Flew in Krakow this afternoon, from Milan. Lots of Ukrainians on the plane, probably half. One lovely Ukrainian lady, we tried to assist after landing, was worried about covid pass and all that, but we assured her that there is no problems and they were shifting everyone on the plane through the Shengen gate, incl Ukrainians.
Poles are now supporting Ukrainians, but they do it with a heavy burden which they harbour inside (now one even mentions it now). Most westeners know nothing at all about the history of atrocities committed by Ukrainians against Poles.
Heres one (the 'Volyn tragedy'), were carried out in German-occupied Poland by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, or the UPA, with the support of parts of the local Ukrainian population against the Polish minority in Volhynia, Eastern Galicia, parts of Polesia and Lublin region from 1943 to 1945. The peak of the massacres took place in July and August 1943. Most of the victims were women and children. Many of the Polish victims regardless of age or gender were tortured before being killed; some of the methods included rape, dismemberment or immolation, among others.The UPA's actions resulted in between 50,000 and more victims.
Read it only if you can stomach it (or watch the film "Wolyn" )
10 years ago when I was in Lviv (formely Lwow, a Polish city for hundreds of years previous but now in Ukraine), I saw young men walking with black UPA t-shirts, which perhaps some wore because they thought it was cool and trendy, but the many Polish tourists were disgusted, you could see it in their eyes. Totally sick to see.
Here's another ethnic cleansing (this one from the 1600s) that the Poles have not forgotten:
