THE FOUNDATION AND BABYN YAR HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL CENTER
Between 1941 and 1943, the Nazis shot between 70,000 and 100,000 people at Babyn Yar, including almost the entire Jewish population of Kyiv, making it a significant point on the devastating map of the Holocaust.
To acquire, study, and spread knowledge about this tragedy, an international charity fund was founded, under which the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center was created.
The structure of the Memorial Center includes a museum, research institutes, a library, an archive, and a multimedia online platform. Also, before the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine, work on the construction of a large unified museum complex on the territory of Babyny Yar was temporarily suspended. Now on the territory of the Center, there are a number of art objects dedicated to the tragedy of the Holocaust and the history of Kyiv, including the symbolic synagogue "Place for Reflection", the audiovisual installation "Mirror Field", the installation "Looking into the Past. The Kurenivska Tragedy" and "Crystal Wailing Wall" by conceptual artist Maryna Abramovych.
After the start of the full-scale invasion, the main activity of the Memorial Center is focused on online projects on the history of the Holocaust and initiatives that have been launched since March 2022. Among them is the documentation of the crimes of the Russian military against Ukrainian civilians, together with the French organization Yahad-in-Unum, the creation of the Closed Eyes online martyrology, the book publishing direction, as well as the digitization of archival documents and the Names project to create the most complete list of data on the victims of Babyn Yar.
From 2022, the Center jointly with the publishing house De Gruyter publishes the scientific journal Eastern European Holocaust Studies journal dedicated to the study of the history of the Holocaust in Eastern Europe.
In 2018, a group of recognized Ukrainian and foreign specialists developed the "Historical Narrative", which enshrines approaches to working with the past, on which the activities of the Memorial Center are based.
ONLINE MUSEUM
ABOUT
Established to study and disseminate knowledge about the Babyn Yar tragedy
HISTORY
Two research institutes and socially significant historical projects
PLACE
A detailed study of Babyn Yar for a complete description of the area, its history and present
NAMES
The most complete list of names of the victims of Babyn Yar so far
LIBRARY
A collection of contemporary and archival texts, visual and audio material about the Holocaust
EDUCATION
An educational initiative for the joint preservation of the living memory of Babyn Yar and the Holocaust
PATH
Reconstructing the historical, social and emotional context of the genocide tragedies
ONLINE ARCHIVE
The largest online archive in Eastern Europe of digital copies of documents about the life of the Ukrainian and Jewish peoples
MODELS
3D model of Babyn Yar space with multimedia research
NEWS
News, Press releases, Publications in the media
CLOSED EYES
Martyrology of victims of the Russian-Ukrainian war since 2014
WITNESSES
"Project of Investigation of Russia's War Crimes: Gathering Evidence" in cooperation with Yahad-in-Unum
FOUNDATION
Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center
Kyiv, str. Velyka Zhytomyrska, 8/14, ap. #7
01001
+380 99 618 71 57
[email protected]
babynyar.org
Almost eighty years have passed since the tragedy at Babyn Yar. Babyn Yar was not forgotten, but in the USSR its memory was discouraged and intentionally distorted. The truth about the disappearance of the bright, vibrant world of pre-war Kyiv did not meet the ideological tasks of the Soviet regime. Now, in Ukraine that has gained true independence, it has become possible to revive this memory, to flesh it out, to rescue from oblivion the names of the victims and the righteous who saved them.
Knowing the truth about our past is important for each of us who grew up on the blood-soaked land of Europe. Without knowing and understanding the past, a free society cannot live a fully fledged life, nor can it build a future.
Today, there is a chance to transform Babyn Yar from a symbol of a devastation into a place where the memory of the ruined world of the past will become so detailed, emotionally powerful and ethically indestructible that the dead will live on in our minds.
This is the reason behind the creation of the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center.
SUPERVISORY BOARD OF THE FOUNDATION
The Board consists of prominent public figures, philanthropists, politicians and cultural figures. It oversees the work of the Foundation and the Memorial Center and advises the Board of Directors in their discussions and key decisions.
