On September 29, 1941, on the eve of Yom Kippur, almost 34,000 Jewish citizens of Kyiv, Ukraine were forcibly rounded up and shot over two days at Babyn Yar, a ravine then on the outskirts of the city. More Jews were murdered in those two days than in any other single German massacre. Babyn Yar has since become a symbol of the “Holocaust by bullets” – shorthand for the mass shootings carried out in Eastern Europe that claimed the lives of over one-third of the victims of the Holocaust.
On the 79th anniversary of the massacre, historian Alti Rodal and strategist Berel Rodal reflected on the 1941 events, the suppression of memory and attempts at commemoration, and the resonance of Babyn Yar today. The program was moderated by Museum President & CEO Jack Kliger.
Watch the program below.