80 years have passed since the massacre of thousands of Jews in the Babi Yar ravine, in Kiev, Ukraine. Over the course of two days, October 29 and 30, 1941, approximately 34.000 Jewish residents of Kiev were exterminated by machine gun fire. But today, there is almost nothing that reminds of the tragic events: the Nazis made sure to wipe out every trace. When they saw that they were losing the war, they returned to Babi Yar, opened the mass graves and burned the bodies.
"Only ashes remained" he says sadly in statements he made within the framework of the Democratic Forum of Athens Patrick Debois, Catholic priest and founder of the organization Yahad – In Unum, which searches for mass graves of Jews in Eastern Europe. SEE HERE RELATED VIDEO
Few of the residents of the area who remain alive have indicated some of the places of the executions. The Babi Yar massacre is called the "Bullet Holocaust" and was a turning point in the Holocaust. It was the first time that a premeditated murderous plan wiped out almost the entire Jewish population of a major European city.
But another crime followed: from the Soviet Union, where Ukraine was incorporated.
Next week, the leaders of Ukraine, Germany and Italy will travel to Babi Yar to launch part of the works, which will turn the area into one of the largest Holocaust memorials. Commemorative events are also taking place across Europe.
In Athens, within the framework of the Athens Democratic Forum, a debate was organized on the issues of anti-Semitism and racism, in collaboration with the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center and the Greek government.
Since April, Greece has assumed the Presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. The Greek government has committed to organizing a series of events with the aim of keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive, especially among young children, so that they never forget where intolerance and bigotry can go.
SOURCE: website gr.euronews.com, 30.9.2021