The Ukrainian media space was rocked the other day by the news that Poland’s Ministry of the Interior had proposed a new design of Polish passports. It is planned to place the background images of major landmarks in the history of Polish state-formation in the documents. Thirteen landmarks and historical characters were selected well in advance (including Jozef Pilsudski, Roman Dmowski, and the order Virtuti Militari), and 12 more symbols were put to a public vote. This would have raised no objections if some of the symbols – the Cemetery of Eaglets in Lviv and the Gate of Dawn in Vilnius – had not caused a big stir among Poland’s neighbors.
At first the Foreign Ministry of Lithuania called the deputy Polish ambassador “on the carpet” and resolutely demanded that this should not be done. “The Gate of Dawn is on the territory of Lithuania, and its image must not be put on the official documents of another state,” the ministry’s statement emphasized. Kyiv has also responded, saying that the Polish project is “an unfriendly step that adversely affects the development of strategic Ukrainian-Polish partnership.”
But there was no consensus of this kind in the Polish public debate on this matter. For example, Lublin Catholic University Professor Wlodzimierz Osadczy believes that putting the image of the Cemetery of Eaglets on Polish documents is a “very logical decision, taking into account the difficulties of the Polish Republic’s renaissance.” “Lwow and Wilno are symbols of the Polish state’s revival,” Osadczy said. But Pawel Kowal, a MEP and an active participant in the Polish-Ukrainian dialog, reacted differently. In his words, the project is nothing but “a wink at borderland milieus and a mobilization of nationalistic forces.” Jerzy Haszczynski, editor of the influential Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita, is openly critical, calling the initiative “the Interior Ministry’s provocation.” “It is not difficult to imagine what hell would be raised (and justly so) in Poland if German documents showed images of the Poznan town hall or the Wroclaw Centennial Hall [the latter is on the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list. – Ed.]. Expecting sensitiveness from others, let us demand it from ourselves,” he wrote.
Polish experts and journalists have sent an open letter to the Ministry of the Interior. “Duly caring about Poland’s friendly relations with Lithuania and Ukraine, we appeal to Interior Minister Mariusz Blaszczak that the Gate of Dawn chapel and the Memorial of Eaglets be removed from the new Polish passport as background images,” the document says. Overall, 86 people had signed the appeal by August 9.
A more active history-related policy was one of the key election promises of the now ruling party Law and Justice (PiS). Wielding the slogan of bringing back a “true” patriotism inopportunely dropped by the previous “liberal” governments, conservative politicians with Jaroslaw Kaczynski at the head have formed a serious electoral base. In addition to pressing the highly emotional “Volyn issue,” the PiS has also been advancing other projects which, quite predictably, arouse concern across the eastern border. In particular, politicians have been lobbying since 2014 the establishment of a museum of eastern borderlands in Warsaw. They even formed an organizing committee in January 2016, which includes the abovementioned Mariusz Blaszczak and Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz.
Den, too, has made a contribution to resolving complicated issues of Polish-Ukrainian relations: we published the book Wars and Peace, or Ukrainians – Poles: Brothers/Enemies, Neighbors in the Library series in 2004.
In the preface to the Polish-language edition, famous Polish dissident and journalist Adam Michnik stressed: “Talking about history is hard, but necessary. What we need is to direct our thoughts into the future, to realize how much values and interests we have in common, and how much we can achieve together.” So it seems that both Polish and Ukrainian politicians who take an interest in such a complex theme and strive to develop friendship and close ties would do well to use this intellectual capital.
Jaroslaw Kaczynski’s party willingly uses historical politics in the struggle with their opponents whom it positions as insufficiently “patriotic.” Sometimes the impression is that certain historical initiatives serve as sort of a fig leaf that hides the response to dubious reforms or intra-party conflicts. After President Andrzej Duda had unexpectedly vetoed the PiS’s attempt to launch a reform that challenged the independence of courts, commentators began to speak openly about a split in the ruling party. It is easy to divert the attention of Polish society, extremely sensitive in historical matters, from a not-so-favorable political situation to the questions of the past, such as relations with Germany or Ukraine. It is perhaps no accident that the public debate on the proposed new passport has coincided in time with the initiative to recover reparations from Germany for the damage it inflicted in World War Two.
No matter what are the true intentions of those who devised the new passport shady scheme, it will not benefit Polish-Ukrainian relations. The fact that Polish society has a serious demand for an active history-related policy does not relieve the elites of responsibility for ill-considered initiatives. It is hardly possible to leave history to historians alone, but it is not an absolution from the malicious politicization of the past in favor of temporary electoral benefits.
The Day requested some Polish, Lithuanian, and Ukrainian experts to comment on the latest developments in Polish-Ukrainian relations.
“THIS WILL GIVE FOREIGN ILL-WISHERS A GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK AGAIN ABOUT ‘POLISH IMPERIALISM’ IN ORDER TO DIVERT ATTENTION FROM THAT OF THEIR OWN”
Olha HNATIUK, historian, professor at the Institute of Slavic Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences and at the National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy:
“I hope the newly-designed passports with the Gate of Dawn and the pantheon of Lviv’s defenders will not be introduced into practice. Polish citizens have sent an open protest letter to the minister of the interior. I expect these efforts, as well as reactions of the foreign ministries of Lithuania and Ukraine to produce a result. It is a manifestation of the Polish domestic policy aimed at the citizens who live off the myth of the ‘eastern Borderlands.’ However, this will not be conducive to the restoration of confidence in international relations, particularly, those between Poland, Ukraine, and Lithuania. This will give foreign ill-wishers a good opportunity to speak again about ‘Polish imperialism’ in order to divert attention from that of their own. To sum it up, all the abovementioned ‘domestic gains’ boil down to enormous losses in the Polish foreign policy. It is not only about the eastern direction – this is going to affect the image of Poland which will finally lose the status of an expert on eastern affairs and the image of a responsible player on the international arena.”
