Talk:Massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia/Archive 2

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Old talk

Genyo:

1) POlish pacification campaigns were not mass murders. Polish police was behaving brutally, but accidents of deaths were almost nill.

2) There is nothing like "scholarly" and "non-scholarly" estimation. You label those which you like "Scholarly" and others "non-scholarly" that's all.

3) There is a lot which talks us that ethnic cleansing was initiated by local UPA commanders, and not by individual groups. Szopen

Szopen:

1) The pacification campaigns involved political suppressions of the innocent and their arrests, wanton destruction of property and attacks on those who protested--and the deaths of many people--sometimes deliberate.

2) I'm not talking about "something like scholarly estimations." But I am talking about scholarly estimates. There are a few scholars in Poland who study the issue on a scholarly level, and their figures tend to be around 30,000-60,000. Popular literature campaigns tend to assert the figures of 100,00 to 300,000. In the further interests of accuracy, you don't know what I like--which is OK, because what I like or don't like is irrelevant to the article.

3) There is no evidence I know of to suggest that the UPA leadership ordered this attack on Polish civilians/settlers in Volynia. Groups of UPA soldiers, whoever, and, I think probably some "units" under many local leaders did engage in sporadic killings on a very widespread scale in an attempt to drive Poles out of Volynia. That's a crime.

Genyo 17:17, 25 Mar 2004 (UTC)

I will respond by tuesday - i have to find material to support my claims Szopen

Hey Szopen, if you can find proof of scholarly research yielding higher estimates, I would not object to including them! Genyo 01:16, 28 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Hi Genyo! "There are few scholars in Poland who study it..." Hehehehe. I won't post whole bibliography, just few names: Poliszczuk (Polish Ukrainian), Torzecki, Gross, Siemiaszko, Siwicki (Polish Ukrainian), Jasiak, Filar, Romanowski, HUk (Polish Ukrainian), Mazur, Turowski...

The numbers:

Norman Davies: 60.000 - 500.000 Jan P. Gross: 60-80.000 (Polish society under German occupation, Princetown, New York 1979) Siemiaszko's: 50-60.000 in Wolyn alone, probably 100.000 in Total. Siemiaszko's (father and daughter) documented that it was action of Bandera, not sporadic local units. POliszczuk: 50-60.000 in Wolyn, 120.000 in total. Poliszczuk also is convinced, that is was action of UPA, not sporadic units. Torzecki: 40.000 in Wolyn, 100.000 in total, blames Bandera and UPA Fijalka: 40.000 Turowski: 60.000 in Wolyn, 300.000 in total. Olszanski: blames Bandera and UPA. He also notes that most ukrainian historians does not distinguish between AK and 2000-strong collaborationist police "Polish" batallion which German employed here. Motyka: at least 35.000 on Volyn alone, but 50-60.000 is also reasonable (for Volyn alone) Szczesniak, Szota: 100.000 Poles murdered in total, both in Galicia and Volyn. Bogumila Berdychowska: gives different estimates from 34.647 documented (and 12.491 known from name) via 50.000 to 60.000 (on Volyn alone)

Hrycak (Ukrainian) 60-100.000

There is also (unscholar) estimation that Bandera's soldiers murdered also 80.000 their Ukrainian compatriots.

In short, all Polish historians blame Bandera and consider this central-ordered action. Essentially i don't know single Polish author who would not consider it action sanctioned by UPA. There is no order preserved starting it, but there are documents given after the start, in which there is e.g. ordered burning even trees around villages. The number of murdered is between 30-60.000, truth, but on VOlyn alone, and in total is between 100-120 thousands or more.

Also, this is not some "local units". E.g 11 July started actions which lasted to the august - during two mothns 1943 dies more Poles than during two previous years. In august also there are orders about distribution of land from destroyed Polish villages etc. (by Dmytro Kljaczkiwśkyj ). There are raports of coordinated marches of multiple UPA units which destroyed every Polish village during march. Between 11 and 15 July 167 Polish villages were attacked and detroyed. Ukrainian helping Poles were punished by death by UPA.

Number of Ukrainian victims is between 2.5 thousand to 10.000 in Volyn alone, according to most Polish authors.

