Poland and Ukraine, what two noble loves united and what nationalism seeks to divide

Poland and Ukraine must preserve their ties, because the future of Europe depends on them. I said this two years ago and I repeat it.

Pope St. John Paul II: His Words on Patriotism and Nationalism
United by the Cross: Poland and Ukraine pay tribute to the victims of the Volhynian massacre

Those of you who follow this blog know that I have had great admiration for Poland for years. It is a country that has managed to preserve its Catholic roots and national identity even during the 123 years in which it was wiped off the map by Russia, Prussia, and Austria. However, what was especially admirable about it was its resistance to the two great totalitarian regimes of the 20th century: communism and nazism, two criminal movements that committed horrific atrocities against the Polish people.

The Poles were the first to achieve a resounding military defeat of communism (in the Polish-Soviet War of 1919-1921), with the bold and brilliant "Miracle on the Vistula" of 1920 that halted Bolshevik expansionism in Europe for almost two decades, and they were also the first to fight against Nazi Germany in 1939, facing a joint invasion by Hitler and Stalin.

When the Russian army invaded Ukraine on a large scale on February 24, 2022, Poland was one of the first countries to come to the aid of the Ukrainian people, providing extraordinary military aid, including hundreds of T-72 tanks. Furthermore, the Poles opened their homes to millions of Ukrainian women and children who had been forced to flee their country because of the Russian invasion, a gesture of generosity that moved the world and demonstrated the spiritual greatness of the country of Saint John Paul II and Saint Maximilian Kolbe.

In these times when various signs of decline sometimes lead to dire conclusions, Poland has been a source of hope for many people who believe that another Europe is possible, a Europe linked to its Christian roots and faithful to the principles that made it great. Honoring those principles, in these three years, several thousand Poles have joined the Ukrainian Army as volunteers to fight against the Russian invaders, creating ties between Poland and Ukraine that no one can break. Bonds forged by love for God and love for the Fatherland, two noble sentiments that have always been strong in both countries and which explain this generous Polish aid to the defenders of Ukraine.

However, in these difficult times, when it is most necessary to remember what unites both countries, there are Poles and Ukrainians who seem ready to break those ties for the sake of a short-sighted nationalism. A nationalism that the Polish Pope warned against in 1995: "It is necessary to clarify the essential divergence between a dangerous form of nationalism, which preaches contempt for other nations or cultures, and patriotism, which is, on the other hand, the just love for one's country of origin. True patriotism never seeks to promote the good of one's own nation to the detriment of others. Indeed, this would end up harming the nation itself, producing pernicious effects for both the aggressor and the victim. Nationalism, especially in its most radical expressions, is therefore opposed to true patriotism."

This nationalism manifests itself in the two aforementioned countries in different ways. In Ukraine, it is expressed in minority movements that praise the UPA (Ukrainian Insurgent Army) guerrillas, who committed the atrocious massacre of Polish civilians in Volhynia in 1943. This massacre opened a deep wound between Ukraine and Poland, which seemed to finally heal three years ago with Poland's generous aid to the Ukrainians in the face of the Russian invasion. Radical Ukrainian nationalism knows that this wound still causes pain in Poland, but it doesn't seem to care, helping to separate the two countries when their unity is most needed. The radical nationalists of Pravy Sektor (who only have one deputy in the Ukrainian Parliament) are also promoting territorial claims against Poland, which is the height of absurdity and stupidity.

On the other hand, I am saddened to see that a section of the Polish right is waving an anti-Ukrainian discourse that is largely fueled by the memory of the Volhynian massacre, but is not limited to that. Some, especially from the Konfederacja, are fostering hatred against Ukrainians who are refugees in Poland, launching vile messages against them such as claiming that they intend to replace the Polish population. On the other hand, Ukraine's extreme difficulties in exporting its grain by sea due to the war, a grain that was often destined for many countries in Africa, and the export of that grain through Europe has generated unrest among Polish farmers that has been exploited by some, especially from the Konfederacja, to pit the two countries against each other.

The various nationalist movements—not to be confused with patriotism—that exist in Europe seem to fail to understand that European countries share a common threat, the greatest since World War II: Russian expansionism. It's a threat that directly affects Ukraine, which is currently under Russian invasion, but also poses a clear threat to Poland, a country bordering the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.

During the interwar period, Polish Marshal Józef Pilsudski understood the significance of this threat and proposed the so-called Międzymorze (Between the Seas), a federation that would bring together Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, and Ukraine, four countries that were once part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, with the possible addition of Estonia, Latvia, Czechoslovakia, Finland, Hungary, Romania, and Yugoslavia. Międzymorze was intended to unite forces between these countries located between two great powers, Russia and Germany, to avoid being wiped off the map by both. Today, Germany is no longer a threat to Poland (both countries are members of NATO), but Russia certainly is.

As long as that threat persists, Poland and Ukraine must resolve their differences with foresight and continue to join forces to defend themselves against their common enemy. Nothing could make Putin happier than seeing Polish and Ukrainian nationalism doing Russia the great favor of dividing Ukraine and Poland precisely at a time when both need each other.