National Day of Remembrance of Genocide Victims in Poland Date in the current year: July 11, 2024

In 2013, representatives of four political parties (Law and Justice, Polish People’s Party, Democratic Left Alliance and United Poland) suggested that July 11 be observed as an official remembrance day. However, the final variant of the resolution they had drafted was rejected by Sejm.

National Day of Remembrance of Genocide Victims was officially established by Sejm in 2016. It is dedicated to the memory of all victims of the massacres of Poles in Volhynia, Polesia, Lublin region and Eastern Galicia by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Galician) during the Second World War.

In September 1939, the Polish part of Volhynia was occupied by the Soviet Union as a result of the Molotov—Ribbentrop Pact between the Third Reich and the USSR. When the region was occupied by Germany in the 1940s, the existing antagonism between Ukrainians and Poles intensified. This resulted in a massive massacre of Poles carried out by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. According to statistics, 40,000-60,000 Poles were killed in Volhynia and 30,000-40,000 in Eastern Galicia.

The government of Poland views the massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia as a genocide, whereas the Ukrainian government does not agree with this description, although it does not deny the very fact of the massacre.