Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Centre launches investigation into Russian war crimes
Unit created in partnership with French NGO Yahad-In Unum, led by Father Patrick Desbois, who investigated the killing of Ukrainian Jews by Nazis during the Holocaust.
The Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Centre near Kyiv is co-launching a new unit to help investigate Russian war crimes in Ukraine.
Babyn Yar is the ravine by which more than 33,000 Ukrainian Jews were shot and killed by occupying Nazi soldiers over just two days in 1941, and was itself damaged in an attack by Russian forces earlier this month, albeit accidentally.
This week, the BYHMC said it would launch the new unit with French non-governmental organisation Yahad-In Unum, led by Father Patrick Desbois, who investigated the killing of Ukrainian Jews by Nazis during the Holocaust.
The new unit will aim to “discover the horrors of the [Russian] crimes committed on a massive scale, day-after-day, against the Ukrainian civilian populations in Mariupol, Kharkiv, Mikolayiv and beyond”.
It will collect as many filmed testimonies as possible of the victims of war crimes, examining the charge that civilians – including women, the elderly, and children – have been targeted without any link to military targets.
“Innocent citizens trying to leave cities are killed by bullets in their cars or in the street,” they said in a joint statement. “Schools, kindergartens, and hospitals are targeted by Russian missiles. The voice of a witness is a cry thrown to the sky. It must be heard by the International Criminal Court.”
Countries such as Germany have already launched investigations, and Desbois said eyewitnesses would be “key to confront the denial of Putin and his helpers”.
Yahad In Unum investigated the “Holocaust by Bullets”, including the shooting and killing of Ukrainian Jews by Nazi soldiers, by building a special methodology and interviewing more than 8,000 witnesses.
“I never thought that, in 2022, I would need to once again be investigating war crimes on these same lands,” he said.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
