Babiy Yar/Babyn Yar Commemoration: 83rd Anniversary
In late September 1941, SS and German police units and their auxiliaries perpetrated one of the largest atrocities of World War II, massacring 33,771 Jews in the Babiy Yar/Babyn Yar ravine on the outskirts of Kyiv. While more than 2.5 million Soviet Jews were murdered during the Holocaust, many of their stories and that of survivors have not been heard. In our own Chicago community, virtually every Russian Jewish family has a connection to this history.
In honor of the 83rd anniversary of the Babiy Yar/Babyn Yar massacre, join CJE SeniorLife Holocaust Community Services (HCS) and Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center (IHMEC) for an afternoon of remembrance, reflection, and song. The commemoration will feature music by Matt Musachio and Ryan Senger of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and a keynote address by Dr. Robert Jan Van Pelt. The curator of the Synagogue at Babyn Yar, member of the Architectural Advisory Board of the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center in Kyiv, Ukraine, and one of the world’s leading Holocaust scholars, Van Pelt will examine the circumstances of the atrocity, the suppression of memory in the Soviet Union, and the legacy of this tragic chapter of history.
The commemoration will also include remarks from representatives of the Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest and Consulate General of Ukraine in Chicago. A memorial candle-lighting ceremony featuring Survivors and descendants of Survivors will take place, including the lighting of a 7th candle as we near the anniversary of the Hamas attacks in Israel last year.
An online viewing option will be available, and English-to-Russian translation English-to-Russian translation will be provided (on-site only). A link will be sent to all online registrants 24 hours before the commemoration.
Free to the public. Registration required.
Co-sponsored by CJE SeniorLife Holocaust Community Services, Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center, and the Peter Polsky Freedom Fund. Program funders include the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, Ellen V. & Philip L. Glass, private foundations, and individual donors.
Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center is a partner with the Jewish United Fund in serving our community.