Latin-rite Catholicism is practiced predominantly by non-Ukrainian minorities, in particular Poles and Hungarians. Originally holding a large number of parishes, most of the churches remained empty after World War II, which is attributed to the fact that much of the Polish population (once a significant minority, especially in the west of modern-day Ukraine) was killed in the war and the interethnic violence that occurred during the war as well as being subject to forcible evacuations and deportations.