Memory and acts of reconciliation in Dytiatyn
Co-financed by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage from the Culture Promotion Fund
June 30, 2020
A long line of cars and several coaches with Polish and Ukrainian registration plates set off from the Marian Sanctuary in Bołszowce towards Dytiatyn, a dozen or so kilometres away. Then, along a dirt road, we go to the hill "385" to participate in the celebrations of another anniversary of one of the most heroic - but also least known - battles of the Polish-Bolshevik war. In the village, the Poles and Ukrainians who have arrived are traditionally joined by a large group of local people.
In front of me a woman is talking to her son:
- “Mom, why is this cemetery in a field?” the boy asks.
- – Because they buried Polish soldiers there once – explains the mother.
- – What were they doing here?
- – They fought against the Muscovites.
- – So how are our soldiers fighting them in Donbas now?
- - Yes.
As if to justify herself, the woman tries to explain to us that Ukrainian history textbooks do not yet write anything about it. There was no mention of it in Soviet ones either, but they know from their parents and grandparents. Every year I meet fewer and fewer elderly women who, leaning on a stick, come to the graves of Polish soldiers long before the ceremony. It was their generation that remembered and passed on the information about the bloody battle of September 16, 1920. After World War II, the communist authorities devastated the chapel at the Polish military cemetery, but the Ukrainians from Dytiatyn did not allow the burial place of Polish soldiers to be plowed under.
"I remember that before the war, every year there were services there, which were also attended by Greek Catholic priests and our faithful
recalls 90-year-old Mrs. Anna.
"In 1945, all Poles from Dytiatyn and the surrounding villages had to leave. Then we ourselves erected an Iron Cross there."
In 1986, the cross was cut down by local Komsomol activists and thrown behind the fence of the church in Dytiatyn. There, on the square in front of the church, it remains to this day. After Ukraine regained independence, a new cross was erected at the site of the battle, which, together with a climbing wild rose bush, was a symbol of this place for many years, to which Poles began to visit more and more often. The annual September celebrations were resumed there, with the participation of delegations from Poland, Polish organizations in Ukraine, Ukrainian local authorities, Catholic clergy of two rites, and Orthodox clergy.
The Greek Catholics of Dytiatin come in procession with the parish priest at their head. In a report on the website of the Ivano-Frankivsk Archdiocese of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church from September 20, 2018, we read: "All those present came here to commemorate the fallen Polish and Ukrainian soldiers shot by the Bolshevik occupiers on September 16, 1920. This event is a clear proof of the great desire of the Ukrainian and Polish people for their own independence. The very fact of the joint battle of Polish and Ukrainian troops against the Bolshevik occupiers is an excellent testimony of international brotherhood for the protection of universal values. Today in Ukraine we are dealing with a tragic war situation in the east of our homeland, where many young boys and girls are once again giving their lives on the altar of freedom and independence, literally fulfilling the words of our Lord: There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends (John 15:13). The tragic event we commemorate here teaches true love for our homeland and vividly demonstrates true patriotism, which The Catechism of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church calls it a virtue. True love for one's homeland does not contradict, but rather promotes, love for other nations, nurturing mutual respect and love. May our ancestors, who died on this land for the freedom of their nations, become for us an immortal example of sacrificial love."
During the anniversary celebrations in 2014, Volodymyr Chuiko, then chairman of the Halych district administration, said in his speech that when God distributed the land, Ukrainians received beautiful black earth, beauty, and diverse talents. But God also said they did not yet know what kind of neighbors He had chosen for them.
"So, no matter what, back then, in 1920, and now, almost a hundred years later, we feel support from our Polish neighbor in the fight against the threat posed by our other neighbor," he emphasized.
Volodymyr Chuiko – chairman of the district administration in Halych – 2014
On September 19, 2015, a solemn ceremony took place on the site of the former battlefield of Dytiatyn. In the presence of several hundred guests, the rebuilt Polish war cemetery was opened. It was consecrated by the clergy of the Latin Rite Catholic Church and the Eastern Churches. On behalf of Archbishop Mieczysław Mokrzycki, Metropolitan of Lviv, the Holy Mass for the deceased and for peace in eastern Ukraine was led by Bishop Senior Marian Buczek.
In his homily, the hierarch recalled that in 1920, Bolshevik armies marched on Warsaw to destroy Poland and then humiliate Europe. They were stopped by Piłsudski's Polish soldiers and Petlura's Ukrainian soldiers.
"We find ourselves in this renewed pantheon that reminds us of the struggle of the two nations of Poland and Ukraine against the Bolshevik, godless onslaught"
Bishop Buczek pointed out.
He added that the Bolsheviks "wanted to build a world without God" and nothing came of it, because if you do not build on the truth of the Gospel, on what the Creator himself gave, then creation "will destroy itself."
"We were here toiling away," laughs Fr. Grzegorz Cymbała, a Franciscan (OFMConv), describing the Franciscans' participation in the reconstruction of the pantheon. "We carried out all the plans that were made in Warsaw. We simply had to implement this idea. It was close to our hearts, because for several years now we have been going to celebrate Holy Masses at this grave. It was neglected, so much so that it was calling for it to be done at last. We were asked to take care of it. This place also has a special meaning for our Franciscan idea - peace and good. We know that Poland and Ukraine do not always understand each other in all matters. But here we have such a beautiful example, that Poles and Ukrainians stood on the same side against the invader in 1920. I believe that we should discover those pages that bring us closer. In this way, we are writing a new page in the history of cooperation. For a dozen or so years, we have been creating the Center for Peace and Reconciliation in Bołszowce. We organize pilgrimages of "Peace and Reconciliation". We look for these positive elements, because everyone can talk about the negatives. However, what is common to Poland and Ukraine is often not emphasized. Today, for the first time, Greek Catholic and Roman Catholic priests together, in a solemn manner, participated in the celebrations at the cemetery of Polish soldiers. They came to pray for them. I think that this is a very positive signal, especially in this region. They really wanted to come here. They are also changing their mentality towards Poland. I see it. These are years of work, but war, in all its tragedy, teaches the wisest things. War is bad, but it is when it is hard that people focus on the most important things: they stop arguing, they strive for mutual kindness. It seems to me that now they understand more those who once fought in this place against the Bolsheviks. They understand that it was like this once before. And now Ukrainians are experiencing it on their own land. The rapprochement seems to be getting closer and closer – emphasized Fr. Grzegorz. – We also pray for the soldiers of the Ukrainian National Army killed together with Polish soldiers by the invaders from Russia – I have heard their story more than once from the Ukrainians during the celebrations in Dytiatyn. According to the local population, they were taken from the battlefield and buried in Ukrainian cemeteries. Unfortunately, the places of these burials are not known to us”.
"The battlefield of Dytiatyn, remote from the world – though not forgotten – is an important place not only for history and martyrdom
emphasizes Mirosław Rowicki, editor-in-chief of "Kurier Galicyjski" from Lviv.
"This place speaks to the imagination of modern people, or at least it would be good if it did. It is a testament to and an example of Polish-Ukrainian brotherhood in arms, thanks to which units of the Polish Army and the army of the Ukrainian People's Republic, fighting the Red Army, stopped its advance into Europe. Today, the war in Ukraine has been going on for six years. Even the aggressor is the same. Here, I think, we should write some conclusions, perhaps wishes? They say that history teaches us that it has never taught anyone anything. But perhaps that's not true after all?"
Konstanty Czawaga, member of the Association of Polish Journalists and the Union of Ukrainian Journalists
Lviv 2020