I was tracing regular Polish-Ukrainian meetings of historians, and until now there is no agreement between them. IIRC They were only able to sign "document of disagreement" were they stated what each side believe. Disagreements included e.g the earlier NSZ actions in Chelmszczyzna. Szopen


Szopen, This is a kaleidoscope of numbers, that seems to add much confusion and very little clarity. Also, much of the numbers tend to be towards the lower end of figures in the article. Secondly, remember, not every person with a typewriter and printer is a scholar. Nor is every person who runs a publication campaign. Some of the names you mention are fine historians. But did they pull figures from other sources in passing, or did they actually conduct historical research on this question and then construct the most likely figure or range based on facts? It's the second one I'm interested in. And I've heard there are a couple of scholars who have done or are doing this kind of work. (There may be more.) What did they say?

An alternative analytical way to look at the issue is to ask the following questions. What was the Polish population in Volynia pre-war? How many died in the first Soviet invasion of 1939 and in subsequent fighting? How many starved or died of illness? How many fled or went abroad to work? How many were deported by the Soviets post 1943? How many Polish people in Poland and other countries today trace their ancestry to Volynia? And how many were killed by local actions of the UPA? Genyo 15:10, 31 Mar 2004 (UTC)

The names are from publication "Polish and Ukrainians historians and problems of XX century", materials from joint conference about Polish-Ukrainian relationship, part of cooperation between Polish historians and Ukrainians.

So, the names i quoted ARE based on partial documents, testimonies etc.

To the second question, well, after reading a lot i tend to think that indeed the number of victims was not much higher than 60.000 on VOlyn alone and not more than 200.000 in all massacres.

I've read statistics from which it was concluded that from those Poles which stayed in Volyn (something like 150.000) after deportations etc about 45% was murdered by UPA actions (something like 60.000). That's why i think the number of killed couldn't be more than 100.000 (In Volun alone, but remember the UPA started killings in Volyn, but the massacres weren't limited to Volyn). Szopen

The new version

I altered the article a bit to conform with the Inverted pyramid rule of thumb. Perhaps a good idea would be to create a table with all the estimations on the number of civilian losses on both sides to give the reader a general idea as to what the ranges are without having to decide which number is the closest to the truth? If the historians cannot decide, why should we? Halibutt 13:04, 11 May 2004 (UTC)

Ok, since nobody seems to be interested in this article anymore, I prepared a table with all the estimates. Let the reader decide for himself or herself. What do you think?

I also removed the publicity campaign thingie. This would lead us nowhere since in Ukraine there are also a lot of morons who try to support their case with numbers, whatever they may be ([1]). Is it acceptable? I also planned to add some photos, although most of them are too drastic IMO. Especially those with children tied up to a tree with barbed wire...

Anyway, is the article acceptable now? Halibutt 09:09, Jun 19, 2004 (UTC)


I couldn't make any sense out of this article as I originally found it. I know absolutely nothing about this subject (and even after reading it, I still don't. Not a good sign.), but I speak English, so I tried to edit it into a more natural sounding essay. I also added some small explanations for readers who don't already know all about Polish history. The big thing still missing is when, exactly, did all this take place? Sept. 18, 2004

why Npov

Nothing is said about Polish collaboration with Nazi's against UPA and civilian Ukrainians

Meaby because... that never happened.--Witkacy 13:34, 11 May 2005 (UTC)

but it did Ilya K 13:57, 11 May 2005 (UTC)

Provide evidence then - and the proposed wording. Halibutt 15:10, May 11, 2005 (UTC)
Some historians i;ve read mentuioned (without details) POlish police batallion, 2000 people strong, which was employed by Nazis here and which (supposedly) was mistaken by some Ukrainian historians with AK. How believable is this, I don't know - i've read just a single sentence and could not dig out anything more about that. Szopen 07:36, 12 May 2005 (UTC)


Evidence of Polish terror

sorry, i haven't noticed this words in article Massacres_of_Poles_in_Volhynia#Casualties

Retaliation by the Polish forces of the Home Army resulted in the deaths of additional 15,000 to 30,000 Ukrainian civilians of the region, though the exact number of deaths is even less documented. The numbers cited probably include also the victims of German Schutzmannschaft and Soviet partisans, who also took part in the ethnic cleansing. There are efforts to bring about reconciliation between the Polish people and Ukrainians over these tragic events.


