“Is Volhynia solely a matter for historians? Responsibility is unconditional [OPINION]”

Volhynia continues to divide our two nations, despite the fact that Ukraine and Poland are currently natural allies. Although relations between the countries are characterized by mutual assistance and cooperation, the shadow of the horrific events of 20th-century Polish-Ukrainian history still taints them. Even the existential threat from the East has not been able to change this. Volhynia is a wound that hurts Poland, while in Ukraine, for some reason, few people think about it, and sometimes they don’t even know what it is about – writes Indologist Dr. Yulia Fil from the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences on PostPravda.Info.

Volhynia and the issues related to it are something I first encountered at a conference in Poland, during which the Ukrainian delegation gave their Polish colleagues a graphic in black and red colors. The Ukrainians did not mean to offend the Poles, but I assume they simply made this mistake unknowingly, due to a lack of knowledge and understanding. This, of course, does not excuse them in any way, but at the same time, there needs to be mutual awareness that people do not always have the knowledge, and politicians further introduce their own speculations on this sensitive topic, tossing responsibility around like a hot potato. Religious communities, unfortunately, remain silent. Is there a chance to close this issue once and for all for both nations?

Polish and Ukrainian historians agree on the tragic sides of shared history The end of 2024 brought a number of positive developments regarding relations between Poland and Ukraine, including progress on unresolved issues from the bloody chapters of 20th-century Polish-Ukrainian history. In November 2024, the Second Polish-Ukrainian Communiqué was published, aimed at working out a joint interpretation of Polish-Ukrainian events from the 1940s, and on November 26, during a meeting between the foreign ministers of Ukraine and Poland – Andriy Sybiha and Radosław Sikorski – the Ukrainian side finally allowed the Polish side to conduct search and exhumation work on Ukrainian territory.

Both events can be considered extraordinary, though somewhat delayed. Thirty years have passed since the First Polish-Ukrainian Communiqué of 1994, and seven years since 2017, when Ukraine imposed a moratorium on the exhumation of victims of the Ukrainian-Polish confrontation in Volhynia.

Indeed, the history of Polish-Ukrainian relations in the 20th century is very complex and bloody. In the broadest sense, it is associated with the struggle between Ukrainians and Poles for dominance over territories inhabited by both nations to varying degrees. This struggle began at the end of World War I and intensified during World War II, reaching its climax in Volhynia in 1943, when, according to various reports, between 80,000 and 100,000 Poles were killed as part of an anti-Polish campaign by Ukrainian nationalists.

According to documents, in 1942–1943 both Poles and Ukrainians anticipated a potential repeat of the scenario from the end of World War I, where a simultaneous defeat of Germany and the USSR could lead to a new Polish-Ukrainian conflict over disputed territories in Eastern Galicia and Volhynia. Thus, according to available data, the OUN-B (Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, Bandera faction), anticipating such an outcome, decided at the turn of 1942/1943 to form military units and ignite a national uprising in Volhynia against all its enemies—primarily Poles and Soviet partisans, and to a lesser extent, Germans. In reality, this marked the beginning of the genocide of the Polish population in Ukrainian lands.

Volhynia and the Joint Communiqué of a Few Historians

So far, 22 historians have signed such documents: 13 from Poland and 9 from Ukraine. Two Ukrainian historians have withdrawn their signatures. Therefore, we do not see widespread support among scholars in both countries, which means that the historical vision of these bloody events differs, and it is difficult to reach a consensus. The work of historians on both sides of the border continues, and there is still no definitive and complete picture of the Polish-Ukrainian conflict. But regardless of the final verdict of the historians (if such a verdict is even possible), the issue must be addressed on a different level – moral and ethical.

Political speculations about the great tragedy between the nations usually come down to accusing the other side of inflating the number of victims or arguing over who started it or who provoked whom. Due to a lack of arguments, such discussions often end with the statement: “look at yourself,” and relations between the two countries systematically deteriorate. This was the strategy adopted by former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Olsztyn during a panel discussion titled “Poland of the Future,” in which Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski also participated.

