Babi Yar

Babi Yar (Ukrainian: Бабин Яр) is a ravine in Kyiv, Ukraine. During the Holocaust, Nazi soldiers massacred 33,771 Jewish people at Babi Yar. This may have been the worst two-day mass murder of Jews in all of the Holocaust. Background Nazi Germany and other Axis countries occupied Kyiv on September 19, 1941. By September 26, the military governor and the Schutzstaffel (SS) and Police Leader had decided to kill all of the Jews in Kyiv. They said this would be revenge for German soldiers being attacked by some Jewish guerrilla fighters. The Nazis tricked the Jews into coming to Babi Yar by telling them they were going to be sent to another place to live. On 28 September 1941, they put up an order in the town. Part of it said: All [Jews] of the city of Kyiv and [nearby areas] must appear on Monday, September 29, by 8 o'clock in the morning at the corner of Mel'nikova and Dorohozhytska streets (near the Viis'kove cemetery). Bring documents, money and valuables, and also warm clothing, linen, etc. Any [Jews] who do not follow this order and are found elsewhere will be shot. Massacre Later, one of the soldiers in charge of the massacre would say: Although only [about] 5,000 to 6,000 Jews had been expected [to come] at first, more than 30,000 Jews arrived who, until the very moment of their execution, still believed in their resettlement, thanks to an extremely clever organization. On September 29 and 30, special units of the SS called Einsatzgruppen, and some local Ukrainians who supported the Nazis, took these people to the ravine at Babi Yar. They made them put all of their things in piles. They made them strip naked. The area was so crowded that by the time people heard gunshots, there was no way to escape. The Nazis took people ten at a time into the ravine, made them lay down, and shot them with machine guns. Between September 29 and 30, the Nazis killed 33,771 Jewish people at Babi Yar. The Nazis buried these people in a mass grave. People who had survived being shot were buried alive, along with the dead. Only 29 people survived and were able to escape. The murdered Jews' property was given to Nazi leaders in Kyiv. Other information Those killed were mostly or "primarily Jews, but also [non-Jewish] Ukrainians, Roma, Red Army prisoners of war, and others", according to media. Related pages Iași pogrom Kristallnacht Odessa massacre Jedwabne pogrom Rhineland massacres References