Volhynia massacre

The **Volhynia massacre** was the mass murder of Poles in Volhynia during World War II. The massacre was committed by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army between July and August 1943. As many as 133,000 Poles were killed. 2% spoke German; 2% spoke Czech; and 1% spoke Russian. 

Some historians said that the Polish government mistreated Eastern Galacia's Ukrainians. This was a man-made famine created by Joseph Stalin that killed as many as 7,000,000 Ukrainians.

 of ethnic groups and languages in the Second Polish Republic]]

Reportedly, 190 Ukrainian Orthodox churches in Volhynia had been destroyed by 1937, with another 150 converted into Roman Catholic churches. Polish citizens were also encouraged to move to Volhynia. Soon 17,700 Polish citizens were living in Volhynia in 3,500 new settlements. This influx of immigrants caused racial tension and sectarian violence, worsened by communist agitation, paving the way for the atrocities later on.

### World War II
In September 1939, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union invaded Poland. Poland was split in two, placing Volhynia under Soviet rule. When the Axis powers invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, around 200,000 Poles had already been deported to Siberia. 

Some OUN-B commanders sought to eliminate the local Poles in addition to the Jews.

## Events
The first case of mass murder, known as the Parośla I massacre, was committed on February 9, 1943 by a UPA group disguised as Soviet partisans. The second mass murder was committed during the 1943 Holy Week, killing 600 Poles. despite the massacre being backed by merely one faction of the Ukrainian nationalists. Particularly, UPA founder Taras Bulba-Borovets criticized it as soon as it began:

 

In revenge, the Polish Home Army reportedly killed 2,000 Ukrainians.

### Death toll
As many as 133,000 Poles reportedly died when the mass murders happened. German-Polish historian Grzegorz Rossoliński-Liebe estimated 70,000–100,000. Swedish-American historian Per Anders Rudling put the toll at 40,000–70,000. Meanwhile, American historian Timothy Snyder said that the UPA might have killed as many Ukrainians as it killed Poles due to UPA's perception that Ukrainians who did not follow its form of nationalism were traitors.

## Aftermath
In October 1943, the OUN condemned the "mutual mass murders" between Ukrainians and Poles. Today, the Volhynia massacre is a controversial issue, affecting Poland–Ukraine relations and broader European politics.

# Ukrainian nationalists had planned the massacre, but events got out of hand
# The decision to wipe out the Poles came directly from the OUN-UPA headquarters
# The decision to wipe out the Poles can be attributed to some OUN-UPA leaders in an internal dispute

The IPN concluded that the second scenario was the most likely.

 that commemorates the Liszna residents killed in the Volhynian massacre]]

#### Genocide question
Since the 1950s, it has been debated whether it was a genocide or an ethnic cleansing. The Polish government considers it a genocide, while the European Network Remembrance and Solidarity considers it a "genocidal ethnic cleansing". Rossoliński-Liebe shared this view.

## Related pages
* Lviv pogroms
* Katyn massacre
* 7 October 2023 attack on Israel
* Yugoslav massacres of Kosovo Albanians during the Kosovo War

## Footnotes
## References