Today we have a special story for our listeners, a story that transcends time and generations. A story from the heart. And a story that reminds us of the powerful role that memory plays in our lives. Yana Rathman is an educator and activist in the Jewish community of San Francisco. She recently traveled to […]
Bias, stereotypes, and prejudices. We all strive to rise above them but history often proves to be a burden, as well as a challenge to deeper understanding. A newly published book entitled Jews and Ukrainians: A Millennium of Co-Existence forthrightly tackles sensitive and controversial topics. Two distinguished academics have undertaken a bold project to outline
Today we look at symbols and mythologies. When competing narratives on history clash, the battle over symbols becomes heated and emotional. Vitaliy Nakhmanovich is a Ukrainian historian who has written extensively on the formation—and manipulation—of national memory. He has been particularly incisive in analyzing the politics of memory. Nakhmanovich contributed an important essay
Seventy-five years ago nearly 34,000 Jews were murdered at Babyn Yar over a two-day period on September 29th and 30th 1941. The location has become a poignant symbol of what is known as The Holocaust by Bullets. Some 1.5 million Jews were shot to death on the territory of what is now Ukraine in this
It was always a very scenic area of forests and ravines. A very pleasant green zone on the edge of the city. Picturesque. It was once known as the “Switzerland of Kyiv.” Innocent and bucolic. All that changed over the course of a couple of days at the end of September 1941. Babyn Yar, on the
It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. An astonishing new film called Shimon’s Returns proves the point in a sometimes provocative but always heart-warming manner. The documentary, directed by Slawomir Grunberg and Katka Reszke, tells the story of the now-retired Israeli history professor Shimon Redlich. In the film Shimon takes some of his
Oksana Lyniv is an up-and-coming star on the classical music scene. She is a Ukrainian conductor currently working at the Bavarian State Opera as assistant to the General Music Director Kirill Petrenko. On September 29, 2016, she will make her debut in Ukraine, conducting a classical concert that will be held at the Kyiv Opera House, under the
Update (2026): Pavlo Hunka passed away in May 2026. His loss brings a new resonance to this 2016 interview, which appears here as originally published. British-Ukrainian opera star Pavlo Hunka is the Director of a classical concert to be held on September 29, 2016 at the Opera House in Kyiv. The concert is part of the
Memory. Manipulation. Memorials. Babyn Yar, the ravine on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, is a multi-ethnic and multi-faith necropolis. A city of the dead. In September 1941, nearly thirty-four thousand Kyivan Jews were shot over two days in one of the largest single Nazi massacres during the Second World War. More massacres followed during the
Plans are underway to commemorate the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Babyn Yar tragedy. The events are being organized by the Ukrainian Jewish Encounter and will take place in Kyiv this fall. Welcome to Ukrainian Jewish Heritage on Nash Holos Ukrainian Roots Radio. I’m Peter Bejger. Memory. Commemoration. Responsibility. The seventy-fifth anniversary of the Babyn Yar tragedy
