Babi Yar Holocaust Memorial Center

Babi Yar Holocaust Memorial Center

Меморіальний центр Голокосту «Бабин Яр»
Established	2016
Location	Kyiv
Type	Memorial to the victims of the Holocaust.
Founder	Petro Poroshenko
Website	babiyar.org

Babi Yar Holocaust Memorial Center (Ukrainian: Меморіальний центр Голокосту «Бабин Яр» officially called in English, The Foundation and Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center) is an educational institution that documents, explains and commemorates the Babi Yar shootings of September 1941 and aims to broaden and sustain the memory of the Holocaust in Eastern Europe, taking into account geopolitical changes during the 20th century. On September 29, 2016, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko, together with public figures and philanthropists, initiated the creation of the first Babi Yar Holocaust Memorial Center.^[1] The Memorial Center is planned to be created in Kyiv, Ukraine, by 2023.^[2]

Babi Yar[]

On September 29–30 1941, in Babi Yar, a ravine in Kyiv, the Nazis slaughtered more Jews in two days than in any other single German massacre, killing 33,771 Jews. In total, from September 29, 1941, until October 1943, the Nazi occupation authorities killed nearly 100,000 people in and near Babi Yar.^[3]

History[]

On September 29, 2016, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko, together with public figures and philanthropists, initiated the creation of the first Babi Yar Holocaust Memorial Center.^[1] In his opinion, the creation of the Holocaust Memorial in Babi Yar can become a symbol of the unity of the nation and mother of greatness for the whole world.^[4] Poroshenko himself and the Mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, were present at the ceremony.^[5]

On March 19, 2017, the Supervisory Board of the Memorial was founded. The Supervisory Board is headed by the chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel Natan Sharansky and consists of philanthropists German Khan, Mikhail Fridman, Victor Pinchuk, and Pavel Fuks, the chief rabbi of Kyiv and Ukraine Yakov Dov Bleich, artist Svyatoslav Vakarchuk, world heavyweight champion Volodymyr Klitschko, the former Director-General of UNESCO Irina Bokova, former President of Poland Alexander Kwasniewski, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany Joschka Fischer.^[6]

On October 19, 2017, the leadership of the Babi Yar Holocaust Memorial Center met with the Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman. The Prime Minister expressed support for the project to build a memorial complex in Kyiv to commemorate the victims of Babi Yar, and noted the importance of preserving historical memory in order to prevent the recurrence of past mistakes in the future.^[7]

On 6 October 2021, following the 80th anniversary of the massacre, the Memorial Center released the first 161 names of Nazi soldiers who were perpetrators of the crimes at Babi Yar. It described the release of names as the first installment of ongoing research into those who committed the murder of 33,771 Ukrainian Jews on September 29 and 30, 1941.^[8]

The first 161 names of Nazi soldiers who took part in the massacre, as released by the Memorial Center, are as follows:^[8]

Gustav Abeska, 28, born in Giebau.

Horst Adrian, 31, born in Gotha.

Oswald Altendorf, 33, born in Stettin.

Otto Augusten, 35, born in Ratschedorf.

Gustav Atzpodien, 34, born in Fischhausen.

Wilhelm Baier, 37, born in Triebschitz.

Franz Barth, 34, born in Paredl.

Bernhard Bartnik, 29.

Julius Bauer, 31, born in Nürnberg.

Franz Behmel, 28, born in Wilsdorf.

Peter Behrens, 39, born in Wilster. Werner Bellmann, 25, born in Dresden.

Alois Beranek, 28, born in Luditz.

Hermann Berentsen, 27.

Martin Besser, 49, born in Voigtsdorf.

Georg Biedermann, 35, born in Berlin.

Paul Blobel, 47, born in Potsdam.

Ernst Borde, 37, born in Schüttenitz.

Artur Boss, 33, born in Petersthal.

Walter Bostelmann, 28, born in Hamburg.

Walter Bötel, 33, born in Kellinghusen.

Johann Breun, 30, born in Galgenhof.

Wilhelm Brunner, 37, born in Schönwald.

Erich Burdeska, 27, born in Rotthausen.

Kuno Callsen, 29, born in Wilster.

Ernst Consée, 37, born in Munich.

Hugo Czastka, 39, Auern.

Herbert Degenhardt, 32, born in Tabarz.

Hans Diwock, 37, born in Bilin.

Hermann Dunker, 28, born in Hamburg.

Kurt Eberhard, 67, born in Rottweil.

Rudolf Eisel, 34, born in Düderode.

Johann Ernst, 31, born in Minden.

Karl Eschler, 38, born in Tetschen.

Wilhelm Fahrenkrog, 35, born in Wasbug.

Wilhelm Fischedick, 28, born in Rhade.

Fritz Forberg, born in 36, Brand-Erbisdorf.

Heinrich Funck, 33, born in Bremen.

Max Galle, 28, born in Haida.

Edmund Gärtner, 39, born in Gablonz.

Erich Goslar, 26.

Bernhard Grafhorst, 28, born in Nordwalde.

Walter Grossmann, 28, born in Reichenberg.

Egon Grübl, 28, born in Flöhau.

Franz Halle, 33, born in Dessau.

Heinrich Hannibal, 51, born in Söllingen.

Kurt Hans, 30, born in Barmen.

August Häfner, 29, born in Mellingen (CH).

Georg Hahn, 45, born in Berlin.

Erich Hartmann, 30, born in Schafbrücke.

Otto Hauptmann, 29, born in Welns-Schloss.

Erich Heidborn, 32, born in Berlin.

Erich Heitmann, 32, born in Hamburg.

Heinz Hellenbroich, 35, born in Düsseldorf.

Karl Hennicke, 31, born in Erfurt.