NATAN SHARANSKY
Political prisoner of the Soviet Union (1977-1986), Human Rights Activist, Мinister and Vice Prime Minister in Israeli Governments (1996-2006), Head of The Jewish agency (2009-2018)
OLEKSII MAKUKHIN
CEO of the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center (2023)
ANNA FURMAN
COO of the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center
SVIATOSLAV VAKARCHUK
Rock musician, frontman of the Ukrainian band "Okean Elzy", politician and social activist
RABBI YAAKOV DOV BLEICH
Chief Rabbi of Kyiv and Ukraine
ALEKSANDER KWASNIEWSKI
Politician, President of Poland (1995–2005), Chairman of the Board of Yalta European Strategy, Founder of the Amicus Europae Foundation
WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO
Ukrainian athlete, multiple world boxing champion, social activist, philanthropist
RONALD LAUDER
President of the World Jewish Congress. American businessman, politician, art collector, philanthropist
SVETLANA ALEXIEVICH
Belarusian writer. Nobel laureate in literature (2015)
VICTOR PINCHUK
Businessman, philanthropist. Founder of EastOne group and the Victor Pinchuk Foundation (Ukraine)
JOSCHKA FISCHER
German politician and activist. Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor of Germany 1998-2005
MARINA ABRAMOVICH
Сonceptual and performance artist, known for her work that explores body art, endurance art, and the relationship between the performer and audience
PUBLIC COUNCIL
The Public Council is an advisory board created to facilitate broader discussion of Memorial Center activities and to maintain an ongoing dialogue between the Foundation and Ukrainian society.The Public Council includes well-known representatives of Ukrainian civil society who share the Foundation’s mission and goals. Its main purpose is to honor the memory of the victims of the Holocaust and the tragedy of Babyn Yar.
ANDRII KULYKOV
Radio journalist, TV host, co-founder and Chairman of the Management Board of the NGO "Hromadske Radio"
AKHTEM SEITABLAIEV
Actor, director, Honored Artist of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea
BORYS HLAZUNOV
First deputy of Director General of the National Historical and Memorial Reserve "Babyn Yar"
BORYS ZABARKO
Chairman of the Association of Jews – former prisoners of ghetto and Nazi concentration camps, Head of the "Memory of the Catastrophe" scholarly and educational center
DIANA POPOVA
Director of the Museum of Kyiv History. Adviser to the Kyiv Mayor on culture and development of cultural projects on a voluntary basis
NELIA KUKOVALSKA
Director General of the Sofia Kyivska National Reserve
OLEH VYSHNIAKOV
Honorary Consul of Israel in Western Ukraine, businessman
OLEKSANDR ZLOTNYK
Composer, People's Artist of Ukraine, Rector of the Kyiv-based Glier Institute of music, Head of the Religious Association of Progressive Judaism Congregations of Ukraine
OLEKSANDR SUSLENSKYI
President of the All-Ukrainian Jewish Council, Honorary Academician of the National Academy of Arts of Ukraine, Honored Artist of Ukraine
OLHA SUMSKA
Actress, television host, People's Artist of Ukraine
YURII HOLYK
Presidium Member of the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine, Adviser to the Head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration 2015-2019, Advisor to the Prime Minister of Ukraine October 2019-March 2020
SERHII KOMISARENKO
Director of A. V. Palladin Institute of Biochemistry of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, former Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, the first Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in 1992-1997
ACADEMIC COUNCIL
The Academic Council aims to develop a research strategy for the Memorial Center and monitor the compliance of the Center's activities with the principles of scientific rigor and reliability.
