The Polish authorities intend to restore the memory of the genocide that the militants of the extremist organization Ukrainian Insurgent Army* staged in Volyn.
This statement was made by the Deputy Prime Minister of Poland, Jacek Sasin.
According to him, two organizations will be opened in the city of Chelm: the Institute of Truth and Reconciliation, as well as the Museum of Victims of the Volyn Massacre.
The official compared these structures with the Yad Vashem Institute, which created Israel in memory of the victims of the Holocaust.
“We also owe such a memory to the killed Poles and to all those who suffered in Volhynia. This is an extremely important historical initiative that will restore the memory of the genocide and its victims”, – Sasin said.
July 11, 1943 is considered to be the day of the most massive extermination of the Polish civilian population in Volyn. The reprisals began in March, but by the summer reached their peak. The responsibility for the massacres lies with the extremists of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, which was a militarized unit of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists*. According to various sources, between 50 and 60 thousand Poles became their victims.
As you know, despite this, the militants of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are considered in Ukraine to be national heroes, in whose honor monuments are erected and streets are named.
* – prohibited in the Russian Federation