NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Babi Yar

Babi Yar (Ukrainian: Бабин яр, Babyn yar; Russian: Бабий яр, Babiy yar) is a ravine in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, located between the Frunze and Melnykov streets and between the St. Cyril's Monastery and Olena Teliha Street. There are many famous Holocaust survivors who survived the Nazi genocides in Europe and went on to achievements of great fame and notability. ... This is a list of victims of Nazism who were noted for their achievements. ... This is a list of people who helped Jewish people and others to escape from the Nazi Holocaust during World War II, often called rescuers. The list is not exhaustive, concentrating on famous cases, or people who saved the lives of many potential victims. ... Holocaust resources for main article The Holocaust. ... Book cover The Destruction of the European Jews is a three-volume work published in 1961 by historian Raul Hilberg. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Functionalism versus intentionalism is a historiographical debate about the origins of the Holocaust as well as most aspects of the Third Reich, such as foreign policy. ... Map of Ukraine with Kiev highlighted Coordinates: Country Ukraine Oblast Kiev City Municipality Raion Municipality Government - Mayor Leonid Chernovetskyi Elevation 179 m (587. ... A panorama of St. ...

The ravine was first noted in historical records during the early fifteenth century, but is remembered today as the site where more than 100,000 Soviet civilians, of whom a significant number were Jews, were executed by the Nazis during the Second World War. Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ...

On September 29-30, 1941, 33,771 Jewish civilians were murdered. This two-day massacre was one of the largest single mass killings of the Holocaust.^[1]^[2], second only to the Romanian extermination of more than 40,000 Jews in Bogdanovka in 1941. In the months that followed, many more thousands of Jews were seized, taken to Babi Yar, and shot.^[3] â€œShoahâ€ redirects here. ... Bogdanovka was an extermination camp for Jews that was established by the Romanians during World War II as part of the Holocaust. ...

Historical background

The Babi Yar ravine was first mentioned in 1401, in connection with its sale by "baba" (a woman), the cantiniere, to the Dominican Monastery.^[4] In the course of several centuries the site had been used for different purposes including military camps and at least two cemeteries, among them a New Jewish Cemetery that had been closed by 1937.

Nazi occupation

After the 45-day battle for the city of Kiev, Nazi forces entered the city on September 19, 1941. The first executions took place on September 27, 1941, when 700 patients were removed from the local psychiatric hospital and executed.^{[citation needed]} September 19 is the 262nd day of the year (263rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film). ...

The massacres of September 29-30, 1941

On September 28, leaflets in both Ukrainian and Russian languages were posted in Kiev. The announcement read: Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (531x800, 63 KB) ) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Babi Yar ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (531x800, 63 KB) ) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Babi Yar ...

Historian Martin Gilbert wrote in his 1985 book The Holocaust: A History of the Jews of Europe During the Second World War: "The horrors of Babi Yar were endless and obscene."^[6] Sir Martin John Gilbert, CBE (born October 25, 1936 in London) is a British historian and the author of over seventy books, including works on the Holocaust and Jewish history. ...

More than thirty thousand of Kievan Jews gathered by the cemetery, expecting to be loaded onto trains. "Because of 'our special talent of organisation', the commander of the Einsatzcommando reported two days later, 'the Jews still believed to the very last moment before being executed that indeed all that was happening was that they were being resettled."^[7] The crowd was large enough that most of the men, women, and children could not have known what was happening until it was too late: by the time they heard the machine-gun fire, there was no chance to escape. All were driven down a corridor of soldiers, in groups of ten, and then shot. Anatoly Kuznetsov described the massacre: Anatoly Vasilievich Kuznetsov (1929, Kievâ€“1979, London) was a Soviet writer who described his experiences in German-occupied Kiev during the WWII in his internationally acclaimed novel Baby Yar. ...

The Jews were then ordered to undress, beaten if they resisted, and then shot at the edge of the Babi Yar gorge. According to the Einsatzgruppen ^[8], 33,771 Jews from Kiev and its suburbs were systematically shot dead by machine-gun fire at Babi Yar on September 29 and September 30, 1941. A member of Einsatzgruppe D is just about to shoot a Jewish man kneeling before a filled mass grave in Vinnitsa, Ukraine, in 1942. ... September 29 is the 272nd day of the year (273rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... September 30 is the 273rd day of the year (274th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film). ...

