The history of Halychyna perhaps most vividly reflects the tragic experience of the long Ukrainian 20th century. The territory of the region was the scene of two world wars, the Ukrainian-Polish armed and political confrontation, its inhabitants fully tasted the “delights” of totalitarian occupations (Nazi and Soviet), and some of its groups became victims of the crime of the 20th century. – genocide.
In addition to the dramatic and tragic background of history, Galicia at the same time presented the world with examples of the most outstanding achievements in various areas of human creativity and progress. Stanislav Lem, Roald Hoffman, Bruno Schulz... This list of names of outstanding figures of literature, art and science can be continued. However, today we wanted to mention Galicia as the place of formation of a man who changed the idea of international law and the limits of its application – Sir Hersch Lauterpacht (1897–1960).
Hersh Lauterpacht was born on August 16, 1897, in the city of Zhovkva (now Lviv region). After starting his studies at the local gymnasium, at the age of 13 he moved with his family to Lviv, where he completed the gymnasium course.
During 1915–1918, the young man studied at the Faculty of Law of the Yan Kazymir University of Lviv (now Ivan Franko National University of Lviv). The last years of studying at the Lviv Alma mater fell during the period of the decline of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy and the restoration of Polish and Ukrainian independence. Lviv, as one of the largest cities on the eastern outskirts of the Habsburg Empire, held a sacred place for both Polish and Ukrainian state projects. The Ukrainian-Polish war of 1918–1919 was accompanied not only by armed confrontation between the two sides, but also by shameful examples of crimes against the civilian population. One of them was the infamous Pogrom in Lviv in November 1918.
Hersch Lauterpacht was not only an eyewitness to these events, but also a direct participant to some extent. So he performed the role of translator of the special commission of the Versailles Peace Committee, which was called to resolve disputes between the two largest ethnic groups of Eastern Galicia – Ukrainians and Poles.
Until now, the question of whether H. Lauterpacht managed to complete the course of study at Lviv University remains debatable. Recalling this period, he indicated that he failed to pass the final exams due to “restrictions that were established for students of the Jewish faith”...
Anyway, he continued his legal education in Vienna and later in London. It was England that would become both a new home for H. Lauterpacht and a place for his realization as an international lawyer – a practitioner and a theoretician. In 1927, he received a doctorate from the London School of Economics and very soon gained a reputation as one of the most promising scholars in the field of international law. In 1933, H. Lauterpacht's work “The Function of Law in the International Community” was published, which was recognized as one of the most significant books in the field of international law of the interwar period.
From 1938, H. Lauterpacht held a professorship at the prestigious Cambridge University, to which he devoted almost twenty years of his life. World War II, which began within a year, was the subject of constant attention of the legal scholar. On the one hand, part of his family lived in Zhovkva, which during 1939–1941 was under German, Soviet, and again German occupation. H. Lauterpacht did not know the details of the tragedy that unfolded in his native city, however, he hardly had any illusions about the Nazis' intentions towards the Jews. On the other hand, the war, the Nazi policy in the territories occupied by Germany attracted his attention as a subject of study and development of mechanisms to prevent similar tragedies in the future. G. Lauterpacht developed and promoted the idea of distinguishing the category of “crimes against humanity” into a separate type of act that deserves a special judicial procedure, regardless of the norms of national law. It was under this category of crimes that the actions of the leaders of the Nazi party, the military leaders of Hitler's Germany, fell. Professor H. Lauterpacht was involved in the Nuremberg Trials he participated in the development of the Statute of the Tribunal, acted as one of the assistant prosecutors on the British side and edited the final version of the indictment against international criminals.
In the post-war period, G. Lauterpacht represented the interests of Great Britain at the International Court of Justice, was a member of the UN Commission on International Law. Like many intellectuals from among European Jews who managed to survive during the Nazi genocide, G. Lauterpacht tried to understand the meaning of the Holocaust and formulate legal mechanisms to prevent similar crimes in the future.
G. Lauterpacht was one of the creators of the post-war concept of human rights, which was later enshrined in the UN Charter (one of the goals of its activity is the protection of human rights) and in several documents that were published in the 1940s and 1950s.
The scientist supported the idea of creating an independent State of Israel in the Middle East. In particular, at the request of the Jewish side, he participated in the development of the text of the Declaration of Independence of Israel, which actually documented the emergence of a new state on the map.
A native of Zhovkva, who managed to make a breakthrough academic career, was almost unknown in his homeland. The restoration of his name was facilitated by the publication in 2017 of the book “East-West Street” by the British lawyer Philip Sands, dedicated to the life history of G. Lauterpacht and another famous international lawyer, a graduate of the Faculty of Law of Lviv University - Raphael Lemkin (1900–1959). The latter became the author of the legal concept of genocide – “crime of crimes”. Unfortunately, the scientific achievement of R. Lemkin and H. Lauterpacht is extremely relevant for modern Ukraine, whose citizens suffer from the crimes of the Russian military and the occupation authorities.
Some time ago, the director of the Museum, Dr. Iryna Radchenko, dedicated a video to the figure of G. Lauterpacht, which is available to everyone who subscribes to our YouTube channel.
Yehor Vradii