M. Gorky (1986–1991), and graduated it with honours.

Potylchak worked for National Pedagogical Dragomanov University as a senior laboratory *istant (1991), a graduate teaching *istant (1992), a senior lecturer of department of History of Slavs and Ethnology (1994), a docent of department of History of Slavs and Ethnology (2000 – 2001 and 2004 – 2005).

Since September 2006 Potylchak has been working as the head of department of Source Studies and Special Historical Disciplines of the Ins*ute of History Education of National Pedagogical Dragomanov University, where he has been teaching teaches courses: Theoretical and Practical Museology, History of Philately, Expertise of the Cultural and Historical Values, and Historical Source Study.

Scientific activities

In 1999 he defended his PhD thesis Human Resources Exploitation Ukraine during the National Socialist German Workers' Party Germany occupation at the Ins*ute of History of Ukraine of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NAS).

In 2005, at the Ins*ute of History of Ukraine, he defended his doctoral thesis The Soviet regime ins*utions for war prisoners and internees in the USSR (1939–1954): organization, deployment, structure.

Potylchak is a member of the Special Council for thesis defences (D 26.053.02) at the National Pedagogical Dragomanov University; an *ociate editor of the scientific publications: It is not a secret any more and Military-Historical Almanac of State Committee of Archives of Ukraine; Ukraine. The Second World War 1939–1945 of Ins*ute of History of Ukraine (NAS Ukraine); and a member of the All-Ukrainian public organization Ins*ute of Military History.

Research interests of Potylchak include the history of the Soviet special services, military and socio-political history of Ukraine during the Second World War and the post-war period. The main problematic of researches involves the National Socialist German Workers' Party occupation regime in Ukraine (1941–1944), the organization and functioning of the ins*utions of the Soviet military captivity in Ukrainian SSR (1939–1954). Potylchak is an author of more than 120 scientific and methodological papers.

Main scientific works

• Economic collaboration in Ukraine during the National Socialist German Workers' Party occupation (1941–1944): causes and results;
• Professional-training and education of labour reserves in Ukraine during the National Socialist German Workers' Party occupation (1941–1944): policy and practice of aggressor;
• Labour resources of the Soviet war prisoners and "Ostarbeiteren" from Ukraine in the National Socialist German Workers' Party war economy during World War II;
• "New Order" in occupied Ukraine (1941–1944);
• The at*ude of the population of Ukraine towards German war prisoners (1944–1945);
• Internment of foreign citizens to the territory of Ukraine in 1945;
• Soviet camps for war prisoners in Ukraine (1939–1954): organizational and structural aspects;
• Burial of foreign war prisoners and internees of World War II in Ukraine;
• Soviet war captivity and internment in Ukraine (1939–1954);
• National Socialist German Workers' Party policy on training specialists with secondary and higher specialized education in Ukraine;
• Ukraine 1941–1944: the tragedy of the nation behind the facade of the Holy War;
• Secrets of the "Western internment": *anese in Soviet POW camps in the Ukrainian SSR (1946–1949);
• Ukrainian civil labour resources and the system of forced labour during the German occupation.

References

• Professors of the National Pedagogical Dragomanov University: Bibliographical handbook 1944–2009 / Compilers: G.I Volynka, A.S. Padalka, L.L. Makarenko; editor: V.P. Andrushchenko. – The second editions. – K.: Publishing office of National Pedagogical Dragomanov University, 2009. – P. 294-295. – (Series "Scientists of the National Pedagogical Dragomanov University", Series "To the 175th anniversary of the National Pedagogical Dragomanov University).