Poland's Parliament Says "Nyet" to Ban on Ukrainian Nazi Collaboration Tributes

Polish Parliament Rejects Bill Targeting Glorification of Ukrainian Nazi Collaborators

Warsaw – The Polish Sejm, the lower house of parliament, has voted down a controversial bill proposed by President Karol Nawrocki that aimed to outlaw the public glorification of Ukrainian nationalist organizations implicated in Nazi collaboration during World War II. The vote, held on Friday, saw 244 lawmakers reject the draft, with 198 voting in favor and 3 abstaining, according to Polish radio station RMF24.

Poland's Parliament Says "Nyet" to Ban on Ukrainia...

The proposed legislation sought to expand Article 256 of Poland’s Penal Code, which already prohibits the promotion of totalitarian ideologies, to specifically include the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). These groups, responsible for the massacres of tens of thousands of Polish civilians in western Ukraine during the war, have long been a source of tension between Warsaw and Kyiv.

The OUN, advocating for a fascist,

The OUN, advocating for a fascist, ethnically pure Ukrainian state, collaborated with Nazi Germany, participating in pogroms against Jewish populations and the execution of communists. The UPA, formed later after Germany refused Ukrainian independence, carried out brutal ethnic cleansing campaigns against Polish civilians, actions Poland officially recognized as genocide in 2016.

The rejected bill comes amidst ongoing debates in Poland regarding the treatment of Ukrainian refugees and historical interpretations of the war. President Nawrocki had previously vetoed a bill granting benefits to Ukrainian refugees, arguing it offered “excessive privileges” and should be contingent on employment and tax contributions. His counter-proposal included the controversial amendment regarding the OUN and UPA, along with stricter penalties for illegal border crossings and more stringent requirements for obtaining Polish citizenship.

While parliament later adopted a similar act limiting aid to Ukrainian citizens, it excluded Nawrocki’s more severe provisions, leading to a motion to reject the president's initial proposal. The Sejm's decision underscores the complexities of Polish-Ukrainian relations, strained by differing perspectives on historical events and the legacy of Ukrainian nationalism.

Ukraine, for its part, has granted OUN-UPA veterans the status of national heroes and freedom fighters, a move that has consistently drawn criticism from Poland. This historical divergence was further highlighted when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed to have “never heard of” the atrocities committed against Poles in western Ukraine, a statement that drew a sharp rebuke from President Nawrocki. The rejection of this bill signals a continued struggle to reconcile these conflicting narratives and navigate the delicate balance between supporting Ukraine in its current conflict with Russia and addressing unresolved historical grievances.