July 11 marks Poland’s National Day of Remembrance for the victims of mass killings carried out during World War II by Ukrainian nationalist groups - the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) - in the eastern territories of the Second Polish Republic.
“While paying tribute to the victims and remembering our difficult past, today we stand in solidarity with Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression,” the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in an official statement.
A rare meeting with the last living witness to Volhynia’s genocide
Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz took part on Friday in the opening of an exhibition dedicated to the Volhynia massacre.
The event was symbolically inaugurated by Alina Amborska, the only living witness to the tragic events that took place in Volhynia.
Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, Alina Amborska. Photo: PAP/Piotr Nowak
The Defence Minister emphasised that commemorating the victims of the Volhynia massacre should not become a source of discord between Poland and Ukraine.
“I want to build the future on this truth, which must be shown, and on respect for the past. This wound will not heal until it is cleansed. There are no wounds that, left uncleansed, will close and heal on their own. This means acknowledging that it happened.Genocide did take place,” said Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz. He described the genocide committed by the OUN-UPA as one of the most tragic events in Polish history.
Remembering Bloody Sunday
Today’s commemorations are held on the anniversary of what is known as Bloody Sunday - 11 July 1943 - which marked the peak of the Volhynia massacre, the mass extermination of Polish civilians in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia (in what is now western Ukraine, near the border with Poland).
The atrocities were carried out by the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, and local Ukrainian civilians.
At noon, a remembrance roll call will be read at the Volhynia Square in Warsaw to honour those who were murdered. Commemorations marking this tragic anniversary will also take place in other locations, including the city of Chełm in southeastern Poland, where the Volhynia Massacre Memorial Museum is set to open.
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Source: MSZ/MON/IAR/X/PolandMFA