The Documentary Podcast

Assignment: Poland's ghosts, Ukraine's heroes


Listen Later

Ukraine and Poland are neighbours and close allies in today’s conflict with Russia. But the ghosts of victims of an earlier war have returned to divide them. Tens of thousands of Poles were murdered by Ukrainians in Volhynia, in what's now western Ukraine, in 1943. Most of the victims still lie in unmarked graves, and Ukraine has only just lifted a ban on exhuming the bodies.

That followed heavy diplomatic pressure by Poland, about to take over the presidency of the European Union. It threatened to block moves towards Ukrainian integration with the EU unless the ban were lifted.

But Poland’s demand has stirred a controversy inside Ukraine about one of the darkest periods of its history. Ukrainian nationalists who were involved in the massacre - and their leader Stepan Bandera - are regarded by many Ukrainians as heroes.

Reporter Tim Whewell travels through Poland and western Ukraine to try to find out what really happened in 1943, and ask whether Poland and Ukraine can ever lay a fiercely-contested history to rest. And can the record of Ukraine's Second World War nationalists be openly discussed without giving a propaganda victory to Russia, which has tried to use the subject to vilify Ukraine?

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The Documentary PodcastBy BBC World Service

  • 4.3
  • 4.3
  • 4.3
  • 4.3
  • 4.3

4.3

1,607 ratings


More shows like The Documentary Podcast

View all
Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,913 Listeners

From Our Own Correspondent by BBC Radio 4

From Our Own Correspondent

376 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,067 Listeners

In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,576 Listeners

Witness History by BBC World Service

Witness History

977 Listeners

The History Hour by BBC World Service

The History Hour

586 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,729 Listeners

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

Learning English Conversations

1,018 Listeners

The Interview by BBC World Service

The Interview

357 Listeners

Lives Less Ordinary by BBC World Service

Lives Less Ordinary

580 Listeners

Discovery by BBC World Service

Discovery

965 Listeners

BBC Inside Science by BBC Radio 4

BBC Inside Science

410 Listeners

Science Weekly by The Guardian

Science Weekly

429 Listeners

The Inquiry by BBC World Service

The Inquiry

746 Listeners

The Audio Long Read by The Guardian

The Audio Long Read

841 Listeners

Unexpected Elements by BBC World Service

Unexpected Elements

363 Listeners

Today in Focus by The Guardian

Today in Focus

1,015 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

3,245 Listeners

The Missing Cryptoqueen by BBC Sounds

The Missing Cryptoqueen

1,024 Listeners

Americast by BBC News

Americast

779 Listeners

The Bomb by BBC World Service

The Bomb

1,010 Listeners

The Global Story by BBC World Service

The Global Story

394 Listeners