The Volhynian massacre - what really happened between Poles and Ukrainians?
How Do Poles and Ukrainians Remember the Volhynia Tragedy – and Why So Differently?
The true history of the Volhynian tragedy is perceived in fundamentally different ways by the Ukrainian and Polish nations. In Poland, it is referred to as a “massacre” and considered a genocide of Poles in Ukraine, initiated at the highest level by the Ukrainian OUN and UPA. Ukrainian scholars do not deny the involvement of UPA soldiers in the crimes but generally strongly oppose the claim that there was a systematic plan to exterminate a significant portion of the Polish population in Volhynia. Moreover, Ukrainian historians emphasize that Poles murdered Ukrainians in a similar fashion.
The dispute over the Volhynian tragedy gained new momentum several years ago when Ukraine banned the Polish side from conducting searches for exhumation and reburial. This was in response to Poland’s refusal to restore monuments to Ukrainians, including UPA soldiers, that had been destroyed by vandals.
In the first episode of the collaborative series between the Mieroszewski Centre and Realna Istorija, we brought together renowned historians and experts from both Poland and Ukraine to understand what truly happened in Volhynia 80 years ago, why it happened, and how we might find mutual understanding today.
The story of the Volhynian Massacre was told by:
- Prof. Grzegorz Motyka
- Dr. Łukasz Adamski
and from the Ukrainian side:
- Pavlo Klimkin, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (2014–2019)
- Dr. Volodymyr Viatrovych, Head of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance (2014–2019).
This was the first episode in a series exploring the history of Polish-Ukrainian relations. The project is carried out in cooperation with the Ukrainian history channel “Realna Istoriya.”