“1944” won the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 for Ukraine. Jamala performed the song, which was inspired by the 1944 deportation of Crimean Tatars under Joseph Stalin’s Soviet government.
The contest took place in Stockholm, Sweden, and Ukraine won the televised public vote despite finishing second with the professional juries. The result gave the country its second Eurovision victory, following Ruslana’s win in 2004.
The song’s subject led to political discussion because Eurovision rules prohibit explicitly political entries. Organizers accepted it as a historical and personal song rather than a direct political statement. Its title refers to the year of the deportations, a major historical trauma for Crimean Tatars.
A common mix-up is confusing the song with Ukraine’s 2004 winning entry, “Wild Dances,” or with “Stefania,” Ukraine’s 2022 winner. “1944” is specifically associated with Jamala and the 2016 contest.