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Ukraine Marks 75th Anniversary Of Babi Yar Massacre

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Ukraine Marks Babi Yar Massacre 75th Anniversary
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Ukraine Marks Babi Yar Massacre 75th Anniversary

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WATCH: Ukraine Marks Babi Yar Massacre 75th Anniversary

KYIV -- Foreign dignitaries joined Ukraine’s president and others in marking the 75th anniversary of the World War II-era mass execution of nearly 34,000 Jews on the outskirts of Kyiv.

The slaughter of Jewish men, women, and children at the Babi Yar ravine, which began on September 29, 1941, was an early example of the industrial-scale murder the Nazis would employ in their quest to annihilate European Jews.

Overall, up to 100,000 more people -- Jews, Roma, and Soviet prisoners of war -- were executed at Babi Yar during the Nazi occupation of Kyiv, the capital of Soviet Ukraine.

"There have been those [in Ukraine] for which one felt shame. And this, too, cannot be erased from our collective memory,” Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said.

"No Ukrainian has the right to forget this tragedy," he said during the commemoration ceremonies.

Prime Minister Volodymyr Hroysman also called on all Ukrainians to never forget the victims.

"There were Jews, Roma people, Soviet prisoners of war, and fighters of the Ukrainian liberation movement among those executed by firing squads," Hroysman wrote on his Facebook page. "We remember each of them."

PHOTO GALLERY: The Story Of Babi Yar

'Still Much To Say': Remembering The Massacre At Babyn Yar

A Nazi sentry in Kyiv on September 19, 1941. In June of that year, after two years of neutrality between Germany and the Soviet Union, Nazi forces launched a surprise attack on the U.S.S.R. Within weeks, Nazi forces had overrun eastern Poland and other Soviet-occupied territories, as well as much of the Ukrainian S.S.R. and other Soviet republics.
1/14 A Nazi sentry in Kyiv on September 19, 1941. In June of that year, after two years of neutrality between Germany and the Soviet Union, Nazi forces launched a surprise attack on the U.S.S.R. Within weeks, Nazi forces had overrun eastern Poland and other Soviet-occupied territories, as well as much of the Ukrainian S.S.R. and other Soviet republics.
In the autumn of 1941, one the gravest atrocities of the 20th century unfolded in a ragged ravine on the outskirts of Nazi-occupied Kyiv.
A Jewish man in western Ukraine being attacked by a mob next to a bust of Lenin. After occupying Nazi forces opened Soviet secret police prisons, atrocities carried out under Stalin were laid bare and exploited by Nazi propagandists, who fueled anti-Semitism by highlighting the Jewish backgrounds of some early Soviet leaders.
2/14 A Jewish man in western Ukraine being attacked by a mob next to a bust of Lenin. After occupying Nazi forces opened Soviet secret police prisons, atrocities carried out under Stalin were laid bare and exploited by Nazi propagandists, who fueled anti-Semitism by highlighting the Jewish backgrounds of some early Soviet leaders.
In the autumn of 1941, one the gravest atrocities of the 20th century unfolded in a ragged ravine on the outskirts of Nazi-occupied Kyiv.
A Nazi propaganda poster declaring &quot;death to the Jewish-Bolshevik pestilence of murdering.&quot; As well as executions at the hands of the Soviet secret police, millions of Ukrainians had died under Stalin in&nbsp;<strong><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holodomor" target="_blank">a man-made famine</a></strong>. Nazi propaganda linking Jews with Soviet rule fed the beliefs of some elements of the Ukrainian nationalist movement in a region with a history of anti-Semitic violence.&nbsp;
3/14 A Nazi propaganda poster declaring "death to the Jewish-Bolshevik pestilence of murdering." As well as executions at the hands of the Soviet secret police, millions of Ukrainians had died under Stalin in a man-made famine. Nazi propaganda linking Jews with Soviet rule fed the beliefs of some elements of the Ukrainian nationalist movement in a region with a history of anti-Semitic violence. 
In the autumn of 1941, one the gravest atrocities of the 20th century unfolded in a ragged ravine on the outskirts of Nazi-occupied Kyiv.
With the active encouragement of the Nazis, horror is unleashed on the Jewish population of the Soviet Ukraine and territories that had been occupied by Soviet forces. This woman is fleeing from a mob in Lviv, a Polish city overtaken by Soviet and then Nazi forces that is today part of western Ukraine -- in June or July 1941. Thousands of Jews were tormented and murdered by mobs of locals during a series of pogroms in Central and Eastern Europe.&nbsp;<br /> &nbsp;
4/14 With the active encouragement of the Nazis, horror is unleashed on the Jewish population of the Soviet Ukraine and territories that had been occupied by Soviet forces. This woman is fleeing from a mob in Lviv, a Polish city overtaken by Soviet and then Nazi forces that is today part of western Ukraine -- in June or July 1941. Thousands of Jews were tormented and murdered by mobs of locals during a series of pogroms in Central and Eastern Europe. 
 
