Saturday15 February 2025
podrobnosti.org.ua

In Ukraine and around the world, people honor the memory of Holocaust victims.

On Monday, January 27, Ukraine and the international community commemorate the victims of the Holocaust.
В Украине и мире почитают память жертв Холокоста.

The International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust is observed annually on January 27. It was established by a resolution of the UN General Assembly on November 1, 2005 (Resolution No. 60/7), as reported by Ukrinform.

“The Holocaust, which led to the extermination of one third of the Jewish population and countless individuals from other nationalities, will always serve as a warning to all humanity about the dangers inherent in hatred, fanaticism, racism, and prejudice,” states the UN General Assembly Resolution from 2005 that established this memorial date.

On January 27, 1945, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front liberated one of the largest Nazi death camps – Auschwitz-Birkenau.

During World War II, 6 million Jews fell victim to Nazi policies aimed at the extermination of peoples and groups deemed a “threat” or “inferior.” Approximately 1.5 million of them were from the territory of modern Ukraine, and their memory is honored in Ukraine and around the world.

“However, the last year of Russia's war against Ukraine has clearly shown that passive remembrance of genocidal crimes does not prevent their recurrence. The minimum requirement is active reflection and dialogue to foster ongoing awareness among at least a significant portion of society regarding how mechanisms of social aggression operate. Additionally, there must be vigilance from international institutions regarding systemic human rights violations by authoritarian regimes, so as not to be blindsided by the fact that misanthropic ideologies have wrapped themselves in new, less obvious packaging. And, of course, it is impossible to prevent genocides from recurring in the future without decisive and fair condemnation and punishment of the organizers and perpetrators of such crimes today. Moreover, there needs to be a genuine readiness to act proactively,” emphasize the Institute of National Memory.

Since the start of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine, key memorial sites commemorating the Holocaust in Ukraine have become targets for attacks by Russian aggressors.

For example, on March 1, 2022, eight decades after the mass shootings by Nazis at Babi Yar in Kyiv, where around 100,000 civilians and prisoners of war, including Jews, Roma, Red Army soldiers, communists, members of the Ukrainian Nationalist Organization, prisoners of the Syrets concentration camp, and even patients of the Pavlov Psychiatric Hospital, were killed, the Russian Federation launched a missile strike on Babi Yar, a symbol of the Holocaust in Eastern Europe.

In 2022, Russian shells also hit the central monument of the Drobytsky Yar memorial in Kharkiv, a well-known site of mass shootings of civilians, primarily Jews, by Nazis during World War II. According to various estimates, between 14,000 and 20,000 victims of Nazism are buried here.

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President Volodymyr Zelensky honored the memory of the Holocaust victims. He warned that the memory of the Holocaust is fading. And the evil that seeks to annihilate entire nations still exists in the world.

“On January 27, the world honors the memory of the Holocaust victims. This was a deliberate attempt by the Nazis to erase an entire people – to kill all its members, to destroy everything that reminded them of the Jews. Six million victims. The crime of the Holocaust must never be repeated. But gradually, unfortunately, the memory of the Holocaust is becoming weaker. And the evil that seeks to destroy the lives of entire nations still remains in the world,” states Zelensky's post.

7 President Volodymyr Zelensky commemorated the Holocaust victims / Photo: Pavlo Bahmut. Ukrinform 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

On the eve, the President of Ukraine, along with rabbis, representatives of the diplomatic corps, and government officials, honored the memory of the men and women, adults and children – millions of people killed during the Holocaust.

“We all must fight for life and remember that indifference is the fertilizer for evil. We must overcome the hatred that breeds abuse and murder. We must not allow forgetfulness. And it is each person's mission to do everything possible to ensure that evil does not prevail,” said the head of state.

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The Holocaust is one of the most horrific crimes against humanity and must never be repeated, states Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk.

“Today, January 27, Ukraine, together with the whole world, honors the memory of the Holocaust victims. This is one of the most terrible crimes against humanity – genocide that claimed the lives of millions of innocents,” wrote the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada on Facebook.

According to him, during those terrible years, humanity lost far too much due to hatred, cruelty, and intolerance. Stefanchuk noted that people were persecuted and exterminated because of their national, ethnic, racial, or religious affiliation, political views, social group, or even way of life.

“We remember the names of the innocent victims who died simply for who they were. Such evil must never be repeated. Never. And to no one,” emphasized the head of parliament.

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Those guilty of horrific crimes against universal human values must be held accountable and face deserved punishment, stated Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal.

“The Holocaust is a tragedy of the Jewish people and of all humanity. It seems that in civilized Europe, millions of innocent people were destroyed. The Holocaust is a horrific crime against humanity that should never be repeated,” he wrote on Telegram.

However, Shmyhal emphasized, “totalitarian regimes repeatedly sow intolerance, xenophobia, and hatred. Therefore, it is crucial that those who commit and continue to commit horrific crimes against universal human values always bear responsibility and face deserved punishment. Impunity must not breed similar tragedies in the future.”