Только на Волыни под немецкой оккупацией в 1943-1944 годах поляки уничтожили не менее 10 тысяч украинцев, а украинцы – не менее 25 тысяч поляков
(en:)Onlly on Volynya Poles killed at least 10 000 Ukrainains, and Urainians killed at least 25 000 Poles
Правда також полягає в тому, що жертви під час тих трагічних подій були обопільними . В межах численних "відплатних" та "превентивних" акцій АК загинуло чимало мирних українців, серед них діти й жінки. Терористичні акції, як вважають історики, здійснювались не лише проти польських сіл та колоній на кшталт Гайового, Ганачової, Ігровиці, Гути Пеняцької, але й проти українських сіл, таких як Іваничі, Клечковичі, Стриженець, Турковичі та інших. Антиукраїнські акції проводились у багатьох регіонах, зокрема в Томашівському та Грубешовському повітах Любельського воєводства. Щоправда, згідно з поширеною оцінкою, ці жертви були меншими, ніж польські; але це знову ж таки не змінює того факту, що вбивства були спрямовані проти цивільного населення.
(en:)Victims were on both sides. In their numerous "revenge" and "prevention" actions AK killed many civil Ukrainians, including children and women. Terror action, according to historians, were not only against Polish villages and colonies such as Гайового, Ганачової, Ігровиці, Гути Пеняцької but also againt Ukrainain villages such as Іваничі, Клечковичі, Стриженець, Турковичі and others. Antiukrainian actions took place in many regions, such as Томашівському та Грубешовському повітах Любельського воєводства. To be true, according to widespread estimation those victims were less numerous than among Poles, but this cannot change the fact that murders were against civil people.

This includes many publications of Polish and Ukrainain historians, analysing them may give more weighted point of view

Варто згадати, що не раз траплялися випадки польської помсти, неодноразово кривавої, жертвою якої ставали люди, що не мали нічого спільного з нападами. Для прикладу, 8 березня 1944 p. після нападу на село Блищиводи застрелено кільканадцять українців, які поверталися з ярмарку у Жовкві. Також у березні 1944 p. жовніри львівського Кедиву у Сороках коло Старого Села застрелили 17 чоловік і місцевого греко-католицького священика разом із сім’єю. В Лопушній вбито 48 українських фірманів з Першої та Підтемня, які їхали по деревину. Часом висилали українцям листівки з вимогою виїзду, аналогічні до тих, що висилала УПА. В одній з них читаємо: “Українці! Вбивства і напади ваших банд [...] не дають нам співжити [...]. Отже наказую українському населенню протягом 48 годин залишити місцевості, в яких живуть поляки. Відмова виконати наказ каратиметься смертю” [35]. І ще одна цитата, яка, думаю, добре ілюструє тодішню трагічну дійсність: “13 червня в Антонівці застрелено поляка. Полякам вдалося спіймати 1 українця, якого зарубали” [36].
(en:)We should note numerous cases of polish revenge, often bloody, agains random people. For example (...)
Однією із найважчих тем, що стосуються польсько-українського конфлікту 1939-1948 рр., є питання польських акцій супроти українського цивільного населення. Упродовж багатьох років у польській історіоґрафії панувала думка, що поляки не провадили дій проти цивільних1. Жінки, діти чи беззбройні чоловіки могли загинути від рук поляків хіба випадково, внаслідок нещасливого збігу обставин. Виняток із цього правила становили антиукраїнські акції народного підпілля, про які писали для того, щоби здискредитувати в очах польського суспільства воїнів Національних Збройних Сил чи Національного Військового З’єднання2.
(en:) One of the hardest topics on Poliash-Ukrainain conflict 1939-1948 is Polish action againt Ukrainain civil people. Thought that Poles did't carry actions against civil people dominated along many years among Polish historians.
Падіння комунізму відкрило можливість вільно, хоча й не без емоцій, дискутувати на цю тему. Зараз уже ніхто з польських істориків не заперечує, що поляки вдавалися до акцій у відповідь, нерідко безжальних і кривавих. Суперечка точиться лише про оцінку, масштаби і розміри подій цього типу. Тут я маю намір лише окреслити проблему.
(en:) The fall of Communism let freely althogh emotionally dispute on this topic. Nowadays none of polish historians denies the fact of Polish revenge actions, often ruthless and bloody.
Найяскравішим прикладом антиукраїнських дій були пацифікаційні акції, які провадила польська допоміжна поліція, що перебувала на німецькій службі
(en:) The brightest example of antiUkrainain actions was pacification actions carried by Polish helping police on Nazi service.
Село Підлужне оточене і спалене, мешканців розстріляно. Злазне спалене дощенту.
(en:) village Pidluzhne surrounded and burned, inhabitants killed. Zlazne burned to nothing
Каральні акції провадили також відділи польської комуністичної партизанки. Серед инших вони спалили села Любеньж і Лахвичі. У звітах про акцію у Лахвичах навіть йшлося про “вирізування українського населення”
(en:) Actions were carried out also by Polish communist partisans. Among others they burned villages Любеньж і Лахвичі. It was “cutting out ukrainian people”

