The complex history of Polish-Ukrainian relations
July is the month when Ukrainian-Polish relations traditionally become tense. Every year, the Polish Sejm adopts resolutions regarding events that took place in Volyn in 1943. These resolutions, while concerning historical events, are mostly filled with political interpretations and evaluations. Moreover, they offer an overly one-sided and narrow framework for understanding the complex processes that occurred in the history of Polish-Ukrainian relations in the 20th century.
Instead of the formula “we forgive and ask for forgiveness,” which in the early 21st century had real chances of becoming the basis for understanding between the two neighboring nations, official Warsaw has chosen a course that attempts to force Ukrainians to unilaterally acknowledge guilt and repent. This path leads nowhere. Such a concept contradicts historical truth and threatens to undermine all the achievements of previous years. To be frank, Ukraine has no less reason to demand Poland’s recognition of wrongdoing for its past policies towards Ukrainians. However, in recent years, official Kyiv has refrained from adopting resolutions and statements that could harm the relations between the two countries.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, it seemed that the relations between Ukraine and Poland would revolve around the future. The complex history of the two nations’ relations would serve as an instructive lesson from which proper conclusions would be drawn. Moreover, the past not only includes facts of confrontation between Ukrainians and Poles, but it also contains many pages of shared struggles against different enemies. This struggle was successful when there was understanding and mutual respect between Poles and Ukrainians. However, when relations deteriorated, Ukrainian enemies always took advantage of it.
In May 1997, Ukraine and Poland, represented by Presidents Leonid Kuchma and Aleksander Kwaśniewski, respectively, signed a Joint Statement Towards Understanding and Unity. Nowadays, this document is rarely mentioned. Perhaps some contemporary Polish politicians would sharply condemn it as anti-Polish and unacceptable. In the realities of 2023, it is hard to believe that such joint statements, composed in balanced tones with mutual recognition of responsibility for the complex past and orientation towards the future, are even possible between the leaders of the two countries. Nevertheless, they did exist.
At that time, the basis for understanding between the two nations was laid down with the formula “we forgive and ask for forgiveness.” The document emphasized that the long history of Ukrainian-Polish neighborliness had many touching examples of sincere friendship, mutual assistance, and cooperation. However, it also acknowledged the tragic aspects — “military confrontations in the 17th-18th centuries, manifestations of anti-Ukrainian policies by the Polish authorities in the 1930s, and the persecution of the Polish population in Soviet Ukraine during the period of Stalinist repressions.”
The Polish-Ukrainian conflict during the Second World War was not treated in the 1997 statement by the presidents of Poland and Ukraine in the same way as Polish politicians have been accustomed to doing recently. There was no mention of genocide or the need for anyone to unilaterally acknowledge their guilt.
“We cannot forget the bloodshed in Volyn, especially during 1942-1943, and the cruelty of the Ukrainian-Polish conflicts in the early post-war years. A separate tragic page in the history of our relations was Operation Vistula, which dealt a blow to the entire Ukrainian community in Poland. Silence or a one-sided presentation of these facts in our time will not lessen the pain of those who suffered and their loved ones, nor will it contribute to deepening understanding between our nations. The path to sincere friendship and unity lies first and foremost through truth and mutual understanding. We acknowledge that no goal can justify crime, violence, or the application of the principle of collective responsibility. At the same time, we remember that sometimes the origins of these conflicts were beyond the borders of Ukraine and Poland, and were sometimes caused by circumstances independent of Ukrainians and Poles, as well as being imposed on our peoples by undemocratic political systems,” stated the joint statement of the leaders of Ukraine and Poland.
An important point in the 1997 Joint Statement was the mention that the interpretation of shared history and its complex periods should be the work of experts who, in an atmosphere of openness, will thoroughly study past events and provide them with objective assessments. As Ukraine and Poland stand on the threshold of the 21st century, they must remember the past but also think about the future.
