The Polish parliament’s lower house, the Sejm, has taken a significant step by adopting a resolution that honors the victims of mass killings carried out by Ukrainian nationalists during World War Two. This resolution, passed on the 80th anniversary of the infamous Volhynia Massacre, emphasizes the importance of Polish-Ukrainian reconciliation and calls for both an admission of guilt and the commemoration of all World War Two victims.
The resolution specifically highlights the necessity of conducting exhumations to ensure that all the victims of the genocide in the Eastern Borderlands are laid to rest with dignity and properly remembered.
During the period between 1943 and 1944, an estimated 100,000 Poles fell victim to the brutal acts of the ultra-nationalist Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) in the Volhynia and Eastern Galicia regions, which were part of pre-war eastern Poland but are now situated in western Ukraine.
Despite the strong bonds that have been forged between Ukraine and Poland due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the historical shadow cast by these killings continues to strain Ukrainian-Polish relations. It is noteworthy that the anniversary of the Volhynia Massacre occurs on July 11.