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Ewa Siemaszko

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Ewa Siemaszko
Ewa Siemaszko, public lecture, 26 October 2010
Public lecture, 26 October 2010
Born (1947-10-27) 27 October 1947 (age 77)
NationalityPolish
EducationMaster's degree
Alma materWarsaw University of Life Sciences
GenreHistoriography
SubjectWorld War II
Notable worksLudobójstwo dokonane przez nacjonalistów ukraińskich na ludności polskiej Wołynia 1939-1945 (Genocide committed by Ukrainian Nationalists in Volhynia 1939-1945)
Notable awardsThe 2002 Józef Mackiewicz Literary Prize and medal

Ewa Siemaszko (born 27 October 1947) is a Polish writer, publicist and lecturer; collector of oral accounts and historical data regarding the Massacres of Poles in Volhynia. An engineer by profession with Master's in technological studies from the Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Siemaszko worked in public health education and also as a school teacher following graduation. She is a daughter of writer Władysław Siemaszko with whom she collaborates and shares strong interest in Polish World War II history.[1][2]

From 1990 Ewa Siemaszko collected and prepared documents regarding the ethnic cleansing that took place in Volhynia during the Second World War. She is the co-author of a 1992 exhibition at the Warsaw Museum of Independence regarding the atrocities committed by the NKVD in and around the Polish Kresy region in 1941; and, an exhibit "Wolyn or our ancestors" organised in 2002 at the Dom Polonii in Warsaw. She also collaborates with the Society of Volyn and Polissia at the Polish Institute of National Remembrance.

For her contribution to the monograph Ludobójstwo dokonane przez nacjonalistów ukraińskich na ludności polskiej Wołynia 1939-1945 (Genocide committed by Ukrainian Nationalists in Volhynia 1939–1945)[3] written together with her father Władysław, she received the Józef Mackiewicz Literary Prize and medal in 2002.[4]

Selected publications

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  • Ewa Siemaszko with Władysław Siemaszko, Ludobójstwo dokonane przez nacjonalistów ukraińskich na ludności polskiej Wołynia 1939-1945, (Genocide committed by the Ukrainian Nationalists against the Polish inhabitants of Volyn) Warsaw, 2000, length: 1433 pages, illustrated, ISBN 83-87689-34-3. Preface by Prof. dr Ryszard Szawłowski.
  • Ewa Siemaszko, Wołyń naszych przodków Śladami życia - czas zagłady, 2008 (in Polish)
  • Ewa Siemaszko, The July 1943 genocidal operations of the OUN-UPA in Volhynia [5]

Ukrainian responses

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According to Ukrainian historian Yaroslav Tsaruk (Ярослав Царук),[6] who commented on data collected by Siemaszkos, the number of ethnic Poles given by them, in some of the villages he is familiar with, does not correspond with his Ukrainian research.[6] According to Tsaruk, Siemaszkos included in the number of Polish citizens also those who emigrated before the commencement of hostilities according to him, and included population points which were not administrative units, thus enlarging the number of Polish victims of ethnic cleansing while minimizing the Ukrainian casualties.[6] Tsaruk claims that although according to Siemaszkos 1,915 Poles died in the hands of Ukrainian Nationalists in the area of Volodymyr, according to him – only 430.[6] Siemaszkos in their own monograph replied to this kind of criticism by stating that claims made by Tsaruk are based on statements made by Ukrainian villagers half a century after the war ended, therefore the discrepancies in what is being said by the locals can be "explained by psychological defense mechanisms".[7]

Another Ukrainian historian, Ihor Ilyushin, echoed Tsaruk's observations and questioned whether Siemaszkos' approach, based on testimony from one side, can be truly objective – wrote Canadian historian David R. Marples in Heroes and villains. Marples quoted Ilyushin as saying that because Władysław Siemaszko was a participant in the conflict he is not a credible witness. However, Marples also noted that Ilyushin failed to reach a reasonable conclusion in his article and made no distinction between Ukrainian atrocities committed against officials and innocent civilians; men, women and children.[8]

Notes

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  1. ^ "Ewa Siemaszko - krótka biografia". Internet Archive. Kresy.pl. Archived from the original on January 1, 2009. Retrieved May 4, 2012.
  2. ^ Ewa Siemaszko (July 10, 2008). "Od walk do ludobójstwa". Rzeczpospolita. Presspublica. pp. 5 of 5. Archived from the original on October 9, 2014. Retrieved May 4, 2012.
  3. ^ Recenzja publikacji na stronach IPN
  4. ^ Informacja o nagrodzie im. Józefa Mackiewicza dla Ewy Siemaszko. Adam Mickiewicz Institute, Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, Poland. Retrieved May 04, 2012.
  5. ^ Ewa Siemaszko (2016). "The July 1943 genocidal operations of the OUN-UPA in Volhynia" (PDF). ZbrodniaWolynska.pl. ...operations were directed against all Poles, regardless of age and gender, and, characteristically, they involved unprecedented cruelty. They were carried out under slogans circulated in different versions and forms, both before the genocidal operations, as well as during their course, expressing a single idea: death to every Pole. The particular intensification of attacks at different times in subsequent regions of Volhynia is evidence of the intent to annihilate the Polish people throughout the Volhynia region. These facts clearly meet the definition of genocide, as formulated in the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 9, 1948.[page 11] {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. ^ a b c d Царук Ярослав - Трагедія Волинських Сіл 1943-1944. Національна Академія Нaук України, Інститут Українознавства ім. І. Крип'якевича, Львів, 2003. Google Books preview of Tsaruk publication; pp. 20–21, preview in Ukrainian.
  7. ^ Władysław Siemaszko with Józef Turowski; Zbrodnie nacjonalistów ukraińskich dokonane na ludności polskiej na Wołyniu, 1939–1945. Warsaw, Wydawnictwo von borowiecky Publishing, 2000. Second edition, foreword by Prof. dr Ryszard Szawłowski. ISBN 83-87689-34-3. "Ludobójstwo dokonane przez nacjonalistów ukraińskich na ludności polskiej Wołynia 1939-1945; tom 1 i 2". Archived from the original on 2009-04-11. Retrieved 2009-03-21. [1] (in Polish)
  8. ^ David R. Marples. (2007) Heroes and villains: creating national history in contemporary Ukraine. Central European University Press, pp. 213–214.

References

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