Willi Herrmann, 30, born in Landsberg.

Kurt Hickfang, 33, born in Heygendorf.

Rupert Hirsch, 38, born in Unterreichenau.

Walter Hofmann, 36, born in Frankfurt am Main.

Wilhelm Holy, 36, born in Brüx.

Georg Hosbach, 20, born in Hamburg.

Fritz Höfer, 30, born in Schöneberg.

Heinrich Huhn, 37, born in Hannover.

Anton Hübner, 33, born in Reichenberg.

Hans Hüttl, 36, born in Königsberg.

Adolf Janssen, 25, born in Höhr-Grenzhausen.

Adolf Jehle, 50, born in Gaggenau.

Friedrich Jeckeln, 46, born in Hornberg.

Edgar Jentschke, 27, born in Neu-Ullersdorf.

Wilhelm Kaiser, 34.

Albert Kemeter, 30, born in Regensburg.

Richard Kerl, 35, born in Schoningen.

Josef Klimt, born in 28, Drus.

Kurt Knigge, 43, born in Braunschweig.

Johann Koller, 30, Wachenzell.

Alois Köldorfer, 36, Wien.

Herbert Krämer, 31, Berlin.

Engelbert Kreuzer, 26, Würzburg.

Hans-Walter Krieger, 31, Berlin.

Hinrich Krohn, 29, Pinneberg.

Peter Kröger, 29, Riga.

Walter Krumme, 34, Minden.

Hermann Lass, 32, Wismar.

Anton Lauer, 38, born in Neunkirchen.

Ernst Lehnhardt, 37, born in Aussig.

Georg Leuchtmann, 25, born in Toschendorf.

Martin Lieber, 36, born in Grunau.

Eduard Lifka, 27, born in Schaar.

Edgar Lind, 25, born in Katharinenthal (RU).

Herbert Loos, 38, born in Dresden.

Otto Loos, 28, born in Katharinaberg.

Franz Lorenz, 29, born in Parschnitz.

Johannes Lüschen, 29, born in Wardenburg.

Herbert Mai, 31, born in Görlitz.

Wilhelm Mast, 37, born in Hannover.

Franz Marx, 29, born in Karlsdorf.

Rudolf Massl, 28, born in Puschwitz.

Paul Matysik, 35, born in Bochum.

Ludwig Maurer, 27, born in Nürnberg.

Otto Meyer, 27, born in Harburg.

Hermann Möllmann, 27, born in Altschermbeck.

Alfred Müller, 43.

Heinrich Müller, 30, born in Philipsdorf.

Josef Nitsch, 32, born in Brüx.

Emil Nosswitz, 36, born in Gablonz.

Felix Obermeier, 30, born in Wurmannsquick.

Hans von Obstfelder, 55, born in Steinbach-Hallenberg.

Ewald Patrovsky, 28, born in Swojetin.

Anton Paul, 40, born in Eulau.

Heinrich Peukert, 28, born in Bremerhaven.

Georg Pfarrkircher, 39 born in Augsburg.

Walter Ploch, 31, born in Berlin.

Franz Pokorny, 34, born in Kaunowa.

Albin Powa, 28, born in Luschitz.

Lienhard Puchta, 30, born in Harburg.

Friedrich Puschmann, 31, born in Althabendorf.

Wilhelm Püschl, 33, born in Brüx.

Alfred von Puttkammer, 59, born in Jagow.

Waldemar von Radetzky, 31, born in Moscow (RU).

Otto Rasch, 49, born in Friedrichsruh.

Walter von Reichenau, 56, born in Karlsruhe.

Friedrich Riedel, 31, born in Hannover.

Otto Riedel, 27, born in Gotschdorf.

Alexander Riesle, 33, born in Hannover.

Franz Roscher, 28, born in Schmiedeberg.

Rene Rosenbauer, 52, born in Nürnberg.

Rudolf Rouvel, 31, born in Berlin.

Josef Rödig, 28, born in Stiedra.

Otto Schachtschneider, 27, born in Hamburg.

Kurt Schädel, 32, born in Glauchow.

Friedrich Schön, 32, born in Petlarnbrand.

Johannes Scheibmayr, 26, born in Karlsruhe.

Robert Schindler, 27, born in Kunzendorf.

Heribert Schlag, 37, born in Klotzsche.

Otto Schlüter, 31, born in Hamburg.

Josef Schmidt, 34, born in Buchau.

Otto Schmidt, 52, born in Birklar.

Heinrich Schneider, 37, born in Bergesgrün.

Rudolf Schöler, 33, born in Chemnitz.

Wenzel Schöttner, 41, born in Altsattel.

Adolf Schubert, 28, born in Herbitz.

Christian Schulte, 29, born in Kiel.

Gustav Senze, 36, born in Reichnberg.

Max Steinhäuser, 52, born in Gehren.

Ernst Steinke, 27, born in Neumünster.

Josef Suchanek, 32, born in Witkowitz.

Franz Trautzl, 37, born in Dux.

Viktor Trill, 36, born in Brünn.

August Ullrich, 46, born in Kiel.

Franz Unseld, 27, born in Laupheim.

Heinz Vogel, 20, born in Siegmar-Stelzendorf.

Franz Waller, 36, born in Bischofteinitz.

Ferdinand Walsch, 39, born in Stangendorf.

Karl Wander, 40.

Kurt Werner, 28, born in Hildesheim.

Arnold Wiechert, 24.

Victor Woithon, 31, born in Berlin.

Paul Wörzberger, 33, born in Benshausen.

Hans Zentgraf, 30, born in Berlin.

Friedrich Zickwolff, 48, born in Bayreuth.

Richard Zinke, 37, born in Dux.

References[]