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The Other Babyn Yars: Remembering Where Else Ukraine's Jews Were Massacred

In an undated photo taken during World War II, a Jewish man in western Ukraine is attacked by a mob next to a bust of Lenin.
In an undated photo taken during World War II, a Jewish man in western Ukraine is attacked by a mob next to a bust of Lenin.

Seven months after 34,000 Ukrainian Jews were shot, their bodies dumped into a ravine known as Babyn Yar, a group of 20 people marched to the outskirts of a village southwest of the capital, Kyiv. Nazi soldiers ordered them to widen two dug-out silos.

The following day, one of those villagers, Tikhon Lysak, later recalled, police drove more than 700 men, women, and children to the pits on the outskirts of Lypovets. They were ordered to undress and enter the pit and lie down in groups of 20 to 30, Lysak said, according to a typewritten record of his account that has faded with the decades. Then the "German executioners shot them in bursts with machine guns."

Eighty years on, the Babyn Yar massacre is recognized as one of the worst mass killings of Jews carried out by the Nazi regime in occupied Ukraine.
But that slaughter of the Jews, which took place on September 29-30, 1941, was far from isolated.

WATCH: Eighty Years Later, Ukraine Remembers The Nazi Atrocities At Babyn Yar

Eighty Years Later, Ukraine Remembers The Nazi Atrocities At Babyn Yar
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Eighty Years Later, Ukraine Remembers The Nazi Atrocities At Babyn Yar
by RFE/RL

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The map of modern Ukraine is littered with hundreds of sites of lesser-known but no-less-deadly contributions to the Nazi Holocaust. Like Lypovets, where, Lysak remembers, a second group of Jews was driven to the pit containing the bodies of the dead as well as the still living. Then it was covered with dirt, he said, according to the record of his account..

"The earth above the grave shook for several hours," Lysak said. Those buried alive were still moving.

No one in the local ghetto escaped, according to documents kept in the provincial Interior Ministry archives, and "800 Soviet citizens, mostly Jews," were shot dead.

Austere Monuments

The scale of the mass killings that took place in towns and villages across Ukraine varies from the single digits to the tens of thousands. Many of the sites are marked with austere monuments as part of the continuing effort to keep local extermination campaigns in the collective memory.

After the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, the mass killings of Jews and Roma -- as well as communists, Soviet POWs, Ukrainian nationalists, and religious figures, among other "undesirables" -- quickly followed.

Often aided by local police units, massacres were carried out by German murder units across Soviet Ukraine.

By November 1941, all of Soviet Ukraine was under occupation.

By the spring of 1942, the "final solution to the Jewish question" was formally codified at the Wannsee Conference as a plan for genocide.

A memorial to the massacre at Lypovets
A memorial to the massacre at Lypovets

Early massacres took place months after the Nazi invasion.

In the western city of Kamyanets-Podilskyy in August 1941, 23,600 local and Hungarian Jews were killed.

In the central city of Vinnitsya, 15,000 Jews were killed, among them a man whose impending death at the edge of a mass grave was infamously documented in July 1941 with a photograph bearing the hand-scribbled message "the last Jew in Vinnitsya." In the nearby town of Khmilnyk, 8,000 were killed, and in Proskurov (today Khmelniktskyy), 7,000.

To the north, 80 Roma were killed in the summer of 1942 in the village of Divoshyn. Outside the village of Kalynivka, 32 Roma were reportedly killed when they were locked in a barn that was set alight.

In Lypovets, the first mass murders took place there in September 1941, when a group of German police officers detained several dozen young Jews, mostly men, and transported by truck to a field outside the village's Jewish cemetery.

Transcripts from eyewitness statements taken during a 1944 investigation by the Soviet NKVD -- the predecessor to the KGB -- described what followed.

"In the town of Lypovets, the German SS death squad conducted a raid on the settlement," according to a document archived by Connecting Memory, an international project dedicated to marking and protecting Jewish mass graves in Ukraine.

The detachment, the investigation found, took the group of about 200 innocent civilians to a field "and brutally shot them."

The killings, according to researchers, were likely carried out by members of German paramilitary death squads whose job was to follow the invading regular army soldiers and establish order in the newly occupied territories, which included clearing them of "undesirables."

The rest of Lypovets' Jewish population was sent to live in ghettos and serve the regime as forced laborers. Total annihilation came in April 1942.

Many of the village's Jews did manage to get out ahead of the Nazis' arrival or were mobilized into the Red Army.

According to historian Ray Brandon, who researched the history of the Holocaust in Lypovets for Connecting Memory, about 1,000 Jews were left behind.

Leonid Gulko, who was 10 years old at the time and is today approaching 90, was among those to escape Lypovets. Now a U.S. citizen, he said that he and other children were loaded onto a train and sent to the Caucasus.

"We were bombed along the way, but we were children, we didn't understand," he told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service.

After Soviet troops drove the Nazis out of Lypovets in January 1944, some of the village's Jewish population returned, including Gulko.

'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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"When my grandparents returned, they saw that their house had burned down," Gulko said. "There was nothing left."

His mother's home, he said, was also gone, and she was unable to locate neighbors, friends, colleagues, and classmates.

Past Lessons, Future Lessons

According to historian Andriy Usach of the newly formed After Silence initiative, which aims to gain a better understanding of Ukraine's past and present, an entire layer of the town's rich Jewish history was wiped out.

"Jews have lived in this area since the middle of the 17th century," he told RFE/RL. "They occupied niches in the traditional economy of the town -- they were shoemakers, hairdressers, or photographers."

In an area where Jews often accounted for 30 to 50 percent of the population, Usach said, their numbers were reduced to dozens.

And the Holocaust was carried out by the Nazis in such a way that it crippled entire communities, Usach said: many local, non-Jewish Ukrainians were involved, including government officials, those who drove Jews to execution sites, and some who themselves killed, robbed, beat, and raped.

Many Ukrainian organizations and individuals are now working to keep lessons of a national tragedy alive.

In Lypovets, history teacher Olena Nenyukova and her students work with German and Ukrainian state initiatives to maintain Jewish monuments and to advance people's knowledge of the Holocaust.

"We started doing the educational part of this project: looking for materials in the archives, creating information banners, recording witnesses, conducting tours," Nenyukova says of her work with Germany's Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe and the Ukrainian Center for Holocaust Studies.

Survivors are also involved. Gulko's family, for example, is behind the Remember Us initiative, which has raised funds to open a small Holocaust museum in Lypovets, which today has around 8,000 people.

According to Usach, the local memory of the Holocaust is no longer a matter for Jews alone.

"The Holocaust in our area is becoming a large-scale topic that includes the experience of Jews and non-Jews," he said.

Written by Michael Scollon, based on reporting by Maria Shur and Dmitro Shurkhalo of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service
  • 16x9 Image

    Maria Shur

    Maria Shur is a correspondent for RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service.

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    Dmytro Shurkhalo

    Dmytro Shurkhalo is a correspondent for RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service.

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