After the uproar caused by his statement that “the Home Army is the UPA”, Kazimierz Wóycicki has not only failed to retract his thesis but has gone even further. In an interview with “Rzeczpospolita”, he once again equated the Ukrainian Insurgent Army with the Polish independence underground and also stated that “the Polish side should apologize for what it is currently doing toward Ukrainians”.
During the program “Kłamstwo nie przejdzie”, broadcast on June 12 on TVP Info in liquidation, remarks were made that sparked widespread controversy. Historian Kazimierz Wóycicki stated that the Home Army and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army were “two national liberation armies”, and then said outright: “the Home Army is the UPA”.
The statement met with sharp criticism and triggered a reaction from the National Broadcasting Council. The regulator asked TVP in liquidation for explanations, indicating that in matters concerning history and national memory, the broadcaster should demonstrate “particular sensitivity and diligence”.
The station on whose air these disgraceful words were spoken is avoiding the topic. Today, when Law and Justice (PiS) MP Łukasz Schreiber referred to Wóycicki’s statement, the program’s host Kamila Biedrzycka decided to end the broadcast. The official reason was “lack of time”.
Wóycicki Without Self-Reflection. He Went Three Steps Further
As a reminder, the issue of Polish-Ukrainian relations resurfaced after, at the end of May, the President of Ukraine named one of the military units “Heroes of the UPA”. On June 8, the Chapter of the Order of the White Eagle convened, among other things, to issue a recommendation regarding President Karol Nawrocki’s opinion on stripping Volodymyr Zelenskyy of one of Poland’s highest decorations.
So far, only the President of Poland has reviewed the body’s opinion, and he is expected to announce his decision soon. The head of state’s spokesperson, Rafał Leśkiewicz, emphasized that the Polish leader is still awaiting a possible change regarding the unit’s patron.
Nevertheless, the historian who shocked public opinion on Friday with the thesis “the Home Army is the UPA” appeared in a “Rzeczpospolita” podcast. The more than 30-minute conversation is saturated with similar theories.
“Which national movements in Europe do not have dark chapters? I would remind you that, according to data and estimates, between 100,000 and 300,000 Jews were murdered in Poland at the hands of Poles. Yet we do not question the resistance of Poles against the Germans. This does not undermine the enormous effort of our society. In the same way, the UPA was an army, let us call it, of national liberation”, Wóycicki said.
However, the podcast host, Bogusław Chrabota, disagreed with his views.
At one point, Wóycicki recalled the words of Andrzej Szeptycki, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education, who compared the UPA to the Cursed Soldiers. And, of course, he agreed with them.
“So Szeptycki made a comparison with the Cursed Soldiers, a comparison with the Cursed Soldiers. This is absolutely obvious. And I believe it is also obvious in comparison with the Home Army. Two armies that fought for the independence of their own state”, the “Rz” interviewee continued.
“I expect the Polish side to apologize”
The journalist objected: “The Home Army did not commit acts of genocide. Likewise, the Polish Cursed Soldiers did not commit acts of genocide. In some cases, there were attacks on non-Polish civilians. However, this was not the murder of 100,000 people…”.
“First of all, let it be 100,000, although these are all estimates. Fine, even 1,000 is a gigantic number of innocent people murdered. But on the Polish side, or the Polish side also murdered several…”, Wóycicki insisted.
He then added: “I also feel like a Polish citizen and I have many acquaintances. And my acquaintances, and that part of public opinion to which I belong, expect that the Polish side will apologize for what it is currently doing toward Ukrainians, and not the other way around”.
After these words, the podcast ended.