Polish Prime Minister Visits Ostrówki to Honor Volhynian massacre Victims
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki traveled to Ukraine to mark the 80th anniversary of a tragic event tied to the Volhynia tragedy. He paused in Ostrówki, a village with a history dating back to the 16th century, where residents were killed during the mass violence carried out by Ukrainian nationalists in 1943. The visit took place in the early hours of a Friday, aligning with the anniversary milestone on July 11.
Arriving at dawn, Morawiecki stood with a descendant of the village’s Polish families and with Dr. Leon Popek, a researcher who has studied the Volhynian crimes. The two laid a wooden cross at the site of a former cross and engaged in a moment of remembrance for those who perished. The Prime Minister then lit a candle before a statue of the Virgin Mary, located near where Ostrówki’s church once stood, and paid respects at the local cemetery, placing a wreath in front of the memorial dedicated to the victims.
Dr. Popek explained to the press that Ostrówki, which has deep historical roots, ceased to exist in August 1943. He noted that nearby Wola Ostrowiecka and more than thirty other villages in the Luboml district were overwhelmed within a matter of hours and disappeared from the map on that day.
The researcher provided figures: Ostrówki had 475 residents at the time, while Wola Ostrowiecka counted 580 inhabitants, with the total in both communities surpassing 1,050. He attributed the devastation to the actions of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, emphasizing its role in the massacres that erased those communities from the landscape of the region.
According to Popek, the residents of Ostrówki were targeted by units led by Ivan Kłymczak, commonly known by the nickname “Łysy.” He claimed that the violence affected people across ages and that belongings were seized for use by the attackers. The researcher also shared a personal note, mentioning that his own grandfather, Jan Szwed, along with an aunt, her husband, and two children, were lost in the Volhynian events. He emphasized that more than twenty people within his extended family were affected by the year 1943 violence.
Toward Reconciliation and Shared Remembrance
When asked about a potential Polish-Ukrainian agreement addressing the Volhynian crimes, Popek expressed cautious optimism. He pointed to recent signs of improving relations, including the restoration of cemeteries and joint clean-up efforts that brought together Polish and Ukrainian youth. He described these small, concrete steps as hopeful indicators that a broader dialogue might emerge, fostering memory and healing for affected communities.
Historically, the events of July 11 and 12, 1943, involved coordinated attacks by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army on roughly 150 Polish-inhabited towns across several counties. The assaults occurred as many residents gathered in churches on a Sunday, designated by historians as a peak in what is seen as a targeted campaign against Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia during 1943-1945. Estimates of the fatalities vary, but a large number of Poles were killed during this period. The violence is widely documented as a dark chapter in the region’s history and remains a focal point of historical memory and scholarly analysis in the years since.
The groups linked to these events included factions within the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, with leaders such as Roman Shukhevych playing a key historical role in issuing orders associated with the operations. Researchers and observers have discussed the framing of these actions in the context of attempts to shape Ukraine’s demographic and political landscape during that era.
As part of ongoing memory work, local communities and researchers continue to reflect on the past with the aim of preventing repetition of such violence. The narrative remains a somber reminder of how ethnic and national tensions can erupt into large-scale human tragedy, even as contemporary relations seek to move forward through dialogue and shared remembrance. This account is compiled with attribution to ongoing reporting from local observers and analysts who study this chapter of history (attribution: wPolityce).