In tribute to the victims of the Volyn massacre

On the eve of the anniversary of “bloody Sunday”, the culminating point of the Volynian Reich, the Łódź national and patriotic communities celebrated the memory of the victims of this unprecedented crime. In addition to the organizers, activists of the Confederation of the Polish Crown, the Polish thought Club and the Kamrat community took part in the Łódź March of Memory of Victims of the OUN-UPA genocide. The votes were taken by: Jan Waliszewski (R. Dmowski Club), Adam Laughter (Think Poland), Kamil Klimczak (R. Dmowski Club), Piotr Wolski (Confederation of the Polish Crown) and Michał Radzikowski (Myśli Polska).

Statement by the Polish thought Club in Łódź during the Łódź March of the OUN-UPA Victims Memorial.

Massive crimes against the Polish population by Ukrainian fascists from the CNS and UPA began in March and culminated in July 1943. On 11 July 1943, referred to as “a bloody Sunday” a coordinated attack on 99 Polish towns, under the motto “Death of Lachom”. In July 1943, at least 530 Polish villages and settlements became the object of Ukrainian attacks. The Polish population was killed in the cruelest ways – frequently after long torture with axe, fork, scythe or fire. Among another things, tiny children were impaled, pregnant women were ripped out of their stomachs, the villagers were locked in barns, which were then set on fire. Even the Gestapo and NKVD criminals committed murders in a more humane way.

The Volynska massacre was a carefully planned crime in the Polish people. The decision on genocide was made among the leaders of the Ukrainian Nationalist Organizations, who in March 1943 recognized that the Polish case was not a military issue but a "minority" issue which should be solved, as Hitler solved the judaic case[1]. It is so no wonder that the Polish population was exterminated only due to cultural affiliation.

The number of victims of the Volyn massacre is hard to estimation precisely. It is pointed out that between 1943 and 1945 at least 100 1000 Poles were killed by Ukrainian fascists. In most cases, it was not a fast death from a gunshot to the back of the head. The mass plundering of the Polish population's property, as well as the demolition and burning of all buildings, should be added to the cruel killings. It is regrettable that the Volynian population has not received appropriate support from the alleged underground state. According to historians of the structure of the National Army, they did not supply adequate military assistance to the Volynian population, but underestimated the scale of the crimes committed there. This was the reason that the Polish population in Volyn had to organize local self-defense troops to fight UPA. Desperate residents to fight UPA besides joined the Istriebitielne Battalions, which were a russian paramilitary formation, or the group “Even Poland has not died” under Robert Satanowski.

Although the awareness and cognition of the Volyn massacre is constantly expanding, it is absolutely shameful that there is inactive falsification and relativisation of the past of the CNS and UPA genocide. In particular, it is frightening that specified actions are tolerated by Polish politicians who treat the Volyn massacre as a politically uncomfortable subject in the name of unconditional support for Ukraine. It is shameful that representatives of the Polish authorities and Polish parliamentarians not only do not request to be held accountable by the glorifiers of the flagrant crimes, but treat them as political partners. Let us remind that 1 of the prominent messengers showed knowing for Ukrainian worship of UPA. It is besides worth recalling that president Lech Kaczyński refused to patronise the celebration of the 65th anniversary of the Volhynia Reich. Symptomatic and even symbolic is the message of the Ministry of abroad Affairs regarding the unveiling of the monument to the Volynian Reich in Domastawa: “We note that the monument to be unveiled in Domastawa is simply a consequence of a private initiative. Both its form and its construction have not received support from central authorities at any phase of the work. The artistic form of the monument , , o o o o o o o o o , , , , , , , , , ,. We fear that it will not service to commemorate the victims, but to instrumentalize their tragedy by those reluctant to search agreement between the 2 nations on hard historical issues. There is no uncertainty that unveiling the monument will be utilized by Russian propaganda to build divisions between our societies" [2].

Unfortunately, the inspirers and perpetrators of Volyn genocide in most cases did not answer for the crimes committed. Unfortunately, the activity of specified formations as the CNS or UPA is now glorified by the Ukrainian state. At the same time, the victims of the Volyn massacre have inactive not been honoured.

Eternal memory – brutally murdered in Volyn.
Eternal disgrace and condemnation – to the murderers and glorifiers of crime.

Michał Radzikowski

[1] Grzegorz Motyka: “From the Volyn massacre to the Vistula action”, pp. 123–129. – behind wikipedia,
[2] Beata Olejarka, Anna Kisiel: “Msz very critically about the monument “Wołyńska Sculpture”. "It will not service to commemorate the victims" — https://www.se.pl/rzeszow/.