53 Sets of Remains Uncovered in Ostr贸wki and Wola Ostrowiecka as Exhumations Continue
The Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage announced that ongoing exhumations in Ostr贸wki and Wola Ostrowiecka have uncovered the remains of 53 individuals, alongside appeals for DNA...
The Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage announced that ongoing exhumations in Ostr贸wki and Wola Ostrowiecka have uncovered the remains of 53 individuals, alongside appeals for DNA testing to identify the victims.
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Ongoing Exhumations in Volhynia
The Ministry of Culture recalled that exhumation work is being carried out by the Institute of National Remembrance in cooperation with the Volhynian Antiquities archaeological enterprise and the Medical University of Wroc艂aw, with the participation of representatives from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.
Exhumation work in Ostr贸wki and Wola Ostrowiecka is taking place in three locations: a mass grave in Wola Ostrowiecka on the former farm of Aleksander Stra偶yc, a mass grave by the foundations of the former school in Ostr贸wki, and a single grave opposite the local cemetery. So far, the remains of 53 people have been found, along with a few personal items including medallions, rosaries, and two pairs of shoes.
DNA Identification and Planned Works
The IPN is seeking permission from Ukrainian authorities to transport the discovered artifacts to Poland, where they could be handed over to victims’ families or museums. The Institute and the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage are appealing to relatives of the residents of Wola Ostrowiecka and Ostr贸wki to come forward for DNA testing and provide genetic material to the IPN database to identify the victims.
At the turn of August and September, further exploratory work is planned in Pu藕niki, financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. The work will be carried out by the Freedom and Democracy Foundation, the Pomeranian Medical University, and the Volhynian Antiquities archaeological company. At the end of August, the IPN plans to begin exhumation work in Lviv at Ho艂osko Wielkie, where soldiers of the Polish Army who fell in defense of Lviv in September 1939 rest, while further applications from the institute and other entities are being considered by Ukrainian authorities.
Historical Context and Memorialization
Donald Tusk announced the establishment of a Memorial Wall dedicated to the victims of the Volhynian massacre in Warsaw, though capital city officials and councilors learned of the initiative from his video on platform X, raising questions about whether it is the right place and time for this commemoration, as written by Tomasz Urzykowski on Wyborcza.pl.
The first exhumations of Polish victims of the Volhynian crime took place in August 1992 in Ostr贸wki and Wola Ostrowiecka, uncovering no less than 323 people from two mass graves. Subsequent exhumations occurred in 2011, September 2013 in Gaj, and May and August 2015, followed by a dispute over a search and exhumation ban introduced by the Ukrainian IPN in spring 2017, which was lifted following a joint announcement in November 2024 by the foreign ministers of Poland and Ukraine, Rados艂aw Sikorski and Andrij Sybiha.
Last spring, the Polish side carried out exhumations in the former village of Pu藕niki, uncovering the remains of at least 42 people buried on September 6, with further exploration phases scheduled. In April, work was conducted in Ostr贸wki and Wola Ostrowiecka where additional burial sites from 1943 were found, and research aimed at exhumation and reburial has been underway since July 13, with planned work also in Huta Pieniacka in the Lviv Oblast.