PATRICK DESBOIS
HEAD OF THE COUNCIL
Founder/president of the French organization "Yahad-In Unum", Roman Catholic priest. Public figure, researcher of the Holocaust by bullets in Ukraine and other countries of Eastern Europe. The author of the term "Holocaust by bullets"
ANDREJ UMANSKY
DEPUTY HEAD OF THE COUNCIL
Research Fellow at the Institute for Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure, University of Cologne (Germany)
AGNIESZKA MATUSIAK
Ph. D., Chair of the Research Center for Postcolonial and Post-totalitarian Studies at the Faculty of Philology, Wroclaw University (Poland)
OLEKSANDR KRUHLOV
Member of the Institute for Holocaust Studies in Eastern Europe at the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center, Scientific Director of the Ukrainian Institute for Holocaust Studies
ANDRII RUKKAS
Director of the Institute for Holocaust Studies in Eastern Europe at the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center, Associate Professor of the History Department of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv
ARUNAS BUBNIS
Director of the Genocide and Resistance Department of the Genocide and Resistance Research Center of Lithuania
VICTORIA KHITERER
Associate Professor of History, Millersville University, Pennsylvania (USA)
VLADYSLAV HRYNEVYCH
Director of the Institute of Babyn Yar Territory and Memory Studies at the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center, Senior Research Fellow of the Institute of Political and Ethnic Studies of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
DIANA DUMITRU
Associate Professor of the Department of History and Social Sciences of the Ion Creanga State University (Moldova)
KAI STRUVE
Research fellow at the Institute of History, Martin Luther University, Halle-Wittenberg
KYRYLO FEFERMAN
Senior Lecturer at the Department of Jewish Heritage, Ariel University
MARTIN DEAN
History consultant (USA)
NORMAN M. NAIMARK
Professor of Eastern European Studies at Stanford University
ANDREA PETÖ
Professor of the Department of Gender Studies at Central European University (Hungary), Doctor of Science of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
In June 2020, the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center was included in the Transparency Register of the European Union. The Register cooperates with the European Parliament and the European Commission. The inclusion of the Memorial Center in this register means that the organization’s interests are visible, its budgeting is transparent and that citizens and interest groups are provided with an opportunity to track its activities.
The funding of the Memorial Center is carried out on the principles of equal participation of Ukrainian and international donors. In addition, the Foundation regularly raises funds from a wide range of international donors on a fundraising basis.
ANNUAL REPORTS
FINANCIAL AUDIT IS CARRIED OUT BY ERNST & YOUNG
FOUNDATION DOCUMENTS
MEMORANDUM of understanding and principles of cooperation for the establishment of the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial in the territory of the city of Kyiv. Signed on September 29, 2020, by the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine and the Charity Organization "Babi Yar Holocaust Memorial Charity Fund" in the presence of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi, during the ceremony of commemorating the victims of the Babyn Yar tragedy.
The document was signed by Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine Oleksandr Tkachenko and Member of the Supervisory Board of the Charity Organization "Babi Yar Holocaust Memorial Charity Fund", President of the World Jewish Congress Ronald Lauder.
The memorial center also signed cooperation agreements with key Ukrainian and international institutions: Yad Vashem, the Federal Archives of Germany, the Central Archive of the History of the Jewish People in Jerusalem, the National Library of Israel, and the State Archives Service of Ukraine.
CREATIVE CONCEPT
The Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center presented the creative concept of the Memorial. An international group of authors worked on the creative concept. It included architects, historians, museum curators, artists, and Holocaust researchers recognized worldwide and in Ukraine. Such interdisciplinary approach allowed a comprehensive approach to the memorialization of the entire territory of the Babyn Yar.
According to the concept, the future Memorial Complex will include:
The Museum of Babyn Yar Tragedy 1941-1943;
The Museum of the Holocaust in Ukraine and Eastern Europe;
Museum of Babyn Yar Tragedy oblivion;
Museum of the History of the Place and the Kurenivka Tragedy;
An installation dedicated to the names of the victims of the Babyn Yar Tragedy;
A space for prayer: synagogue, church, mosque, non-denominational space;
Educational, scientific, and public discussion center;
Mediatheque, Library, Archives and Collection;
Educational and play space for children; Psychological Trauma Rehabilitation Center.
After the russian invasion began, the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center suspended construction and offline projects, focusing on humanitarian aid and online initiatives.