“IT WILL BE IMPOSSIBLE TO ‘DEPOLITICIZE’ HISTORY IN THE NEAR FUTURE”
Lukasz JASINA, historian, analyst, Polish Institute of International Affairs:
“History is really the ‘cornerstone’ of Polish-Ukrainian relations. Its a bit too strong impact on the two countries’ current relations is caused by many unresolved problems of the past and by the fact that Polish and Ukrainian political elites fail to understand the importance of this thing. But it would be unfair to lay the blame for this situation on the Polish side alone, which, unlike the Ukrainian one, has done quite a lot in the past 20 years to resolve these problems. Instead, the Ukrainian leadership has shown no sufficient response and responsibility. History and the borderline situation are the only serious problem in the current Polish-Ukrainian relations. Nevertheless, it will continue to influence the awareness of elites in both countries, which increases its importance and possibility to be used for political purposes in Poland as well as in Ukraine.
“It will be impossible to ‘depoliticize’ history in the near future. For example, Ukraine is taking no steps in historical politics, which would show the understanding of Polish sensitiveness. Therefore, it is worthwhile to accept the ‘politicization’ of the past and try to defuse conflicts or at least to conclude sort of a ‘protocol of differences’ in views. It is important that Ukrainian commentators should understand that nobody in Poland will accept a one-sided history-related policy, when only the Poles are held responsible for tragic pages in the relations. There’s a broad consensus about this among the majority of Polish political elites.
“Therefore, we should focus on the most important aspects of Polish-Ukrainian relations. Poland continues to support Ukraine in many questions, which Ukraine itself not always notices, for it focuses on criticizing its neighbor on historical grounds. Incidentally, Poland is also working for Ukraine’s energy security, as far as Nord Stream 2 is concerned. Besides, a certain percentage of the Ukrainian GDP is estimated to be coming from behind the Vistula – the Ukrainian workers employed in Poland keep sending this money home.
“I don’t think the ‘passport question’ should be viewed in the categories of Polish internal political struggle. The initiative is part of the program to mark the centenary of Polish independence – in the same way as the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance is implementing a program to mark the centenary of the ‘Ukrainian Revolution.’ The project initiators have failed to show sufficient sensitiveness towards the Ukrainian side. Both countries are making these unnecessary mistakes – suffice it to compare this situation with Ukraine’s failure to understand that honoring the memory of those who committed mass-scale murders of Poles is not conducive to reconciliation either. So we have one more problem to resolve.
“The goal of Ukrainian diplomacy is to pursue a policy that benefits Ukraine. In my opinion, it is preservation of good relations with Poland. Both Polish and Ukrainian sides should refrain from making similar mistakes. Ukraine needs Poland to a greater extent than it seems to the Ukrainians. It is important that Ukrainian diplomacy should be aware of and realistically appraise the situation in Poland.”
“THE POLISH DO NOT THINK IN THE CATEGORIES OF CONSEQUENCES”
Maciej ZANIEWICZ, political writer; chief editor, portal Eastbook:
“History-related policies have become one of the main means to mobilize the electorate of the ruling PiS party lately. According to the current leadership’s narrative, Poland, a strong state with a rich culture and a potential regional leader, was badly hurt by its neighbors – Germany and the USSR – in World War Two and by Ukraine in the ‘Volyn massacre.’ Emphasizing the suffered injuries and the moral superiority of Poland, which fought against all the totalitarianisms and Banderaites, forms in fact the basis of the PiS’s history-related policy. This still more works up the nation which harbors a deep-seated inferiority complex that comes from the defeat in the war and the ensuing Soviet occupation. Paradoxically, the current Polish leadership sees no contradiction between this history-related policy and the establishment of friendly relations with Kyiv, which its program also comprises.
“In my view, history is going to be still more politicized in the immediate future. We can see similar processes in a large region – Hungary, Lithuania, and Ukraine. Unfortunately, our common history is full of easy-to-reopen unhealed wounds. So it is no wonder that Poland reacts almost hysterically to every instance of a street named after Bandera and to every UPA symbol in the public space. For us, it is a much sorer subject than the Cemetery of the Defenders of Lwow on Polish passports is for Ukrainians. The Polish are, after all, on the same path of forming their national identity, albeit a few steps behind Ukraine.
“I don’t think anybody at the Polish Ministry of the Interior has thought of the passport initiative in terms of a well-considered history-related policy. An enormous part of society regards these landmarks as the most important symbols of Polishness. Lots of songs have been composed about them, one can read about them in literature, and Poles used to shed their blood for them. No wonder, most of the people voted for the Gate of Dawn in the contest. It seems to me that not a single Pole will ever drop the idea that these landmarks still remain Polish. The problem is that the Polish do not think in the categories of the consequences these decisions may have and pay no attention to their neighbors’ vulnerability. Of course, nobody wants Vilnius and Lviv to be annexed, but the majority forgets that this project will be viewed as an unfriendly gesture towards Ukraine and Lithuania. These elements – historical and international politics – occupy separate places in the mind of an average Pole. Many of those who agree to see the images of these landmarks in the passport are, at the same time, taking a friendly attitude to Ukraine.
To keep the Cemetery of Eaglets from being displayed in documents and to avoid the deterioration of Polish-Ukrainian relations, Ukraine should not raise a clamor about this situation – it should try to resolve the matter through diplomatic channels or at the level of foreign ministries. The point is that the more you pressure Poland, the firmer it will be. This feature was manifested again after the PiS came to power. Therefore, an emotional reaction will only cause resistance on the part of Warsaw and result in further deterioration of relations between the two states, which neither Poland nor Ukraine needs.”