In the autumn of 1941, one the gravest atrocities of the 20th century unfolded in a ragged ravine on the outskirts of Nazi-occupied Kyiv.
In Kyiv, time bombs left by retreating Soviet forces exploded, killing several Nazis. A survivor of Babyn Yar recalled that &quot;of course, the Jews were blamed for it. [We] were to blame for everything.&quot; On September 26, just a week after capturing Kyiv, the Nazis issued this order, using the derogatory term &quot;yids&quot; for Jews.<br /> <br /> <em>&quot;All yids<span style="font-size: 12.5px;"> </span>of the city of Kyiv and its vicinity must appear on Monday, September 29, by 8 o&#39;clock in the morning at the corner of Melnikova and Dorohozhytska streets (near the Viiskove cemetery). Bring documents, money and valuables, and also warm clothing, linens, etc.&nbsp;Any yids<span style="font-size: 12.5px;"> </span>who do not follow this order and are found elsewhere will be shot.&quot;</em><br /> &nbsp;
5/14 In Kyiv, time bombs left by retreating Soviet forces exploded, killing several Nazis. A survivor of Babyn Yar recalled that "of course, the Jews were blamed for it. [We] were to blame for everything." On September 26, just a week after capturing Kyiv, the Nazis issued this order, using the derogatory term "yids" for Jews.

"All yids of the city of Kyiv and its vicinity must appear on Monday, September 29, by 8 o'clock in the morning at the corner of Melnikova and Dorohozhytska streets (near the Viiskove cemetery). Bring documents, money and valuables, and also warm clothing, linens, etc. Any yids who do not follow this order and are found elsewhere will be shot."
 
