The Institute of National Remembrance has received Ukrainian authorization for exhumation efforts in Volhynia and Lviv, marking a significant logistical operation to recover victims of 1939 and 1943 mass killings.
Logistical Preparations for Volhynia and Lviv
Ukrainian authorities have granted permission for the exhumation of Polish soldiers who fell in 1939, located in the former village of Holosko Wielkie, now Warsaw Street in Lviv. The Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) is currently organizing logistics to ensure these investigations proceed before the end of the year.
Father Tomasz Trzaska of the IPN Search and Identification Office described the mission as a major undertaking, requiring careful coordination of resources to cover three specific sites scheduled for investigation in the coming months.
Previous Findings in Ostrówki and Wola Ostrowiecka
Last month, the IPN concluded a phase of search operations in Ostrówki and Wola Ostrowiecka. Teams located a previously unknown mass grave on the site of Aleksander Strażyc’s former farm, where a massacre of the Polish population occurred in August 1943. Another mass grave was discovered near the foundations of a former school in Ostrówki.
These recent findings build upon historical research conducted in 1992, 2011, and 2015, during which the remains of 674 individuals were recovered. Historical records estimate that over 1,000 people were murdered in this area on August 30, 1943, by OUN-UPA units.
Operations at Huta Pieniacka
Search efforts for mass graves also began this week in Huta Pieniacka. On February 28, 1944, Polish residents of the village were murdered by the 4th Galician Volunteer SS Police Regiment, with participation from UPA units and a paramilitary detachment of Ukrainian nationalists under the command of Włodzimierz Czerniawski.
Father Tomasz Trzaska emphasized that this is a unique moment, as it marks the first time the IPN has received autonomous authorization to conduct exhumation work regarding crimes attributed to the UPA, noting that the approval process was notably rapid.