In a somewhat similar spirit, although with certain adjustments, the Joint Statement of the Presidents of Ukraine and Poland, Leonid Kuchma and Aleksander Kwaśniewski, On Reconciliation on the 60th Anniversary of the Volyn Tragedy, was made in July 2003. Here is how it mentioned the conflict between the two nations during World War II: “In the memories of Ukrainians and Poles, the tragedy that occurred in 1943-1944 in Volyn, Chelm Land, and Eastern Galicia remains an open wound. Its image is associated with extraordinarily painful fates of the post-war generation of both nations. From the existing hatred, prejudices, social and economic problems, erroneous ideologies, political sins, and outdated images, a terrible tragedy emerged, which claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people, turned villages, churches, and monuments into ashes, brought unimaginable suffering, sowed deep pain and mistrust.”
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In this statement, the chronological framework of the Polish-Ukrainian conflict is indicated within the years 1943-1944. At the same time, it mentions not only Volyn but also Eastern Galicia and Chelm Land. Both sides acknowledged that both nations suffered significant losses. Although the text of the statement includes a reference to the “especially tragic fate of Poles in the territory of Volyn.” Additionally, the Presidents of Poland and Ukraine expressed their support for the call of Pope John Paul II to the Ukrainian and Polish peoples.
“The time has come to free ourselves from the painful past! May forgiveness, given and received, spread like healing balm in every heart. Through the purification of historical memory, may all be ready to prioritize what unites rather than what divides, so that together we can build a future based on mutual respect, brotherly cooperation, and true solidarity,” says the Pope John Paul II.
Changing path: Politicizing history and shifting focus
Unfortunately, the further development of relations between Poland and Ukraine in the field of historical politics has taken a different course. Warsaw has pursued a path of politicizing history, shifting the focus in the interpretation of past events. Polish politicians introduced constructions in their statements that did not correspond to reality or attempted to unilaterally shift responsibility and blame onto the other side. The turning point that discarded the previous efforts of the two countries and the formula of “we forgive and ask for forgiveness” can be considered the year 2013, which marked the 70th anniversary of the tragic events in Volyn. That year, however, the Polish Sejm did not find enough votes to formulate “genocide” in its assessment of Ukrainian actions. But from 2016, Poland has consistently referred to the events in Volyn as the “genocide” of Poles. The theses on mutual responsibility, forgiveness, and reconciliation disappeared. Instead, the term “Eastern Borderlands” was officially introduced. Moreover, some politicians even started to talk about what history Ukrainians should study and whom they can glorify or condemn.
The full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war did not return the content of the Polish-Ukrainian historical discourse to the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries. On the contrary, history has become a constant hostage of modern Polish politics. On July 11 of this year, the Polish Sejm adopted a resolution On Honoring the Memory of the Victims of the Volyn Tragedy. The document explicitly states that Polish-Ukrainian reconciliation should include “acknowledgment of guilt and honoring the memory of the victims.” The resolution also mentions such terms as genocide and “Eastern Borderlands.” Galicia and Volyn are referred to as territories that were jointly populated by Ukrainians and Poles. The resolution also makes reference to the canonical, but highly debatable, figure of over 100,000 killed Poles. At the same time, the Polish Sejm resolution found no place to condemn the mass killings of the Ukrainian population in the territory of the Second Polish Republic. Not to mention the centuries-long colonial anti-Ukrainian policies pursued by the Polish authorities in Ukrainian ethnic lands.
The strategic partnership between Ukraine and Poland is an important component of security on the European continent. However, it is only possible on the basis of equality and mutual respect. Forcing unilateral “acknowledgment of guilt” and selective half-truths lead nowhere. Fortunately, on the Ukrainian side, there has been enough prudence not to engage in competition with Polish politicians to settle historical scores from the past at an official level. However, to be honest, there is plenty to settle. But will there be enough prudence on the Polish side to return to a formula that leads to genuine reconciliation?
Originally posted by Petro Herasymenko on Zaxid.net. Translated and edited by the UaPosition – Ukrainian news and analytics website