Ilya K 12:13, 15 May 2005 (UTC)

For reference, two of those sites have English names and sections:
Also, I'd appreciate if for the above quotes you could add information on title, author, date and affilated academic journal/institution (university, usually) - if any. See Wikipedia:Cite sources for details. --Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus Talk 14:22, 15 May 2005 (UTC)

As a sidenote: the page is in Ukrainian, not in Russian. Halibutt



Poliszczuk is not a historian, he graduated with a political science degree (actually, on his book he calls it a law degree but Siemaszkos disagree for some reason). I don't know the Siemaszko's background - are they like Poliszczuk also amateurs? That being said, their reliance on Moscow-published sources is rather telling. The article above comes out looking like an attack on real historians (Torzecki) by opinionated non-historians who cannot even get their facts straight. For example, Ukrainian-American Orest Subtelny does not work in the US, but in Canada, although he obtained his Ph.D. in history at Harvard in 1973. His book is published by the University of Toronto Press. In contrast, Poliszczuk does not have any degree in history. And his books are self-published; certainly no university would ruin their reputation publishing his amateur historical opinions. It is frankly ridiculous to compare the two.

Whoeever wrote the above nonsense is an amateur propagandist as well as amateur historian, because they cannot even hide their agenda, in the end of their article mentioning their oppostion to Ukrainian-Polish strategic partnership, support for East German politicians opposed to German reunification, etc. I guess some people really regret the events starting in 1989. Faustian 14:50, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

I have read nothing by Poliszczuk, and I know little about the matter of hand. But while I agree that publisher info is important on judging how respected one's works are, I don't think the same hold true for degree. I can believe that a political sciencetist could write perfectly good academic books on the subjects of history or sociology, for example. If Poliszczuk is controversial, we should find sources stating that. Information on his publisher should be visible in references, and the reader can judge their quality. While you certainly raise good points about whether we should use his references, we need more info before we determine what to do with it. Wikipedia:Reliable sources may come in handy, too.--Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus Talk 21:34, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

I agree that a lawyer can write a good history book, but in the case of Poliszczuk it seems that he used the credential "Dr." misleadingly, in order to present himself as a historian. This reminds me of a notorious American Christian fundamentalist "Dr." stating that the theory of evolution is wrong. He was a legitmate Ph.D., but of mathematics rather than biology. A similar situation exists with Dr. Poliszczuk, who as I indicated not only lacks the academic background but also must self-publish his works, rather than have them printed by (as legitimate historians do) peer-referenced journals, university publishing houses, etc. There is a wikipedia article on Wiktor Poliszczuk. The discussion section is interesting.

