Background
In June 1941, "Operation Barbarossa" began - the ground attack of the German army on the Soviet Union. This operation also marks the beginning of the final solution - the mass murder of the Jews in these areas, who make up more than a third of the victims of the Holocaust. Half a million more Jews fought as part of the Red Army and as partisans.Despite this, the story of the Soviet Jewry during the Holocaust and the war is not well known. We wish to address this absence and examine their fate both in the local context and the broader context of the Holocaust of European Jews, and to commemorate those communities that were destroyed between 1941-1944.
A mother protects her baby in their last moments. Ukraine, 1942
The war and the murder sites in the eastern territories
First let's watch a video clip of a dynamic map, presenting key stages of the path leading to the mass murder of the Jews in the eastern territories and the Soviet Union, starting with the outbreak of war, "Operation Barbarossa":
The German invasion of the Soviet Union, the Einsatzgruppen units and finally, the layout of the mass shooting sites.
Watch the dynamic map video on the next page.
The fate of the the Soviet Jewry during the Holocaust
During the invasion of the German army into the territories of the Soviet Union and the East, the systematic persecution of the Jews began in all those occupied areas. The persecution was expressed in decrees, in some cases the establishment of ghettos and finally, mass murder at shooting sites.During the activity we will see testimonies of those who survived and those who witnessed the murders. These testimonies are part of a series of films, created by the director Boris Maftzir, in which he sought to trace the unknown past of the Holocaust in the USSR.
Clara and Joseph Helf. Victims from Babi Yar. 1941
part three
Click on the 'Aftermath' button and watch the video. Then scan the QR code and answer the survey.
The "Mourning Mother" monument, In memory of the Jewish victims from Poltava village, Ukraine.
Instructions page
part one
1 Click on the 'Testimonial Videos' button and watch
two testimonies of your choice.
2 Choose one section from the testimonies that spoke to you
and then present it to the class/group.
part two
Click on the 'Interactive Map' button, which includes stories
of the victims and the sites of murder. Choose one character you connected with and present it to the class/group.
