Акції примирення в сімдесяті роковини масових вбивств 1943 р. на Волині /Reconciliation actions on the 70th anniversary of the Volhynian mass murders of 1943

Аннотация

This article analyses the initiatives aimed at Polish-Ukrainian reconciliation that took place on the 70th anniversary of the Volhynia Massacre in 2013. The study is based on published sources and interviews with the participants in the Polish-Ukrainian dialogue. Special attention is paid to escalating public debates about the Volhynia Massacre in the mid-2000s and reconciliation actions organised by intellectuals and leaders of churches in 2013. When the state could not conduct the dialogue, intellectuals and church leaders attempted to fulfil this function. The article states that the Polish-German model of reconciliation, ‘We forgive and ask for forgiveness’, transferred to Polish-Ukrainian relations, had limited success in the Volhynian issue. A significant obstacle in the process of Polish-Ukrainian reconciliation is a lack of strong institutions that would implement the initiatives of intellectuals and church leaders.