A unit of Einsatzgruppe C, Police Battalion 45 commanded by a Major Besser, carried out the massacre, supported by members of a Waffen-SS battalion. Units of the Ukrainian auxiliary police, under the general command of Friedrich Jeckeln were used to round up and direct the Jews to the location. A member of Einsatzgruppe D executes a Jew kneeling before a filled mass grave in Vinnitsa, Ukraine, in 1942. ... Waffen-SS recruitment poster; Volunteer to the Waffen-SS The Waffen-SS was the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel. ... Friedrich Jeckeln (2 February 1895 - 3 February 1946) was an SS-Obergruppenfuhrer who served as an SS and Police Leader in Russia during the Second World War. ...

In the evening, the Germans undermined the wall of the ravine and buried the people under the thick layers of earth.^[7]

Survivors

One of the most often-cited parts of Kuznetsov's documentary novel is the testimony of Dina Pronicheva, an actress of Kiev Puppet Theater. She was one of those ordered to march to the ravine, forced to undress, and then shot. Badly wounded, she played dead in a pile of corpses, and eventually managed to escape. One of the very few survivors of the massacre, she later told her horrifying story to Kuznetsov.^[9]^[10]

Further executions

Further executions took place on October 1, 2, 8 and 11, 1941. During this time, an additional 17,000 Jews were executed.^{[citation needed]} Mass executions in the ravine continued up until Germans withdrew from the city in 1943.^{[citation needed]}Among those executed were 621 members of Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN). October 1 is the 274th day of the year (275th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film). ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists or OUN (Ukrainian: or ÐžÐ£Ð) was a Ukrainian political movement originally created in the interwar Poland. ...

Number of executed

Estimates of the total number of dead at Babi Yar during the Nazi occupation vary. The Soviet estimation stated that there were approximately 100,000 corpses lying in Babi Yar.^[2] In 1946, the Soviet prosecutor L. N. Smirnov cited this number during the Nuremberg Trials, using materials of the Extraordinary State Commission set out by the Soviets to investigate Nazi crimes after the liberation of Kiev in 1943.^[11] The SÃ¼ddeutsche Zeitung announces The Verdict in Nuremberg. ...

According to testimonies of Jewish workers forced to burn the bodies, the numbers range from 70,000 to 120,000.

Syrets concentration camp

Later in the course of the occupation, the Syrets concentration camp was set up in Babi Yar. There, interned communists, Soviet POWs, and captured resistance fighters were executed. On February 18, 1943 three Dynamo Kyiv football players, who took part in the Match of Death with German Luftwaffe team were executed in the camp. It is estimated that around 25,000 people died in the camp. This article is about communism as a form of society, as an ideology advocating that form of society, and as a popular movement. ... Geneva Convention definition A prisoner of war (POW) is a soldier, sailor, airman, or marine who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. ... The Soviet partisans were members anti-fascist resistance movement which fought against the occupation of the Soviet Union by Axis forces during World War II. At the end of June 1941, immediately after the Germans crossed the Soviet border, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolshevik) (see... February 18 is the 49th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... FC Dynamo Kyiv (Ukrainian: ФК Динамо Київ, formerly Dinamo Kiev) is the main professional football club in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. ... FC Dynamo Kyiv (Ukrainian: ФК Динамо Київ, formerly Dinamo Kiev) is the main professional football club in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. ... This or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Cover-up attempts

With the Nazi retreat from Kiev, attempts were made to cover up the atrocities committed at Babi Yar and the surrounding areas. From August to September of 1943, the Syrets camp was partially destroyed and some of the corpses were exhumed and burned; their ashes were scattered in the vicinity. During the night of September 29, 1943, as the camp was being dismantled, an inmate revolt broke out, and 15 people escaped. Once control was re-established in the camp, the remaining 311 inmates were executed. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (880x570, 71 KB) ) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Babi Yar ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (880x570, 71 KB) ) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Babi Yar ... Map of Ukraine with Kiev highlighted Coordinates: Country Ukraine Oblast Kiev City Municipality Raion Municipality Government - Mayor Leonid Chernovetskyi Elevation 179 m (587. ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... September 29 is the 272nd day of the year (273rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

After the liberation

When the Red Army took control of the city on November 6, 1943, the Syrets Concentration Camp was converted into a Soviet internment camp for German POWs and operated until 1946. The camp was subsequently demolished and in the 1950's and 1960's urban development began in the area, which included an apartment complex and a park. The construction of a dam nearby also saw the ravine filled with industrial pulp (the dam collapsed in 1961, leading to the mudslide with numerous fatalities). For other organizations known as the Red Army, see Red Army (disambiguation). ... November 6 is the 310th day of the year (311th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Geneva Convention definition A prisoner of war (POW) is a soldier, sailor, airman, or marine who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. ... 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ... On March 13, 1961, a large scale mudslide with numerous fatalities took place in Ukraines capital city of Kiev (Kyiv) (then part of the Soviet Union). ...

