The Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center initiates the renaming of the Dorohozhyzhi station of the Syrets-Pechersk metro line to Babyn Yar. The NGO has already sent a letter of request to Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klychko. The funding of all costs and expenses connected with the renaming process will be assumed by the Charity.
The reasoning behind this initiative is the fact that Dorohozhychi metro station is located directly on the historical site in the ravine of Babyn Yar where in 1941-1943, one of the biggest tragedies of the Holocaust occurred. It was here that mass executions took place which, according to historians, about 100,000 people of different ethnicities and religions died: Jews, Ukrainians, Roma, Soviet prisoners of war and mental patients.
The inconceivable tragedy of Babyn Yar has changed forever the history of Kyiv, Ukraine and the world. Every year, tens of thousands of people come to this place, including visitors from across the world. In addition, a Memorial Center is to be built on the territory of Babyn Yar in future that will include a museum, educational and research center, as well as the memorial itself. Therefore, the renaming of the station would simplify navigating around the city for all those wanting to visit the place of memory, learn more about the Babyn Yar tragedy or render homage to the innocent victims, it will help reveal the uniqueness of the area and spread awareness of the events that took place here.
This step will also become a tribute to the memory and manifestation of respect for the heroism of all Babyn Yar victims and all those who have suffered from this horrifying tragedy. During the times of the Soviet regime mentioning of these events was oppressed and silenced. Today’s Ukraine has taken on the path of democratic and European development. This is why, by using the best international experience of commemoration, an end should be put to the shameful practice of oblivion.
“Babyn Yar is a place where two crimes were created by two totalitarian systems. One regime destroyed a hundred thousand innocent people at this place, while the other sought to hide the truth of these events,” Max Yakover, Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center Сhief Executive Officer said. “Our Charity is prepared to cover the funding of all activities and works that will need to be carried out in order to rename Dorohozhychi metro station.”
The Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center initiative has already gained the vast support of Kyiv residents, more specifically, from Podilsky and Shevchenkivsky district resident bodies of self-organization, numerous NGOs, activists and opinion leaders.
“Transforming the sight of oblivion into a place of memory is our duty to Kyiv, to the whole world and to generations to come. I am confident that the renaming of Dorohozhychi metro station to Babyn Yar will contribute to Kyivans’ complete re-conceptualising of this area”, Max Yakover added.
The Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center is a non-profit organisation aimed at the due commemoration of the victims of the Babyn Yar tragedy through building an innovative memorial center in Kyiv and promoting the preservation and exploration of the memory of the Holocaust. The Charity was established in 2016 for the 75th anniversary of the Babyn Yar tragedy.
