Liuboml, Ukraine, Aug 1 (EFE).- The exhumation of victims of the Volhynia killings (the deaths of tens of thousands of Poles at the hands of Ukrainian nationalist groups in 1943) helps intensify dialogue between Poland and Ukraine after the flare-up of tensions over historical memory.
Sunflower fields and forest cover what used to be the villages of Ostrówki and Wola Ostrowiecka, in what is now Ukraine’s northwestern Volhynia region. More than a thousand Poles lived in the villages and hundreds were killed over 80 years ago.
White tents stand out against the yellow and green landscape. One covers a recently uncovered grave where several remains are visible as archaeologists carefully sift the soil, determined not to miss even the smallest bone.
Seeking closure
Forty-nine bodies have been recovered from mass graves so far in this latest round of joint excavations by Polish and Ukrainian specialists.