A legitimate Polish historian, Ryszard Torzecki, offered a quick assessment of Poliszczuk as an NKVD guy whose opinions are worthless: http://www.brama.com/survey/messages/23280.html (the original interview is no longer on the on-line archive). This is highly suggested by Poliszczuk's career. He was sent to Siberia where perhaps something went right for him - afterwards he settled in Wroclaw, obtained a Ph.D. in law during the times of the communist regime, moved to Toronto in 1981 where he then engaged in antagonizing the fiercely anti-Communist Ukrainian community there.

Torzecki's works have been published by Harvard and he is considered one of the most important experts on Polish-Ukrainian relations: http://www.huri.harvard.edu/cat.ukrainian.html. Faustian 14:29, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

Poliszczuk is an interesting author, certainly worth being mentioned, but not referenced as a source. He certainly is a historian by profession (and not by education, but that's not a requirement). However his research is considered controversial and far from any mainstream, therefore I'd advise a cautious approach. This said, reading him is useful, if only to see one of the POVs. Certainly a better author than e.g. Professor Edward Prus. Anyway, not advised for an uninitiated reader. --Lysytalk 18:03, 24 May 2006 (UTC)
A good paper that I always recommend in cases like this is Recent Polish Historiography on Polish-Ukrainian Relations during World War II and its Aftermath by Rafał Wnuk. --Lysytalk 18:13, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

The victim table

Why does it say in the beginning of the article that "approximately 100,000 Poles were massacred in Volhynia" when the tables largest figure is 80.000? Some figures are even as "low" as 35.000. Where does 100.000 come from? (Dynamok)

I believe it is a leftover of the early versions of this article, when it was still not certain whether the focus should be Volhynia alone or whole Ukraine. Feel free to correct that. Halibutt 18:15, 26 November 2005 (UTC)

Background and further comments

I've added a detailed background to the tragic events in Volhynia but have noticed that the talk about the massacres themselves is somewhat sparse. While gruesome details about the things done may not be appropriate, perhaps someone with access to Polish historical (not "non-scientific" please) sources could provide more info on the places, etc. Faustian 18:21, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

It is quite difficult, as most of the sources differ on these, and most of the more specific statements are controversial one or another way. As for the references, I find the book by Andrzej Sowa to be quite reasonable and comprehensive, I only don't have it at hand now. --Lysytalk 18:36, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Number of colonists

The number of colonists and victims contradicts the artice Osadnik, which actually gives official data about resettlement into Kresy (Western Belarus and Western Ukraine), of which the Volhynian Voivodship was part of. Surely the number of colonists in Volhynia cant be larger than in the whole Kresy. `'mikka (t) 17:01, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

Subtelny's Ukraine: A History (1988, University of Toronto Press) states that initially army veterans made up most of the colonists but that later civilians predominated, and that "despite the fact that Galicia was one of the most overpopulated agricultural regions in Europe, the Polish settlers received largea llotments of the best land as well as generous financial subsidies. Those who chose not to work on the land obtained positions as village policemen, postal or railroad employees, or petty officials. Ukrainian sources claim that by 1938 200,00 Poles had moved into the villages of Eastern Galicia and Volhynia and another 100,00 settled in the towns; Polish writers place the total number of colonists at less than 100,000." Subtelny noted that while the number of colonists was too small the dramatically affect the ethnic composition, it was large enough to be a major source of resentment to the local (land-starved) Ukrainian peasants.Faustian 20:59, 12 June 2006 (UTC)

Snyder in "The Reconstruction of Nations: Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, 1569-1999" also notes the land reform and arrival of colonists, see this Google Books link. --Irpen 01:50, 13 June 2006 (UTC)

Picture

The event depicted took place in Ternopil region that is outside Volhynia in the modern Ukraine. Is it OK to consider Ternopil to be Volhynian for the purpose of the article? abakharev 22:29, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

Tarnopol Voivodship and Volhynian Voivodship is different Voivodship of Second Polish Republic. I remove this disputable image with article. --Yakudza 07:14, 8 June 2006 (UTC)

May I ask, why the picture that denotes the events that took place in Ternopil area is being reintroduced here all the time despite the talk above? If you really need a picture here, please use a monument constructed now in Poland specifically dedicated to these events. I am not sure this image is GFDL but perhaps someone has an image we are allowed to use. This photo of the events that took place elesewhere does not fit this particular article. --Irpen 23:11, 13 July 2006 (UTC)

