The Sejm established a memorial vacation for the victims of Volyn. Kiev authoritative protest

A new, highly crucial date will appear on the Polish calendar. The Sejm of the Republic of Poland adopted a bill establishing 11 July National Day of Memory of Poles – Victims of Genocide made by CNS and UPA. The decision, which took place on 4 June 2025, aims to pay tribute to the victims of 1 of the most tragic cards in the past of Poland in the 20th century. Although this is simply a step with a deep symbolic dimension, it immediately sparked a broad discussion and authoritative opposition from Ukraine. What is crucial for millions of Poles, the fresh state vacation will not be a free day. It is simply a decision of a historical and educational nature, which will not affect the regular functioning of the economy, but is intended to permanently evidence the memory of the Volyńska Reich in the national consciousness.

What is National Memorial Day, and why July 11th?

The recently established vacation aims to commemorate mass crimes committed by Ukrainian nationalists from the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (CNS) and Ukrainian Insurgency Army (UPA) on the Polish population residing in the east Borders of the Second Republic. Date Selection 11 July It's not random. It was that day in 1943 that the culmination of the crime, an event known in past as "Blood Sunday".

On that 1 day, UPA troops carried out a coordinated attack on nearly 1 100 Polish towns in Horochów region and Włodzimierski region in Volyn. The victims were susceptible civilians – mostly women, children and aged people, frequently murdered in churches during Sunday Mass. “Blood Sunday” has become a symbol of the savagery and the magnitude of the tragedy, which in 1943-1945 consumed, according to various estimates, respective twelve to more than 1 100 1000 Poles. The passing of the bill is to be a symbolic reparation and assurance that the memory of these events will never be erased.

State holiday, but not a day off. What does this mean in practice?

One of the most crucial information for citizens is that July 11 will not be a public holiday. The decision of the Sejm is purely symbolic and commemorative. This means that on that day Poles will usually go to work, and students to schools, if this date comes in the school year. No changes are foreseen in the organisation of the work calendar, trade or the functioning of public institutions.

The legislator's aim was to introduce a date into the calendar that would encourage reflection and historical education without at the same time burdening the economy with an additional day off. In practice, this means that 11 July will be the day on which authoritative state ceremonies, memorial calls will be organised, and public media will be obliged to pay peculiar attention to the subject of the Volynian Reich. For the average citizen, however, it will be a average working day, although marked by the historical rank of a national holiday.

Tension on the Warsaw-Kijów line. authoritative reaction of Ukraine

The decision of the Polish Parliament met with an immediate and negative reaction from Ukraine. The Ministry of abroad Affairs in Kiev issued an authoritative communication in which it expressed opposition to the resolution. Ukrainian diplomacy described it as a step ‘distorting bilateral relations’ and "contrary to the spirit of good neighbourly relations".

The message stresses that unilateral emphasis on painful past cards, without dialog and common understanding, could undermine efforts to reconcile. Kiev called for consideration, pointing out that in the face of the ongoing Russian aggression, unity and cooperation between Poland and Ukraine are crucial. This reaction shows how delicate substance remains a shared past and how different historical narratives are in both countries. For many OUN and UPA Ukrainians, they are primarily formations fighting for the independency of the country, which is in gross contradiction with the Polish memory of genocide.

Tough communicative and a memory dispute. Why is Volyn inactive sharing?

The Volyn massacre is 1 of the most painful and inactive not completely settled cards in Polish-Ukrainian relations. The dispute over memory stems from fundamentally different interpretations of the same events. On the Polish side there is no uncertainty that it was organized systematic crime of genocide, whose goal was cultural cleansing and the removal of Polish people from the areas recognized by Ukrainian nationalists as their own.

On the another hand, in Ukrainian historical communicative figures specified as Stepan Bandera and OUN and UPA formations are frequently portrayed as heroes of the conflict for sovereignty against Soviet, German and Polish occupations. Their crimes in Poles are relativized, presented as a "by-product" of the guerrilla war or a symmetrical consequence to earlier Polish actions. This fundamental difference in the assessment of the past makes historical dialog highly difficult, and gestures specified as the establishment of the National Memorial Day, although essential from the Polish perspective, on the Ukrainian side are perceived as an indictment act.