On 28 July 2015 at the Warsaw office of the Institute of National Remembrance a meeting of the Polish group of the Polish-Ukrainian Forum of Historians was held. The decision to form a forum was made in May, during the IPN President visit to Kiev. This visit was the first opportunity in many years for the heads of both Institutes of National Remembrance – the Polish and the Ukrainian one – to meet. This was possible thanks to the resumption of contacts that occurred after the political changes in Ukraine initiated on the Maidan. During working talks issues related to Polish-Ukrainian relations during the Second World War and the first years after its end were discussed. It was established that under the auspices of both Institutes the Polish-Ukrainian Forum of Historians would be appointed. Its aim would be to start scientific debate of historians on the most dramatic period of the common history of Poles and Ukrainians in the years 1939-1947.
The invitation of the IPN President to participate in the Forum was accepted by the following persons:
- Prof. Grzegorz Hryciuk (Wrocław University)
- Prof. Grzegorz Mazur (Jagiellonian University)
- Prof. Grzegorz Motyka (Polish Academy of Sciences)
- Prof. Jan Pisuliński (Rzeszów University)
- Prof. Waldemar Rezmer (Mikołaj Kopernik University in Toruń)
- Dr. Mariusz Zajączkowski (Institute of National Remembrance).
Prof. Waldemar Rezmer was appointed as President of the Polish part of the Forum.
The meeting inaugurating the Forum was also attended by: Dr. Łukasz Kamiński (President of the IPN), Dr. Paweł Ukielski (Deputy President of the IPN), Dr. Andrzej Zawistowski (director of the Public Education Office of the IPN) , Dr. Krzysztof Persak (director of the Office of the President of the IPN) and Dr. Dorota Lewsza (Forum secretary from IPN).