MEMORIAL PLACES FOR THE POLISH ARMY FALLEN SOLDIERS IN MODERN MEMORIAL PRACTICIES OF UKRAINIANS AND POLES

Abstract

The article is devoted to the burial sites of the Polish Army fallen soldiers discovered on the territory of Ukraine, as well as to the role of these places in modern memorial practices of Ukrainians and Poles, who turned them into peculiar places of memory. Individual researchers, historic re-enactment clubs, Polish cultural societies, etc. are now involved in research work to identify the burial sites for soldiers of the Polish and Ukrainian armies who carried out separate and joint military operations against the Bolshevik Red Army in 1920. The result of their activities was the identification and reconstruction of the burial sites of Polish soldiers in Ukraine and Ukrainian soldiers in Poland. The burial sites which have been known since the 20th century included the graves of fallen Poles who died near Zadvirya and Brody, in Lviv. The burial sites of the Polish soldiers in a separate area at the Baikove Cemetery in Kyiv are among those discovered in the early 1990s. Recently restored were graves in a village cemetery near the village of Susly in the Novohrad-Volynskyi district of Zhytomyr region in Ukraine. The lists of Polish soldiers are still being clarified. The research work is underway to study the biographies of the fallen. The commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Polish-Ukrainian military alliance in 2020 highlighted the need for joint memorial events to honour the memory of the fallen representatives of both nations, organized information campaigns for citizens of both countries to create awareness about common history.