Poland marks July anniversaries of WWII massacres

In July 2026, towns across Poland held commemorations for several World War II‑era mass killings. In Białystok a ceremony on 12 July honored the 85th anniversary of the July 1941 Lesie Pietrasze massacre, where roughly 5,000 Jews were executed and journalist Jakub Szapiro was among the victims. In Biłgoraj County, officials, clergy and participants in an 80‑person bike rally observed the 83rd anniversary of the Volhynian “Bloody Sunday”, culminating in a mass and flower‑laying at the National Monument to the victims. Poznań and nearby Czerwonak organised events on 10‑11 July under the patronage of regional authorities and church leaders, with masses, speeches and wreaths at the “Gloria Orlikom Kresowych Stanic” monument, remembering the same Volhynian killings. On 12 July, the 81st anniversary of the 1945 Augustow forest operation – a joint Soviet‑Polish action that resulted in the execution of at least 600 civilians – was marked, with calls to locate mass graves and criticism of Russian and Belarusian archival restrictions. Local officials, veterans, religious figures and community members participated in all events, laying flowers and delivering remarks that stressed remembrance and the need for historical truth.