Officials, Jewish community leaders and survivors of the Nazi massacre of thousands of Jews at Babyn Yar paid tribute to the victims Sept. 29 in ceremonies near the ravine where the killings took place 62 years ago.
m 0pt”>(AP) Officials, Jewish community leaders and survivors of the Nazi massacre of thousands of Jews at Babyn Yar paid tribute to the victims Sept. 29 in ceremonies near the ravine where the killings took place 62 years ago.
President Leonid Kuchma bowed his head during a moment of silence, and government officials laid flowers at a monument to the dead near the ravine in Kyiv.
Later in the day, dozens of people, including elderly Babyn Yar survivors and representatives of Jewish groups, attended a memorial ceremony.
The massacre began in late September 1941 when Nazi forces occupying Kyiv ordered its Jews to gather, bringing their warm clothes and valuables – as if they were to be taken elsewhere. The Jews were then marched to the brink of the steep Babyn Yar ravine and shot.
More than 33,000 Jews were killed over just a few days. Altogether, between 100,000 and 200,000 people – including non-Jews – are believed to have been killed at Babyn Yar.