Remembrance

Soviet leadership discouraged putting an emphasis on the Jewish aspect of the Babi Yar tragedy; instead, presenting these events as crimes committed against the entire Soviet people and the inhabitants of Kiev. The first draft report of the Extraordinary State Commission (Чрезвычайная Государственная Комиссия), dated December 25, 1943 was officially censored in February 1944 as follows:^[12] December 25 is the 359th day of the year (360th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 6 days remaining in the year. ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Censorship is defined as the removal and withholding of information from the public by a controlling group or body. ...

Several attempts made to build a memorial at Babi Yar, which would commemorate the fate of the Jewish victims, were overruled. An official memorial for the Soviet citizens shot at Babi Yar was erected only in 1976. With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 a memorial for the Jewish victims was finally placed at Babi Yar. Year 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the 1976 Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the 1991 Gregorian calendar). ...

The massacre of Jews at Babi Yar has inspired a number of creative ventures. A poem by the same name was written by the Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko; this in turn was enthusiastically set to music by Dmitri Shostakovich in his Symphony No. 13. An oratorio was composed by the Ukrainian composer Yevhen Stankovych to the text of Dmytro Pavlychko (2006). A number of films and television productions have also marked the tragic events at Babi Yar, and D. M. Thomas's novel, The White Hotel, uses the massacre's anonymity and violence as a counterpoint to the intimate and complex nature of the psyche. Poetry (ancient Greek: poieo = create) is an art form in which human language is used for its aesthetic qualities in addition to, or instead of, its notional and semantic content. ... Yevgeny Yevtushenko Yevtushenko represents Russias new generation on the cover of Time magazine, April 13, 1962 Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Yevtushenko (Russian: , Evgenij AleksandroviÄ EvtuÅ¡enko; born July 18, 1933) is a Russian poet. ... For other uses, see Music (disambiguation). ... Dmitri Shostakovich (Russian: , Dmitrij DmitrieviÄ Å ostakoviÄ) (September 25 [O.S. September 12] 1906â€“August 9, 1975) was a Russian composer of the Soviet period. ... The Symphony No. ... An oratorio is a large musical composition for orchestra, vocal soloists and chorus. ... Yevhen Stankovych (September 19, 1942-) is one of the most famous contemporary Ukrainian composers of stage, orchestral, chamber, and choral works. ... Dmytro Pavlychko (Ukrainian: ) - well-known Ukrainian poet, translator, scriptwriter, culturologist, political and public figure. ... Donald Michael Thomas, known as D. M. Thomas (1935-), is an English novelist, poet, and translator. ... The White Hotel (ISBN 0-14-023173-0) is a novel written by the English poet, translator and novelist D. M. Thomas. ...

Concerning Babi Yar, Elie Wiesel stated "Eye witnesses say that for months after the killings the ground continued to spurt geysers of blood." ^[13] Eliezer Wiesel (commonly known as Elie, born September 30, 1928)[1] is an American-Jewish novelist, political activist, and Holocaust survivor. ...

Desecration of the memorial complex (July 2006)

On the night of July 16, 2006, the memorial was vandalized. Several gravestones, the foundation of memorable sledge-stone, and several steps leading to the Menorah memorial were broken.^[14]^[15] The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine issued a statement condemning the act of vandalism.^[16] A coin issued by Mattathias Antigonus, c. ...