When asked when Ukraine would allow the exhumation of the bodies of Volhynia tragedy victims, the minister responded in a “look at yourself” style, recalling the deportation of Ukrainians from eastern Poland as part of Operation “Vistula” in 1947. A response more fitting for a playground brawl than a high-level political meeting between ministers, not to mention the fact that, from a purely historical perspective, “Operation Vistula,” as the Poles call it, was an action not of the Polish nation but of the Polish communists, who are hard to identify with the Polish people.

It is unclear whether the former minister lacks culture and education, or if he is merely playing to the internal audience, thereby jeopardizing Ukraine’s national interests. But either way, it is not up to politicians to debate history, especially when historians themselves do not have sufficient data. In my opinion, politicians, as well as the societies of both countries, should focus on the universal moral and ethical aspect of the issue.

Moral and Ethical Attitude Towards the Tragic Pages of History

One can approach the issue from a purely legal standpoint and, based on available documents and evidence, issue an independent judicial verdict, classifying the crimes of each side and determining the degree of their responsibility. A legal approach allows for this to be done without emotion, objectively, and on formal grounds. However, this requires gathering sufficient material from both sides, so the legal dimension of the case largely depends on the work of historians. Nevertheless, alongside the legal dimension, there is also a moral and ethical dimension in relation to this undeniable tragedy.

Politicians do not understand one thing: there is no arithmetic of sin. Each side is responsible for its own actions, regardless of what sins the other side committed. If Ukrainian nationalists killed 100,000 Poles (as some documents suggest), and Poles killed 10,000 Ukrainians, then the Ukrainian nationalists are responsible for exactly the number they killed, and they cannot subtract the crimes of the other side from their own. The blood of others is not washed away by one’s own blood. Responsibility is unconditional.

Ukrainians may argue with Poles about the number of victims, but they cannot deny the fact that Ukrainian nationalist groups killed Poles in the 1940s and their responsibility for it, which nothing can negate—neither the fact of provocation nor the fact of the other side’s crimes. This is the only universal ethical, or if you will, Christian stance that is possible in this situation. Both Ukraine and Poland seem to position themselves as Western democratic liberal societies, where human life is the highest value. Or is this axiom just an empty declaration?

I believe Ukraine should unconditionally acknowledge the responsibility of Ukrainian nationalist groups for Volhynia and the events in Eastern Galicia, for the tens of thousands of murdered Poles, allowing historians to continue their work and Poles to exhume the bodies of their murdered relatives, ignoring any provocations from the second or third party. And by the way, the “third party” is eagerly waiting to exploit the situation of historical Ukrainian-Polish hostility for its own benefit. This, of course, refers to Russia.

Russia, Ukraine, Poland, and Volhynia

The joint Polish-Ukrainian communiqué from November 2024 begins with the statement that, in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war, it is more important than ever for Poles and Ukrainians to resolve historical disputes to prevent them from becoming a tool in the hands of the Russian Federation. It’s hard to disagree with this argument. The moral and ethical dimension of the situation demands an unconditional resolution of the dispute, regardless of any external circumstances. Ukrainians and Poles must solve their historical problems not because of the threat from Russia, but simply because universal human ethics demands it.

Of course, the Russian war may provide an incentive to do this as quickly as possible, but it should not be the main reason for restoring relations. Only an unconditional resolution of the dispute will be effective, true, and final, while any situational and opportunistic solution will not build trust or create a solid foundation for future relations between the countries.

The communiqué from the KARTA Center is a fairly comprehensive document that explains in detail the historical context of the Ukrainian-Polish confrontation in the 1940s, but its most valuable aspect is another message: “all victims are ours.” This should be understood to mean that the victims of the tragedy should not be divided into “ours” and “theirs,” and their numbers should not be traded. As the communiqué rightly states: “Respect for all the victims of the Polish-Ukrainian conflict of the 1940s and their dignified commemoration seems not only a moral duty but above all evidence of the maturity of modern and democratic European societies.”

Historians have thus spoken. Now it would be desirable to hear the voices of intellectuals and religious communities—those who hold authority in society. I hope they will also express their moral evaluation of both the tragic pages of history and the attempts by contemporary politicians to dishonestly exploit this tragedy for their own interests.