Former Polish journalist Anna Magdalena Wielopolska, who holds a PhD in political science from the London School of Economics, has called for honest reconciliation between Poles and Ukrainians in an opinion piece for the Kyiv Post. She argues that both nations must examine their difficult shared history with openness, without allowing Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine to drive them apart.
Historical Wounds and the Danger of Nationalism
Wielopolska recalls the letter of the Polish Catholic bishops to their German counterparts on November 18, 1965, which stated: “We forgive and ask for forgiveness.” That step laid the foundation for later German-Polish reconciliation. Today, the author writes, Poles and Ukrainians do not need formal reconciliation, but rather the willingness to forgive each other. She warns that patriotism can turn into nationalism when the defense of one’s own nation comes at the expense of another.
The author, whose own family was killed during World War II by Germans, Soviets, and in Volhynia, advocates for intellectual honesty. One must understand why many Ukrainians were not well-disposed toward Poles at the beginning of World War II—for instance, because of Marshal Józef Piłsudski’s pacification campaigns in Eastern Galicia. This understanding does not mean abandoning one’s own historical memory.
Russia as a Counterexample
Wielopolska presents Russia as the antithesis of a mature nation: it refuses to take responsibility for the crimes of its empire and its Soviet legacy, glorifies conquest instead of reflection, and uses historical victim narratives as a political tool. “Poles and Ukrainians have every reason to remember history. But we have even greater reasons to forgive each other,” she writes. German-Polish reconciliation showed the way—built on truth, memory, courage, and forgiveness.
The author sharply criticizes the revocation of Poland’s highest order for President Volodymyr Zelensky as “shameful” and “a disgrace,” especially at a time when he is leading the country in the fight against the common enemy. She appeals to both nations not to let themselves be driven apart by two nationalisms, but to find the courage to say to each other: “We forgive and ask for forgiveness.”
Source: www.kyivpost.com
