National Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Genocide of the Citizens of the Polish Republic Committed by Ukrainian Nationalists

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Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki (left) at the 2018 National Day of Remembrance in Warsaw

The National Day of Remembrance of the victims of the Genocide of Citizens of the Polish Republic committed by Ukrainian Nationalists (Polish: Narodowy Dzień Pamięci Ofiar Ludobójstwa dokonanego przez ukraińskich nacjonalistów na obywatelach II Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej) is an official commemorative date in Poland, marked on July 11. It is not a day off. The day of July 11 was chosen because it was July 11, 1943, that became the apogee (Volhynian Bloody Sunday) of the massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia when armed units of Ukrainian nationalists simultaneously attacked 99 settlements inhabited by ethnic Poles.

History of establishment[edit]

Polish victims of a massacre committed by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army in the village of Lipniki, Wołyń (Volhynia), 1943

On July 15, 2009, the Sejm of Poland, in its resolution (adopted by unanimous acclamation without voting procedure) stated, that the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) carried out "an anti-Polish action – mass killings that had the character of ethnic cleansing and had signs of genocide". In addition, the Sejm "honors the memory of the Home Army soldiers, Self-Defense of the Eastern Kres and Peasant battalions who rose to the dramatic struggle to protect the Polish civilian population and also remembers with pain the victims among the Ukrainian civilian population".[1][2]

On July 15, 2013, the Sejm adopted a special resolution dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the "Volyn Crime" (this name is used in the resolution[citation needed]), which notes that the crimes committed by the OUN and UPA had an "organized and massive scale", which gave them "the character of ethnic cleansing with signs of genocide."[3]

On July 7, 2016, the Senate of Poland adopted a resolution "on the issue of perpetuating the memory of the victims of the genocide committed by Ukrainian nationalists against citizens of the Second Polish Republic in 1939-1945."[4]

On July 22, 2016, the Sejm established this memorial day in memory of the victims of the Volyn massacre of the Polish population, organized by the fighters of the OUN, UPA, SS Galicia division and other Ukrainian formations during World War II.[5] Deputies from the Polish Peasant Party proposed another name – "The Day of Remembrance of the Polish victims of the genocide committed by the OUN-UPA on the Eastern Borders of the Second Polish Republic".[6]

Reaction in Ukraine[edit]

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko in his Facebook account expressed the opinion that he "regrets the decision of the Polish Sejm. I know that many will want to use it for political speculation. However, we should turn to the testament of John Paul II – we forgive and ask for forgiveness."[7] The Verkhovna Rada Committee on Foreign Affairs of Ukraine issued a special statement in which it expressed "deep concern" about the resolution of Sejm.[8] The far-right Svoboda party condemned the decision of the Polish Sejm.[9]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "UCHWAŁA Sejmu Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 15 lipca 2009 r. w sprawie tragicznego losu Polaków na Kresach Wschodnich" (PDF). Seym of the Republic of Poland (in Polish). 2009-07-15. Retrieved 2022-10-06.
  2. ^ "Свобода требует от Польши прекратить антиукраинскую истерию". Корреспондент (in Russian). 2009-07-22. Retrieved 2022-10-06.
  3. ^ "W SPRAWIE UCZCZENIA 70. ROCZNICY ZBRODNI WOŁYŃSKIEJ I ODDANIA HOŁDU JEJ OFIAROM" (PDF). Kronika Sejmowa (in Polish). 42 (7): 21–24. 2013-07-15.
  4. ^ "UCHWAŁA SENATU RZECZYPOSPOLITEJ POLSKIEJ z dnia 7 lipca 2016 r. w sprawie oddania hołdu ofiarom ludobójstwa dokonanego przez nacjonalistów ukraińskich na obywatelach II Rzeczypospolitej w latach 1939–1945" (PDF). Senate of the Republic of Poland (in Polish). 2016-07-07. Retrieved 2022-10-06.
  5. ^ "Uchwała Sejmu w sprawie oddania hołdu ofiarom ludobójstwa dokonanego przez nacjonalistów ukraińskich na obywatelach II RP w latach 1943–1945 - Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej".
  6. ^ "w sprawie ustanowienia 11 lipca Dniem Pamięci o Polakach - Ofiarach Ludobójstwa dokonanego przez OUN-UPA na Kresach Wschodnich II Rzeczypospolitej" (PDF). Sejm of the Republic of Poland (in Polish). 2016-06-08. Retrieved 2022-10-06.
  7. ^ Порошенко, Петро (2016-07-22). "Шкодую щодо рішення польського Сейму". Facebook (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2022-10-06.
  8. ^ "Офіційний портал Верховної Ради України". Archived from the original on 2016-07-25. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  9. ^ "Заява ВО "Свобода" з приводу резолюції польського Сейму у справі Волинської трагедії". Во "Свобода" (in Ukrainian). 21 July 2016.
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