No one will remember Volhynia for us. A crime that is hard to imagine.

"The crimes committed against Poles are terrifying and overwhelming," we heard during the Szczecin commemorations of the National Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Genocide committed by Ukrainian nationalists against citizens of the Second Polish Republic. Participants emphasized that the memory of these events should unite people across divisions.

"Today marks the 82nd anniversary of the so-called 'Bloody Sunday' in Volhynia. On that day, OUN-UPA fighters murdered 10,000 people in nearly a hundred settlements in the eastern part of Volhynia," said Dr. Artur Kubaj, acting head of the Branch Office of Historical Research of the Institute of National Remembrance in Szczecin, during the commemoration at the Central Cemetery. "Atrocity. This is the first word that comes to mind, especially for those who remember the memories of their loved ones or those who have read accounts from the rich literature of Kresy residents or historical studies. What happened then in the Borderlands of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is difficult to understand. The facts about the cruel circumstances of the murder of the inhabitants of the village of Parośle, tied up and hacked to death with axes, or about the inhabitants of other towns murdered in inventive ways with agricultural implements, are both horrifying and overwhelming. We cannot forget that nearly a thousand Ukrainians saved Poles condemned to extermination."

The historian stated that it is our duty to remember the victims of Ukrainian nationalists. This memory should unite us all—and mobilize us to build a strong Poland. And Polish elites, regardless of their political views, should strive to ensure that the Ukrainian state recognizes the Volhynia massacres as genocide and condemns the Ukrainian nationalist underground of World War II.

Bartłomiej Ilcewicz of the Eastern Borderlands - Heritage and Remembrance Association said that the crime committed was beyond comprehension. And on July 11, 1943, Poles were murdered even in houses of worship.

"We must remember. No one will do it for us. No other country," argued Bartłomiej Ilcewicz. "Although the exhumations have begun, will those still alive have time to pray at the graves of their parents, grandparents, and close relatives? Perhaps not. That's why we must make every effort—we, ordinary citizens, but also representatives of state authorities—to ensure that in this generation we will be able to travel to Ukraine, light a candle, lay flowers, and pay tribute to those who were murdered."

Mirosław Don, who witnessed Bloody Sunday as a young child, also spoke at the ceremony. He recounted how his family and other Poles fled from village to village.

"Death was following us, they followed us like hunters. Wherever we stopped, they made a cauldron and slaughtered everything Polish and living," Mirosław Don recounted. "One night in Janówka, we were surrounded by over 800 Ukrainians from the surrounding villages. Each of them had an axe and a pitchfork. Around midnight, our Ukrainian neighbors showed up. They also came to kill and take the spoils of the Polish farmers. They knew the area. Most of us fled into the grain fields. Even the Polish girls fought there. Before they died, they injured more than one bandit."

Following the ceremony, MP Jarosław Rzepa of the Polish People's Party (PSL) spoke about his party's initiative to recognize July 11 as a national holiday. He thanked other parties, from right to left, for supporting this idea. ©℗

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