The scope of the Massacres of Poles in Volhynia is much wider and, contrary to what the name would suggest, not limited to the voivodship, but applies to the whole historical region, that included Ternopil. You do not seriously assume, that people conducting the ethnic cleansing would respect the administrative division of the country and limit themselves only to the territory of the pre-war voivodship. As to "monument constructed now in Poland specifically dedicated to these events", I'm not sure what monument do you mean. This one seems like a photo taken at a cemetery to me.--Lysytalk 06:06, 14 July 2006 (UTC)

If this was indeed of the scale wider than Volhynia why not rename the article to reflect that it is on a wider topic? Say, Anti-Polish events in Western Ukraine, 1943-1944 or something similar. That would also allow to "de-massacre" one more title which is always a good idea. The less martyrdoms and massacres in titles, the less flames we see. All the info about horror should be relayed by the text and not the title. --Irpen 06:15, 14 July 2006 (UTC)

Because that's how it's called. The slaughter of Poles took place in whole of what is now western Ukraine, though it became known from the accounts of Volhynia first. Renaming would be a decent idea, though in fact we'd be going against the established names I believe. As to massacres - the same arguments apply here, especially given your personal campaign of liberation and such. //Halibutt 08:13, 14 July 2006 (UTC)
One reason not to rename is to use establised names. The alternative established name would be Volhynia slaghter but massacre seems less loaded. I know that Russian editors have often some problems with the "massacre" word, but I believe this might be because it has some different meaning in Russian than in English. As for Volhynia, I'm sure you know this, that the historical region is much larger than the voivodship alone, and the name of the article seems most adequate. It's not "Massacres of Poles in Volhynia Voivodhip" after all. --Lysytalk 10:16, 14 July 2006 (UTC)
I remember a while ago Halibutt mentioned that the photo is from a book of a Polish photographer completely filled with similar photos. I guess by both Polish and Ukrainian copyright laws the photos of 1943 are public domain. Is it possible to upload a picture from the same book but of an event that actually happen in Volynia voivodship? And strong but a little less graphic. It will remove a lot of questions. abakharev 11:16, 14 July 2006 (UTC)
I think this picture is a very good illustration of the article, honestly. A picture tells more than a thousand words. I agree this one is very disturbing, but is should be. It explains very well why the topic is so emotional and difficult for Poles. There's no hidden agenda behind this. I'm not sure why you insist on Volhynia voivodship ? --Lysytalk 18:43, 17 July 2006 (UTC)

Halibutt and Lysy. I gather for this that you prefer "in Volhynia" which is "established" even though it is wrong (as it was of a wider scale). Did I understand you correctly? Ternopil is not only outside Volhynian Voivodship. it is also outside of the historic territory of Volhynia. As such, the title is simply misleading. Descriptive titles are allowed, so what's wrong with that?

Halibutt, I don't object to the usage of "massacre", if the sources use it, in the article but not in the title. I never introduced the word "liberation" you hate so much to a single article's title.

So, could we de-massacre the title and get the name reflect the scale of the events at the same time? --Irpen 17:23, 14 July 2006 (UTC)

Irpen, I think you are still confusing Volhynia with Volhynian Voivodship. Why would Ternopil need to be inside Volhynian Voivodship ? As for the "massacre", I have a deja vu feeling. Why would you like not to use this word ? Is there any controversy about whether this was massacre or not ? I am against whitewashing history, regardless of whether Russian, Polish or Ukrainian. The historians may differ about the number of victims but there is no dispute about the name of the event and there is abundance of sources available about Volhynia Slaughter or Massacre. --Lysytalk 18:51, 17 July 2006 (UTC)

I am not against the using of the word massacre, in the articles if this is referenced, like here, and I made it clear above. I am against using this word in the article titles. Ternopil was not only outside Volhynia voivodship but it was not part of historic Volhynia. In Austria-Hungary, it was part of administrative Galicia AFAIK. What's wrong with the title I suggested? It is a descriptive title, I take it, but it is exact, neutral and descriptive titles are OK to have. I would not object to the usage of the m-word inside the article in any way. --Irpen 19:35, 17 July 2006 (UTC)

I think your're not reading my questions. Let me rephrase them then: why would you think Ternopil needed to be inside Volhynia ? Does the image show Ternopil ? No, it shows the victims in Łobozowa. If you check e.g. uk:Волинь, you'll see that parts of Ternopil oblast fell in Volhynia. But that's not the point. The purpose of the picture is to illustrate the phenomenon and it does it very good. As for the "massacre" word, again, why do you object using the word in article's title. Is there any controversy about this ? --Lysytalk 20:03, 17 July 2006 (UTC)

The purpose of the pic and the article is to illustrate the phenomenon... What phenomenon? Was it restricted exlusively to Volhynia? In not, the title is impreside at best and misleading at worst, even if Lobozova was a part of historic Volhynia.

The controversy of using the strong words in the titles is one and the same. It is more inflammatory than the usage in the text, where the usage can be referenced to specific sources. Descriptive titles are neutral and exact. Also, they don't prejudge the issues that are resolved in the articles. --Irpen 20:45, 17 July 2006 (UTC)

Why should we be using weasel word in the title if the established name for the events was "slaughter" or "massacre" ? Massacre is a perfectly valid name and there are many articles about other massacres: Tlatelolco massacre, Nanking Massacre, Malmedy massacre, Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, Montreal Massacre, or Qibya massacre to name just a few. Again, these things happened, every serious source confirms this, and there's no need to attempt to whitewash history. --Lysytalk 21:23, 17 July 2006 (UTC)

Don't forget to rename the Battle of Kiev to Liberation of Kiev too, Lysy. This is pretty established name and plenty of sources say so. I thought it justifies to use it in the articles but never pushed it into the titles. What is exactly is the weasel word in the title I suggest? --Irpen 21:42, 17 July 2006 (UTC)

Wrong comparison. In the case of Kiev there are two sides: the Soviets calling it liberation and the rest of the world focusing mostly on the military aspect. In here we have the entire world calling it as it is called versus... err... Irpen..? //Halibutt 21:58, 17 July 2006 (UTC)

In case of Kiev an entire world, including the west in the military literature calls it liberation as shown repeatedly by the multitude of source. The word is disputed by the few adherents of the fringe POV and those who read nothing on the topic at all but the summaries of those same POV-pushers.

Let me ask, again, what's weasel in "Anti-Polish events..." title I suggest provided we still use the m-word in the text? --Irpen 22:20, 17 July 2006 (UTC)

The picture does not have authentic source and seemingly fabricated. In any case, it is not ethicaly admissible to expose somebody's personal suffering to open public opinion. --Ans-mo 14:08, 19 October 2006 (UTC)

There are several evident reasons, for which such picture can not be displayed here. First, it shows personal suffering of innocent children to the public view. Second, the picture is not provided with authentic, identified and proved source, there are no names of photographer and no names of the victims. The connection of this picture to actions of UPA is not documentarily proved. Third, there are signs of fabrication on that picture (line of "barbed wire" seems to be added lately to the picture and doesnot have any connection with bodies of the victims, as some experts say). Fourth, it fosters feeling of hatred from one side in two sided armed conflict, when two peoples were made antagonists by Soviet and German empires and regretful cases were indicated from each side. Both Ukraine and Poland have already made significant steps toward reconciliation (see some links below). Any of the above mentioned reasons is enough for not placing such photo in this article. Ans-mo 07:09, 20 October 2006 (UTC)

If it is fabricated it should go. If it's true it should stay to illustrate the issue. Certainly horrific, but if true, it should not be hidden. I think this discussion belongs rather here. --Lysytalk 09:57, 20 October 2006 (UTC)

You dont have any firm proof that this picture is true. For posting such picture you must be sure on 100% about the source, author, names of the victims and photographer. You must also have proof that, this crime was made by UPA (during the described period, Volyn had german fascists, communist partisans, Army Krajowa and UPA on its territory. You can not present any documentary evidence. If this picture is fabricated or is not connected with UPA actions, it should remain the problem of your conscience. Ans-mo 09:47, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

