Bloody Sunday, July 11, 1943, is simply a date that permanently entered the past of Poland as a day of mass execution on the civilian population. On that day a coordinated series of attacks by the Ukrainian Insurgency Army (UPA) on Polish villages, towns and settlements took place in Volyn. The goal was not to capture the area, displace the opponent or fight the armed forces. The goal was extermination – the full removal of Poles from these lands.
The crime occurred on Sunday morning erstwhile the population was gathering at Masses of the saints. The attackers utilized the minute of focus and prayer to attack helpless people. Churches were burned, priests, women, children and old people were murdered. Many victims were killed in an highly brutal way – from blows with an axe, knife, hammer, fork or baton. The criminals spared no 1 – full families were murdered.
Thousands of people died in 1 day, and the full number of victims of the Volyn massacre, which lasted from 1943 to 1945, could scope over 100 1000 Poles. Blood Sunday became the culmination of this crime – a symbol of genocide, whose goal was to “pure Ukraine” without the presence of the Polish population. The slogan “Smert Lacham” (Death of Poles), painted on fences and houses, was not an empty threat. It was the announcement of a systematic slaughter.
UPA attacks were frequently supported by the local Ukrainian population, which further deepened the tragedy – neighbors murdered neighbors, people who had previously lived together, worked and even formed mixed families. There have, of course, been cases of heroism and aid – Ukrainians hiding Poles, saving children, informing against robbery. But in the shadow of mass crimes, these acts of courage were unfortunately the exception.
It is to these fewer Ukrainians who, risking their own lives and their families, helped Poles, deserve a separate place in historical memory. They are called the Ukrainian Righteous. Their attitude required exceptional courage, as they threatened to die at the hands of their own people. They hid Polish children, arranged fictional metrics, warned against planned attacks, stored wounded. Their number is hard to estimate, but their testimonies survived in surviving relationships. This proves that even in times of top cruelty there is simply a place for humanity and solidarity beyond cultural divisions. Memory of the Ukrainian Righteous is an crucial component in building an honest image of those events, showing that there were besides acts of good in addition to the crime.
Bloody Sunday is present a symbolic date – it is simply a day of remembrance of all victims of the Volyn genocide. For decades this subject has been taboo in Poland. In the times of the Polish People's Republic, he was not allowed to talk out, and after 1989 he was frequently marginalized in the name of political pragmatism and the pursuit of reconciliation with Ukraine. However, actual reconciliation cannot be built on lying or silence. It must be based on truth, designation of guilt, and worthy of commemoration of the victims.
Today there is more and more talk about the request for authoritative designation of the Volyn crime as genocide – according to the facts and testimonies of the survivors. In fresh years, the number of memorials, memorials, mass and educational initiatives have been expanding to reconstruct the memory of these tragic events. But there is inactive a lot to do – not only in Poland, but above all in Ukraine, where the subject of Volyn is inactive deliberately displaced from historical consciousness.
Memorizing Bloody Sunday, it's not about cultivating hatred. It's about honesty towards victims and history. The point is that the drama of Volyn should not be forgotten, that subsequent generations should know what nationalism leads to, the dehumanization of the "other" and the ideology of cultural purity. actual memory does not hurt – she teaches. Blood Sunday is simply a informing for the future. But above all, it is simply a tribute to those who died only due to the fact that they were Poles.
Andrzej Wrock
