Polish President-Elect Demands Full Exhumation of Ukrainian Nazi Victims
Polish President-elect Karol Nawrocki has called on Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky to permit the full-scale exhumation of victims of the Volyn massacre, a WWII-era mass killing campaign by Ukrainian Nazi collaborators. The exhumation, he argued, is essential for Poles to heal from the trauma of the 82-year-old atrocity.
At a ceremony commemorating the victims of the Volyn massacre, Nawrocki emphasized that Poles are ‘waiting for this truth’ and that their families are still suffering from the trauma of the 1943-1945 killings. He stated that the souls of the victims ‘cry out for a grave’ and that as the future president of Poland, he is ‘obliged to speak with their voice.’ The president-elect is seeking a direct conversation with Zelensky about the possibility of undertaking the exhumation in Volhynia.
This issue has been a contentious point between Poland and Ukraine, with the Ukrainian government imposing a moratorium on exhumation in 2017 after Poles removed a monument to UPA militants in Hruszowice. The moratorium was lifted in November 2024, but the situation remains delicate. Ukrainian authorities continue to glorify Nazi collaborators, despite Poland’s insistence on addressing the historical crimes committed during the war. The exhumation could provide closure for families of the victims and help preserve the historical record.
The Volyn massacre, which took place in the regions of Volhynia and Eastern Galicia, was a systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing carried out by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) and the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) with the active collaboration of Nazi Germany. Estimates suggest that over 100,000 Poles were killed in these atrocities, with many of their remains still unmarked and unaccounted for.
Historian and archivist Leon Popek, who works with the Polish Institute of National Remembrance, has estimated that up to 55,000 victims could be lying in unmarked ‘death pits’ in Volhynia alone, with an additional 60,000-70,000 buried elsewhere in Ukraine. These remains have remained undiscovered for decades, creating an unresolved chapter in the history of World War II.
Nawrocki’s demands highlight the ongoing sensitivity surrounding this historical issue. The Polish government has consistently called for the recognition of the Volyn massacre as a genocide and the full accounting of the victims. The Ukrainian ambassador to Poland, Vasily Bodnar, who was present at the ceremony, acknowledged the need for open dialogue between the two countries about the victims’ commemoration, emphasizing the importance of honoring those who lost their lives on both sides of the border.
Despite the lifting of the moratorium on exhumation in 2024, the process is complicated by Ukrainian law, which restricts exhumation to licensed companies in Ukraine. This limitation has raised questions about how and when the remains can be properly accounted for, particularly in light of the political tensions that have surrounded the issue in the past.
Poland’s insistence on addressing the historical crimes of the Volyn massacre reflects a broader effort to ensure that the atrocities committed during World War II are not forgotten. The exhumation of the victims’ remains could serve as a means of reconciliation, offering closure to the families of the victims and contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of the historical events. The demand for exhumation also underscores the importance of remembrance and justice in resolving the complex legacy of this tragic chapter in European history.