In the autumn of 1941, one the gravest atrocities of the 20th century unfolded in a ragged ravine on the outskirts of Nazi-occupied Kyiv.
As demanded by the orders published in Ukrainian, Russian, and German, some 30,000 Jews from Kyiv and the vicinity arrived on September 29 at various meeting points in the city center. They were then marched northwest to the edge of town to a large ravine known as Babyn Yar or &quot;Old Woman&#39;s Ravine.&quot;&nbsp;Some of the marchers, nearing a railway yard alongside Babyn Yar, believed they were about to be deported to Palestine.&nbsp;
6/14 As demanded by the orders published in Ukrainian, Russian, and German, some 30,000 Jews from Kyiv and the vicinity arrived on September 29 at various meeting points in the city center. They were then marched northwest to the edge of town to a large ravine known as Babyn Yar or "Old Woman's Ravine." Some of the marchers, nearing a railway yard alongside Babyn Yar, believed they were about to be deported to Palestine. 
In the autumn of 1941, one the gravest atrocities of the 20th century unfolded in a ragged ravine on the outskirts of Nazi-occupied Kyiv.
After two years of neutral relations between Nazi Germany and the U.S.S.R., and with information tightly controlled by Soviet media, the Jews of Kyiv have little understanding of the danger they are in.
7/14 After two years of neutral relations between Nazi Germany and the U.S.S.R., and with information tightly controlled by Soviet media, the Jews of Kyiv have little understanding of the danger they are in.
In the autumn of 1941, one the gravest atrocities of the 20th century unfolded in a ragged ravine on the outskirts of Nazi-occupied Kyiv.
One German soldier recalled that the Jews of the U.S.S.R. were &#39;&#39;shockingly ill-informed about our attitude toward them.&#39;&#39;&nbsp;
8/14 One German soldier recalled that the Jews of the U.S.S.R. were ''shockingly ill-informed about our attitude toward them.'' 
In the autumn of 1941, one the gravest atrocities of the 20th century unfolded in a ragged ravine on the outskirts of Nazi-occupied Kyiv.
Some of the child victims of the massacre at Babyn Yar. Left to right: Anna Glinberg, Malvina and Polina Babat, and Velvele Valentin Pinkert. One survivor who recalled the events decades later said some locals who had sought to bid farewell to their Jewish neighbors before their &quot;deportation&quot; <strong><a href="https://youtu.be/7f7aQ_UJER0?t=370" target="_blank">were also shot dead</a></strong> once they reached the ravine. &quot;It was nothing for [the Nazis] to kill people.&quot;
9/14 Some of the child victims of the massacre at Babyn Yar. Left to right: Anna Glinberg, Malvina and Polina Babat, and Velvele Valentin Pinkert. One survivor who recalled the events decades later said some locals who had sought to bid farewell to their Jewish neighbors before their "deportation" were also shot dead once they reached the ravine. "It was nothing for [the Nazis] to kill people."
In the autumn of 1941, one the gravest atrocities of the 20th century unfolded in a ragged ravine on the outskirts of Nazi-occupied Kyiv.
Soviet prisoners of war in the ravine after the massacre. Babyn Yar continued to be used by the Nazis as a killing site for Soviet POWs, Roma, and other &quot;undesirables.&quot;&nbsp;
10/14 Soviet prisoners of war in the ravine after the massacre. Babyn Yar continued to be used by the Nazis as a killing site for Soviet POWs, Roma, and other "undesirables." 
In the autumn of 1941, one the gravest atrocities of the 20th century unfolded in a ragged ravine on the outskirts of Nazi-occupied Kyiv.
For more than three decades after the war, the events at Babyn Yar receive little official recognition, although in the 1960s Jewish activists began gathering without permission at the site to keep the memory of what happened there alive. In 1976, this memorial commemorating all victims of the Nazi regime at Babyn Yar was erected, without making specific mention of the Jewish victims. The central figure of the monument is a Soviet soldier.
11/14 For more than three decades after the war, the events at Babyn Yar receive little official recognition, although in the 1960s Jewish activists began gathering without permission at the site to keep the memory of what happened there alive. In 1976, this memorial commemorating all victims of the Nazi regime at Babyn Yar was erected, without making specific mention of the Jewish victims. The central figure of the monument is a Soviet soldier.
In the autumn of 1941, one the gravest atrocities of the 20th century unfolded in a ragged ravine on the outskirts of Nazi-occupied Kyiv.
A celebration in Kyiv on May 9, 1985, marking the anniversary of victory over the Nazis. For the authorities of Soviet Ukraine, the events at Babyn Yar were seen through the prism of wholesale Soviet suffering under the Nazis.
12/14 A celebration in Kyiv on May 9, 1985, marking the anniversary of victory over the Nazis. For the authorities of Soviet Ukraine, the events at Babyn Yar were seen through the prism of wholesale Soviet suffering under the Nazis.
In the autumn of 1941, one the gravest atrocities of the 20th century unfolded in a ragged ravine on the outskirts of Nazi-occupied Kyiv.
Fifty years after the massacre, after Ukraine gained independence from the U.S.S.R. in 1991, a separate memorial dedicated to the Jewish victims of the atrocity was unveiled on the site. A crowd of hundreds gathered for the unveiling of the menorah-shaped monument.
13/14 Fifty years after the massacre, after Ukraine gained independence from the U.S.S.R. in 1991, a separate memorial dedicated to the Jewish victims of the atrocity was unveiled on the site. A crowd of hundreds gathered for the unveiling of the menorah-shaped monument.
In the autumn of 1941, one the gravest atrocities of the 20th century unfolded in a ragged ravine on the outskirts of Nazi-occupied Kyiv.
The menorah monument to Babyn Yar is located today in a quiet park dotted with strolling couples and friends riding bicycles under a canopy of trees.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> <em>&quot;There are events, tragedies, the enormity of which make all words futile and of which silence tells incomparably more -- the awesome silence of thousands of people. Perhaps we, too, should keep silent and only meditate. But silence says a lot only when everything that could have been said has already been said. If there is still much to say, or if nothing has yet been said, then silence becomes a partner to falsehood and enslavement. We must, therefore, speak -- and to speak whenever we can, taking advantage of all opportunities, for they come so infrequently.&quot; </em><br /> <br /> -- Address made at Babyn Yar by Ukrainian writer Ivan Dzuiba in 1966
14/14 The menorah monument to Babyn Yar is located today in a quiet park dotted with strolling couples and friends riding bicycles under a canopy of trees.
 
