Holocaust

Lecture for Ukrainian diplomats at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine as part of the “Diplomacy of Memory” project

On May 21, 2025, the first lecture for Ukrainian diplomats took place as part of the new educational project Diplomacy of Memory, initiated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. The event was held in partnership with the National Historical and Memorial Reserve Babyn Yar.

Anatolii Podolskyi, head of UCHS, delivered a lecture titled The History of the Holocaust in Ukraine: Study, Teaching, and Memory, highlighting the dangers of historical manipulation and the use of Russian propaganda in the war against Ukraine. His presentation covered key aspects, including:

• - The history of Ukrainian Jews as an integral part of Ukraine’s culture and heritage;
• - Stereotypes, prejudice, and antisemitism: contemporary challenges and russian manipulations;
• - The Holocaust in Ukraine within the context of World War II: European and Ukrainian dimensions of genocide;
• - Research and teaching of the Holocaust in independent Ukraine (1991–2025), its role in global historiography;
• - The politics of Holocaust remembrance: achievements, problems, and challenges;
• - Russia’s instrumentalization of World War II and Holocaust history, using Jewish history in its information war against Ukraine;
• - The Jewish community in Ukraine as an integral part of society, and its role during the current war.

First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergiy Kyslytsya emphasized the significance of this project for Ukrainian diplomats, as understanding historical processes is crucial in international negotiations, countering russian disinformation, and defending truth and justice on the global stage.
More than 60 diplomats attended the event, while Rosa Tapanova, director of the Babyn Yar Reserve, presented key initiatives, including the travelling exhibition Bakhmut: Faces of Genocide 1942/2022, which combines historical memory and art as a means of reflection.

[Detailed information about the event is available on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine]