On Tuesday, July 11, the Polish Sejm (the lower house of parliament) adopted a resolution to commemorate the victims of the Volhynia tragedy on its 80th anniversary.
The resolution received unanimous support, with a total of 440 Sejm deputies participating in the vote. The document refers to the events of July 11, 1943, in Volhynia, where, according to the resolution, “Bloody Sunday took place – the culminating moment” of the Volhynia tragedy, which Polish deputies describe as genocide.
The Volhynia Massacre has long been an impediment to fully developed Polish-Ukrainian friendship.
As the resolution highlights, on that day, “Ukrainian units of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), often supported by Ukrainian civilians, attacked 99 villages inhabited by Poles in the former Volhynia Voivodeship and killed a significant part of their population.”
According to the document, starting from 2016, July 11 has been designated as the National Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Genocide, during which “more than 100,000 Poles were killed – often in a very brutal way.”
The resolution aims to pay tribute to the memory of all the victims of the Volhynia tragedy. It acknowledges the individuals from the Ukrainian nation who courageously opposed the crime committed by their compatriots, even risking their own lives. These brave individuals deserve special recognition, the resolution said.
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The document underscores the parliamentarians’ focus on the importance of “Polish-Ukrainian reconciliation,” a process that has been developed over the years by representatives from both nations. It should also encompass the “recognition of guilt and commemoration of the victims of the Second World War.”
The adopted resolution also stated that “the exhumation, dignified burial, and commemoration of all victims of genocide in the eastern borderlands are necessary.”
On July 9, Presidents Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and Andrzej Duda of Poland visited Lutsk together to pay their respects to the victims of the Volhynia tragedy.
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Comments (3)
On July 9, Presidents Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and Andrzej Duda of Poland visited Lutsk together to pay their respects to the victims of the Volhynia tragedy."
This is a great first step in the right direction. I believe as a Ukrainian, my people and the Polish people can and will reconcile this terrible part of history.
My concern is that this terrible historical event is not allowed to drive a wedge between Poland and Ukraine, which is exactly want the criminally insane communist "government" of russia wants and ...as illustrated already by the two titushkys.
On 11 July 1943 at the crack of dawn Ukrainian insurgent detachments and ruthlessly slaughtered Polish civilians in 99 Polish villages. Researchers estimate that on that day alone, known as Bloody Sunday, the number of Polish victims may have amounted to some 8,000 people, mostly women, children, and the elderly. However, the massacres continued for two years. Between 1943 and 1945, around 100, 000 Poles were murdered in 1865 places in Wołyń.
The murders were committed with incredible cruelty. Many were burnt alive or thrown into wells. Axes, pitchforks, scythes, knives and other farming tools rather than guns were used in an attempt to make the massacres look like a spontaneous peasant uprising. In the blood frenzy, the Ukrainians tortured their victims with unimaginable bestiality. Victims were scalped. They had their noses, lips and ears cut off. They had their eyes gouged out and hands cut off and they had their heads squashed in clamps. Woman had their breasts cut off and pregnant woman were stabbed in the belly. Men had their genitals sliced off with sickles.
According to historians, the massacres were ethnic cleansing, but they also meet the definition of genocide.
https://justiceforpolishvictims.org/
There were not only Poles murdered in Volinsky Massacre. Also thousands of Jews, and Russians. It was much more than 100,000. In accordance with Wikipedia, it was almost 500,000 people.