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Films on the history of Polish-Ukrainian relations

The premiere of a documentary film on the Volhynian Massacre, produced by the Ukrainian history channel Realna Istoriya and in cooperation with the Mieroszewski Centre, is behind us. The aim of the project is to produce films analysing the history of Polish-Ukrainian relations, taking into account the different perspectives of both countries.

Realna Istoriya is a popular Ukrainian history channel on YouTube with an audience of several hundred thousand, which focuses on a wide range of topics related to the history of Ukraine and the Eastern European region. The channel is known for its material analysing key historical events that have affected Ukraine's national identity, its relations with its neighbours and the international context.

One of the main threats to Polish-Ukrainian relations are public emotions over interpretations of the past. They may arise as a result of the different historical memory of the two nations or under the influence of political instrumentalisation of issues related to the past. An additional threat is the influence of Russian historical disinformation on public discussions in both countries. Thanks to the cooperation undertaken, the Ukrainian audience will have a chance to become acquainted with a view on the course of the Volhynian massacre and the UPA's responsibility for it, which differs from the prevailing one in Ukraine.

The premise of the programme is that the guests should present the historical perspectives prevailing in both countries , therefore in the first episode we heard the voice of Polish historians Prof. Grzegorz Motyka and Dr. Łukasz Adamski, while from the Ukrainian side Pavlo Klimkin, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine from 2014-2019, and Dr. Volodymyr Viatrovych, President of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance from 2014-2019, talked about Volhynia.

The documentary series, which the Mieroszewski Centre is producing together with the Ukrainian channel Realna Istorija, will help to provide both societies with answers to many of the burning questions.

The next episodes are coming soon.