President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu together with his wife Sarah commemorated the victims of the Babyn Yar tragedy.
“There are only two emotions now. Deep sadness and pain that causes heartbreaking. Today we are remembering the events of 1941 and experiencing this terrifying and tragic page of the common past of the Ukrainian and Jewish peoples, ”said Volodymyr Zelensky.
The president recalled that 78 years ago, German occupation forces launched mass shootings in the ravine Babyn Yar. According to him, these horrific events can be described as three "impossible": impossible to understand, impossible to forget and forgive, impossible to allow again.
The Head of Ukrainian State emphasized that it is unclear the inhuman desire to destroy people by ethnic, national or political grounds, regardless of gender and age. “Before our eyes a terrible endless queue of people who did not understand that they were being led to death. The vast majority of those killed were of Jewish origin, ”he said.
Volodymyr Zelensky added that after shooting all the Jews they could find, the Nazis began to kill others - prisoners, Roma and Ukrainians who were fighting of their country.
"The totalitarian Soviet regime has tabooed such topics as the Holocaust, Babyn Yar, the Holodomor, and had been long silent on the true scale of these crimes. According to various sources, during the Nazi occupation, 70 to 200 thousand people were murdered in Babyn Yar. And it's not simply statistics, ”the President emphasized.
Volodymyr Zelensky is convinced that the Ukrainian people will always remember these crimes against humanity and will not forget what xenophobia and racism lead to. He also noted the respect and memory of the Righteous Among the Nations - courageous people who did not stand aside and risked their own lives saving Jews. The President recalled that the Yad Vashem Holocaust Remembrance Center in Israel has honoured more than two and a half thousand Ukrainians with the title of Righteous Among the Nations. Ukraine ranks fourth in the world in terms of the number of people who have been awarded this title.
"The memory about the victims should serve as a warning that the ideology of intolerance and violence takes away the most precious and valuable - human life. Today, here at Babyn Yar, we call on the international community to join forces to prevent any manifestation of anti-Semitism and intolerance on racial or national grounds. Ukraine, together with the entire civilized world, demonstrates unity and stands for humanism, tolerance, freedom and democracy.
For his part, Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his gratitude to the President and the Government of Ukraine for preserving the memory of the Holocaust victims. "You really make a significant contribution to the fight against anti-Semitism," he said.
The Israeli Prime Minister also asked to continue honouring the memory of the Holocaust victims in Babyn Yar, not to forget the tragedy so that it would not happen again.
Volodymyr Zelensky and Benjamin Netanyahu put wreaths on the Menorah commemorative sign from the President of Ukraine and the Prime Minister of the State of Israel.
On August 19, at the National Historical and Memorial Reserve Babyn Yar, it was opened the exhibition "History and Culture of Jews in Ukraine".
