Hrytsak began by arguing that Polish-Ukrainian reconciliation represents one of the most significant achievements of post-communist Europe. In his view, its historical importance can be compared with Franco-German reconciliation after the Second World War: just as the latter helped lay the foundations for a peaceful and integrated Western Europe, the former created the possibility of extending that European space further east. Poland, he suggested, has played a crucial role in enabling Ukrainians to imagine their country beyond the shadow of Russian history and as part of a broader European political tradition.
This led Hrytsak to one of his central arguments: the most important distinction between Ukraine and Russia lies not in language or religion but in political culture. Ukraine's historical experience, he argued, produced a different relationship between society and the state, helping to explain why Ukrainian political development has followed a markedly different trajectory from Russian authoritarianism. Polish-Ukrainian dialogue therefore matters not simply as a bilateral relationship between neighbouring states but as part of the wider question of Ukraine's place within Europe.At the same time, Hrytsak emphasised that reconciliation was never inevitable. It emerged through the sustained efforts of historians, intellectuals, churches and civil society organisations that created spaces in which difficult historical questions could be confronted without allowing them to dictate the future. Historians, he suggested, have often found it easier than politicians to engage honestly with contested pasts, while symbolic acts of acknowledgement have helped create new political possibilities. Yet he also warned against complacency. As generations change and memories of conflict become more distant, societies may lose the sense of moral urgency that originally made reconciliation possible.
Responding to these themes, Wylegała shifted attention to the challenges of the present. She argued that the recent deterioration in Polish-Ukrainian relations cannot be explained by memory politics alone, even though historical memory remains central. The arrival of millions of Ukrainian refugees in Poland following Russia's full-scale invasion, the social and economic pressures created by the war, the rise of populist political rhetoric and the influence of Russian disinformation have all contributed to growing tensions. At the same time, unresolved historical disputes continue to shape public debate. For Wylegała, confronting these questions remains essential not only for moral reasons but also for practical ones, ensuring that neither society remains permanently constrained by unresolved interpretations of the past.
The discussion explored the politics of historical responsibility in greater depth. Participants raised questions about the language of genocide and ethnic cleansing, the legacy of Stepan Bandera, the role of social media in amplifying historical conflict, the risks associated with state-sponsored memory institutions and the uneven quality of history education in both countries. Both speakers resisted simple or exclusively legal solutions. Wylegała argued that parliaments are poorly equipped to resolve complex historical controversies, while Hrytsak stressed that every nation carries difficult chapters in its own history and that acknowledgement cannot be expected to flow in only one direction. Several contributions returned to the need for critical scholarship, better history teaching and forms of public discussion that resist turning historical memory into a weapon of contemporary political competition.
Throughout the seminar, the conversation repeatedly returned to the relationship between history and the present. Rather than viewing reconciliation as a single historical achievement, both speakers presented it as an ongoing political and intellectual process requiring continual renewal. The current war has reinforced the strategic importance of Polish-Ukrainian cooperation, yet it has also exposed the persistence of older historical grievances capable of resurfacing under new political circumstances.
The seminar ultimately presented Polish-Ukrainian reconciliation as a fragile, unfinished but indispensable project. Neither Hrytsak nor Wylegała suggested that relations could simply return to the optimism of the decades immediately following the end of communism. Both argued instead that reconciliation requires sustained work by scholars, educators, political leaders and civil society if it is to survive changing political circumstances. At a moment when Ukraine's place in Europe is being contested both on the battlefield and in competing historical narratives, the discussion suggested that the future of Polish-Ukrainian relations remains central not only to the two countries themselves but also to the wider European project. The lecture therefore offered both a thoughtful diagnosis of present tensions and a timely reminder that reconciliation is never a finished achievement but an ongoing commitment.
By Yangyang Zhao (ESC Events Assistant)
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