The purpose of the picture is to illustrate the article. The reason for that is to show that the events in Volhynia were very brutal and to visually explain why they are still very difficult for many Poles. The purpose of this is not to blame UPA, and I have already opposed against inclusion in the Ukrainian Insurgent Army article. Since you are inventing a number a reasons to remove the picture from this article, it's obvious that it really bothers you. Maybe you could explain why would you prefer not to see it here and then we could come to some more reasonable conclusion ? Do you believe that the events were not that brutal at all ? --Lysytalk 20:58, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

I'm sorry just to say that illustrating an article with an image which is not connected to the article is disinformation (or propaganda)! What about illustrating Majdanek camp with Auschwitz pictures ... What abour presenting jewish casualties for tsigan genocide ... and so on What about presenting pictures of the first Iraq war to illustrate the second one ...

This is explained already in the beginning of the discussion above. Please take your time to read it first. Thanks. --Lysytalk 12:25, 11 November 2006 (UTC)

I have no problem with this picture in this article, as long as the caption does not blame UPA for this crime (which it does not), because the criminals are not known. Faustian

I'm sorry to say that I'm not at all convince about what is say : Ternopil is VERY far from what is known as Vohlynia, and there is ABSOLUT no proof that this murder shown on this pic is linked with the Volhynia tragedy ... And the place of the picture does not seem to be very clear Łobozowa or Kobzowa (and do you really know where this village is ?)

The purpose of this picture is to better illustrate how brutal the events were then. We do no know and it does not matter who the murderers were in this particular case. Thousands of civilians were butchered and these children were among the victims. As to Volhynia, I think you do not understand two things. First, historically Volhynia was much, much larger than Volyn Oblast today. Secondly, the "massacres in Volhynia" is just a name that refers to the events that took place in a larger area. Would you like separate articles for "massacres in Volyn oblast", "massacres in Zhytomyr oblast", "massacres in Ternopil oblast" and so on ? --Lysytalk 21:42, 11 November 2006 (UTC)


I totaly disagree with the use of a picture in the aim of illustrate an article if this picture is not RELATED to this article : DOING THIS IS JUST PROPAGANDA ! There are other picture, which are correctly sourced which could be used, but not this one which is not sourced correctly(three supposed authors, two villages not really well defined (always followed by the sign "?"), so NOT USABLE. It true that many books written in Poland have used this picture, even saying ,that THIS REALLY HAS BEEN MADE IN VOLHYNIA MASSACRE, but when books were publish abroad there was a dispute, and someon found that the picture was first taken somewhere in Ternopil region, which is far from being Volhyni, or Pollysia, or Khelm region, were the massacre were done. Then some have made hypothesis that this children were gypsies and not polish children, so nconnected at all to that subject ... USING THIS PICTURE IS JUST DOING PROPAGANDA, which is not the aim of Wikipedia, as far as I know. Also using this picture here, lets think that this murder was commited by UPA member, which is far from being prooved... Could you (or anyone else) please tell me where is this village in Ukraine?

The only article where this picture could be used is an article about murder/massacre in Ukraine during WWII concerning Ukrainian, Polish, Gipsies, Jewish people ...

I have no idea where this village is. All I know is that:
  1. The massacre in Volhynia happened in Tarnopol Voivodeship as well;
  2. Contrary to what you say, historic Volhynia included the areas of Tarnopol Voivodeship;
  3. A number of sources present this picture as an illustration of the victims of Volhynia massacre.
Now, are there any sources that dispute this ? Or is your opinion only the result of your personal research ? --Lysytalk 19:53, 12 November 2006 (UTC)

Could you precise the village where it happened in Ternopil Voivodship? I am not aware about similar fact in that voivodship ... Ternopil voivodship HAS NEVER BEEN INCLUDED TOTALLY IN VOHLYNIA VOIVODSHIP Just the northern part of Ternopil Voivodship was once included in Volhynia (an line from Pochaiv to Liubar). Only polish sources present this picture as victims of Volhynia massacre. and NOBODY could really source this picture. So I don't understand why put REAL picture of the massacre instead of this one....

Which REAL picture would you suggest ? --Lysytalk 20:19, 12 November 2006 (UTC)
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