Babyn Yar in the history of Ukraine: how to overcome the Soviet legacy of indifference
At the end of September 2024, when Ukraine commemorated the 83rd anniversary of the Babyn Yar tragedy, the Suspilne Kultura channel, as part of the project With Our Own Essentially, hosted a discussion about the horrific events of the Nazi occupation of the Ukrainian capital (1941-1943), the total murder of Kyiv Jews by the German occupiers, and other victims of Nazi crimes in Babyn Yar.
The discussion was attended by Anatolii Podolskyi, PhD , Head of the UCHS, and Roza Tapanova, Director of the National Historical and Memorial Reserve Babyn Yar. The programme was hosted by a well-known Ukrainian journalist Lisa Tsarehradska. In general, the discussion revolved around complex questions about the memory and understanding of one of the greatest tragedies in the history of Ukraine - the mass shootings at Babyn Yar. Is this a Jewish tragedy alone, or is it a common pain for the entire nation? What is the role of the state in commemorating this tragedy? How to overcome the Soviet legacy of indifference and create a strategy of national memory.
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