Rudolph Angler Polish and Ukrainian officials have started exhuming victims from the Volhynia massacres. This comes after an agreement made last month.
What Happened in the Volhynia Massacres?
In 1943, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) worked with Nazi Germany. They killed around 100,000 Polish civilians. The victims were mostly Polish people, but also included Armenians, Jews, Russians, Czechs, and Georgians. Historians have recorded the ethnic violence in German-occupied Poland.
Exhumation Work Begins
Ukraine’s ambassador to Poland, Vasyl Bodnar, said all the permits for exhumations have been granted. On Tuesday, Poland’s Minister of Culture, Hanna Wróblewska, shared that Polish and Ukrainian experts would start work in Puzhnyky. A burial site was found there in 2023.
Wróblewska emphasized the need for both countries to work together. Polish institutions and NGOs will help Ukrainian authorities with the exhumations.
Looking Toward the Future
Exhumations will begin in April. The teams will use DNA to identify victims and learn how they died. Poland calls the Volhynia massacres genocide. Ukraine sees it as a shared conflict with many sides involved. Despite past differences, both countries see this work as a step toward better relations.