Remembering the Past

Babyn Yar 1941 and Babyn Yar 2018

Tree lined path to monument.

I read many books about Babyn Yar. One of the most famous books was written by A. Anatoli (Kuznetsov) “Babi Yar A Document in the Form of a Novel.” I also collected research materials and articles. As a historian, but also curious by nature, I needed to know as much as I could before visiting the site.

The historical context of the atrocity that occurred in Kyiv at the site of Babyn Yar started on June of 1941. After two years of neutrality between Germany and the Soviet Union, a surprise attack was launched by Germany on the U.S.S.R. On September 19, 1941 German forces entered Kyiv and occupied the capital city. Germany now occupied Poland, Soviet territories and republics, including the Ukrainian S.S.R. Jewish people were targeted by the German army as they were associated with Soviet rule. When the Soviet prisons revealed the atrocities of Stalin this further exacerbated German propaganda. Horrors were unleashed in Soviet Ukraine.

Leading up to the massacre. In Kyiv, bombs, left by Soviet soldiers, exploded, killing many German soldiers and officials. The Jews were blamed for this incident. Orders were then sent for Jews to gather at various meeting points in Kyiv. They marched to Babyn Yar on September 29, 1941. The victims were men, women and children, ordered to undress and go into the ravine by the Sonderkommano 4a, a special detachment of the Einsatzgruppen. It is recorded that 33,771 Jews were massacred at this site but also included many other people. Soviet prisoners and those identified as undesirable by the Germany army were also massacred.

Over the course of the German occupation, the ravine was used until 1943 with an estimated 100,000 victims, Jews and non-Jews were reported.

I arrived in Kyiv on May 17, 2018. On May 18 I set out to explore Kyiv. Panoramic views of the city were breathtaking. Landmarks reached to the highest heights of the city skyline. Monuments standing bold on pedestals told stories of the past. Glistening gold onion domes illuminated the bright blue sky. I was in the land of my ancestors. It was a surreal moment.

As a historian, one of my areas of focus is Babyn Yar. I am not sure I was prepared for the information overload I was about to experience. Walking along the grassy paths, through the trees and down the slopes. I stopped at the ravine and thought of the documentary I watched, “Babi Yar Contexte” by Sergei Loznitsa. I wondered what these people might be thinking in their last moments. I stood in silence wondering how, why, and what a future might have held for them if this didn’t happen? I have been to several concentration camps throughout Europe but Babyn Yar was personal somehow.

I continued to walk along the paths to a monument surrounded by lush green grass. The “Monument to the Soviet citizens killed in 1941” was unveiled in 1976. People walked up the ramp at the front to read plaques and take pictures.

Down a tree lined path to another moment I observed people laying flowers and candles. People stood silently praying and talking amongst themselves. The “Monument to the children shot at Babyn Yar.” Unveiled in 2001. I wondered if these people knew someone or one of their family members was a victim? There were tears and people shaking their heads. The answer was written on their faces.

My final stop was at the Menorah Monument. Fifty years the massacre and after Ukraine gained independence from the U.S.S.R., it was unveiled in 1991.

All over the world, Babyn Yar is known as a symbol of genocide. The courageous defenders and heroes of war, surviving mass-scale executions, hunger and devastation revealed the struggle but remained steadfast and sustained their Motherland.

Babyn Yar is solemnly remembered every year. These events and tragedies are an opportunity for us to speak, to take advantage of these moments, to reflect on the past, and to pass them on to the next generation.