"There are events, tragedies, the enormity of which make all words futile and of which silence tells incomparably more -- the awesome silence of thousands of people. Perhaps we, too, should keep silent and only meditate. But silence says a lot only when everything that could have been said has already been said. If there is still much to say, or if nothing has yet been said, then silence becomes a partner to falsehood and enslavement. We must, therefore, speak -- and to speak whenever we can, taking advantage of all opportunities, for they come so infrequently."

-- Address made at Babyn Yar by Ukrainian writer Ivan Dzuiba in 1966
In the autumn of 1941, one the gravest atrocities of the 20th century unfolded in a ragged ravine on the outskirts of Nazi-occupied Kyiv.
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Other foreign officials in attendance were German President Joachim Gauck, European Council President Donald Tusk, and an Israeli government delegation.

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin had been scheduled to attend but cut short his state visit to Ukraine to return to Israel following the death of former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres.

Ahead of the September 29 ceremonies, Rivlin sparked some controversy when he told Ukrainian lawmakers that many of the crimes committed against Jews "were committed by Ukrainians," particularly members of the nationalist Ukrainian Insurgent Army.

Members of the nationalist group collaborated with Nazi officers in the early years of the war because they felt the Nazis could help them win independence from the Soviet Union.

ALSO READ: Historian Timothy Snyder: Babi Yar A Tragedy For All Ukrainians

Rivlin warned against making heroes today of complex historical figures such as members of the group.

Parliament vice speaker Iryna Herashchenko criticized Rivlin’s remarks as undiplomatic.

"We do not hush up either heroic or dramatic or black pages in our history, but there is a time and a place for every word," Herashchenko wrote on her Facebook page on September 28.

Ukraine's ongoing confrontation with Russia, including Russia's 2014 seizure of Crimea, has created a rising tide of nationalism that has lionized some of the groups accused of World War II crimes against the Jews.

The commemoration marks a growing recognition of Babi Yar as the key symbol of the Nazi program in the former Soviet Union. Prior to Ukraine’s 1991 independence, Soviet authorities recognized the ravine as a site of Nazi-inflicted mass atrocities on Soviet citizens but downplayed that the majority of victims were Jewish.

WATCH: Remembering The Massacre Of Roma At Babi Yar

Remembering The Massacre Of Roma At Babi Yar
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Remembering The Massacre Of Roma At Babi Yar
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Timothy Snyder, an expert on the Holocaust and professor at Yale University, said Soviet officials avoided recognizing that the executions at Babi Yar deliberately targeted the Jewish community.

"For the Soviet authorities, memorializing the Holocaust was not useful because it would reveal the fact that Nazism is not just of a form of fascism against communism but also a force against the Jews," he told RFE/R. "Therefore, for the Soviet authorities, it was inconvenient to confirm that Jews had suffered more than other parts of Soviet society."

During the Soviet era, the areas on and near the ravine were built up, including the construction of a dam to retain industrial run-off.

The 20th anniversary of the massacre gave increased attention to the site, which became a meeting place for Jewish activists in the 1960s. In 1976, a monument was erected at Babi Yar for the first time, dedicated to all Soviet citizens killed during the Nazi occupation. It made no specific mention of the Jews killed.

After the Soviet collapse, the Ukrainian government apologized and on the 50th anniversary of the killings a separate menorah-shaped memorial was dedicated that specifically identified the Jewish victims as part of the Holocaust -- the systematic killing of some 6 million Jews across Europe.

Kyiv resident Volodymyr Pogrilchuk said he was almost 6 at the time of the killing.

"It was a nightmare. And I come here every year,” he told AP.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, AFP, Interfax, and TASS
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