OPINION: Fixing a Festering Issue in Polish-Ukrainian Relations – A Polish Perspective

In Poland, July is usually hot not only in terms of weather but also in Polish-Ukrainian relations. It is the month that marks the anniversary of the Volhynia massacre of 1943, as it is known in Poland. It is claimed that that summer, as many as 100,000 Poles were slaughtered by armed Ukrainians, dwarfing the number of Ukrainian victims.

Despite 81 years having passed, Kyiv and Warsaw still have not reached an acceptable compromise understanding on this issue.

So, this week also witnessed a rise in the political temperature. "Ukraine cannot be admitted to the EU until Warsaw and Kyiv resolve the issue of the Volhynia massacre," Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense, declared in an interview with Polsat TV on July 24.

These strong words don't affect the overall current cooperation between Poland and Ukraine. On July 27, Kosiniak-Kamysz made this clear in an interview with TOK FM radio, stating: "The issue of Volhynia is important to many Poles. I spoke about two things: that unconditional humanitarian and military aid for Ukraine is essential today."

Such a firm stance by the Polish Deputy Prime Minister results from the apparent lack of any resolute conciliatory reaction from Kyiv. The issue is particularly delicate and sensitive because many victims, people who managed to survive or were saved by righteous Ukrainians, or the children of these victims, are still alive. This keeps the memory among Poles very much alive.

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What do Poles expect?

Polish society doesn't apply the notion of collective responsibility as such but instead seeks the exhumation of murdered civilians and the establishment of burials and memorials for the victims. Kyiv's refusal to agree to this causes outrage, especially since, after the full-scale war launched by Russia began, exhumations of German soldiers from World War II have been carried out in Ukraine.

According to Polish public opinion, Kyiv's refusal to act on this is due to the prevailing cult of nationalist leader Stepan Bandera and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army - UPA linked to him, which fought for Ukraine's independence from 1942 into the 1950s. They are blamed for the ethnic cleansing of the Polish population of the Volyhnia region which had been under Polish rule in the inter-war period and subsequently became part of western Ukraine.

Acknowledging the Polish standpoint in this matter could defuse the situation by balancing out the narrative maintained by Ukraine. This depicts what occurred as a defensive and preemptive action by Ukrainian patriots to counter what they viewed as Polish colonization that had been underway for decades leading Bandera and his followers to resort to extreme methods.

Poland underwent a process of facing up to unpleasant moments in its recent past when it integrated into Western structures, similar to Ukraine's current efforts. President Kwaśniewski apologized in 2001 for the massacre of Jews in Jedwabne and the Polish public debate has been informed by numerous publications about the crimes committed by Polish nationalist National Armed Forces partisans against other ethnic groups during World War II. It doesn't prevent the remembrance of many Poles who have been honored in Israel as Righteous Among the Nations, or of other noble examples. Indeed, Poland honors Ukrainians who saved Poles during the Volhynia Massacre.

Lack of agreement - consequences

The lack of conciliatory political responses from the Ukrainian side has a very negative impact on Polish public opinion across the political spectrum, weakening the enthusiastic and positive sentiments of Poles towards Ukraine that have been building in recent years. The continued absence of empathetic constructive gestures from Kyiv could be manipulated and lead to serious socio-political tensions in the future.

And signs of this are already visible - the recently unveiled memorial to the victims of the Volhynia massacres in the village of Domostawa in southeast Poland. It was very graphic in the depiction of the purported crimes committed by the Ukrainian side and sparked a wave of controversy in Poland. The unveiling ceremony also attracted the still marginally present pro-Russian groups in Poland, and it is quite obvious that Russia ultimately benefits from conflicts between Poland and Ukraine.

Warsaw's policy

The main political goal guiding Warsaw in Polish-Ukrainian relations is to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia. The calculation is very simple—the farther away the Russian troops are, the better. In other aspects, cooperation between the two countries is developing very well.

However, successive Polish governments have found it difficult to avoid the thorny issue of what occurred in Volhynia. Warsaw considers that Ukraine's integration into the EU is a good opportunity to finally address the Volhynia massacre and persuade the authorities in Kyiv to make concessionary moves.

It is important to remember that no one in Poland makes further support for Ukraine conditional on this issue. "We, too, had to straighten out and explain many matters before joining the EU. This is a normal procedure. I believe that without resolving the issue of exhumation, commemoration, and dignified burial, this wound, which still festers, will not heal. This is not about revenge, but about memory" – the Polish Deputy Prime Minister explained on radio.

A positive resolution of this dispute will undoubtedly bring many benefits to Polish-Ukrainian relations. One Polish-Ukrainian dispute has recently been resolved. Although it concerned a matter of significantly lesser importance, it also stirred strong emotions. In May 2022, the veiled statues of lions at the Cemetery of the 1918-19 Defenders of Lwów in Lviv, a memorial site for Polish defenders of Lviv, were unveiled again.

This precedent allows us to look optimistically towards a shared future in which Polish victims will be commemorated with dignity and Ukraine will be a member state of the European Union. The only thing needed is timely political action. Otherwise, the problem will keep resurfacing and festering.

The views expressed in this opinion article are the author’s and not necessarily those of Kyiv Post.