Notes

^ United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Holocaust Encyclopedia. Kiev and Babi Yar
^ ^a ^b Israel Gutman, editor-in-chief, Encyclopedia of the Holocaust, Babi Yar, New York: Macmillan, 1990. 4 volumes. ISBN 0-02-896090-4.
^ Babi Yar. Extracts from the Article by Shmuel Spector, Encyclopedia of the Holocaust, Israel Gutman, editor in Chief, Yad Vashem, Sifriat Hapoalim, MacMillan Publishing Company, 1990
^ Anatoliy Kudrytsky, editor-in-chiev, "Vulytsi Kyjeva" (The Streets of Kiev), Ukrainska Entsyklopediya (1995), ISBN 5885000700
^ The Russian version of this document specifically uses what is considered an ethnonym with a negative connotation. The Ukrainian version, although using the same word, is considered by some to also be an ethnic slur.
^ Martin Gilbert (1985): The Holocaust: A History of the Jews of Europe During the Second World War. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. ISBN 0030624169 p.203
^ ^a ^b Martin Gilbert (1985): The Holocaust: A History of the Jews of Europe During the Second World War. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. ISBN 0030624169 p.202
^ Operational Situation Report No. 101 (einsatzgruppenarchives.com)
^ The story of Dina Pronicheva (PBS)
^ Martin Gilbert (1985): The Holocaust: A History of the Jews of Europe During the Second World War. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. ISBN 0030624169 pp.204-205
^ Materials of the Nuremberg Trial in Russian: Нюрнбергский процесс, т. III. M., 1958. с. 220-221. Quoting from (Russian) Бабий Яр - сентябрь 1941 Иосиф Кременецкий. (Babi Yar - September 1941 by Iosif Kremenetsky. (shoa.com.ua)
^ Draft report by the Commission for Crimes Committed by the Nazis in Kiev from February 1944. The page 14 shows changes made by G. F. Aleksandrov, head of the Propaganda and Agitation Department, Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
^ Boston University Chancellor Responds to Holocaust Deniers' Ads in Campus Papers Open letter from Dr. John Silber to Colleges and Universities. March 2000. (Jewish Virtual Library)
^ Babiy Yar Profaned by Vandals. MIGnews.com.ua. 17.07.2006
^ Unknown persons defiled Menorah in Babiy Yar. Interfax. 19 July 2006
^ Answer of the Press Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine to the question of journalists relating to the incident in Babyn Yar July 21, 2006

Exterior of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum viewed from 16th St. ... The Encyclopaedia of the Holocaust was published in 1990, in tandem Hebrew and English editions, by Yad Vashem, the Israeli Holocaust Memorial Authority. ... An exterior view of the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial museum in Jerusalem. ... Sir Martin John Gilbert, CBE (born October 25, 1936 in London) is a British historian and the author of over seventy books, including works on the Holocaust and Jewish history. ... Sir Martin John Gilbert, CBE (born October 25, 1936 in London) is a British historian and the author of over seventy books, including works on the Holocaust and Jewish history. ... Not to be confused with Public Broadcasting Services in Malta. ... Sir Martin John Gilbert, CBE (born October 25, 1936 in London) is a British historian and the author of over seventy books, including works on the Holocaust and Jewish history. ... Agitprop poster by Vladimir Mayakovsky. ... The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Russian: ÐšÐ¾Ð¼Ð¼ÑƒÐ½Ð¸ÑÑ‚Ð¸ÌÑ‡ÐµÑÐºÐ°Ñ ÐŸÐ°ÌÑ€Ñ‚Ð¸Ñ Ð¡Ð¾Ð²ÐµÌÑ‚ÑÐºÐ¾Ð³Ð¾ Ð¡Ð¾ÑŽÌÐ·Ð° = ÐšÐŸÐ¡Ð¡) was the name used by the successors of the Bolshevik faction of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party from 1952 to 1991, but the wording Communist Party was present in the partys name since 1918 when the Bolsheviks became the Russian... The Jewish Virtual Library is an online encyclopedia published by the American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise (AICE), notable for its strong pro-Israel views. ...

References

Anatoly Vasilievich Kuznetsov (1929, Kievâ€“1979, London) was a Soviet writer who described his experiences in German-occupied Kiev during the WWII in his internationally acclaimed novel Baby Yar. ... Zerkalo Nedeli (Дзеркало тижня - Dzerkal Tyzhnia Ukrainian: Weekly Mirror) is Ukraine’s most influential analytical weekly. ...

External links

Coordinates: 50°28′N, 30°27′E The Jewish Virtual Library is an online encyclopedia published by the American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise (AICE), notable for its strong pro-Israel views. ... Brandeis University is a private university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. ... Anatoly Vasilievich Kuznetsov (1929, Kievâ€“1979, London) was a Soviet writer who described his experiences in German-occupied Kiev during the WWII in his internationally acclaimed novel Baby Yar. ... Official Logo The Kiev Metro (Ukrainian: ; Russian: ) is a metro system that is the mainstay of Kievs public transport. ... Dorohozhychi Dorohozhychi (Ukrainian: , Russian: ) is a Kiev Metro station on the Syretsko-Pecherska Line. ... Olena Teliha (ÐžÐ»ÐµÐ½Ð° Ð¢ÐµÐ»Ñ–Ð³Ð°, July 21, 1907 - February 21, 1942), notable Ukrainian poet and activist. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...

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