Thursday, March 10, 2022

The cruel history of Holocaust memorial site Babi Yar in Ukraine

Lead story

A woman stands in front of a flower-strewn Holocaust memorial featuring a large menorah on a raised platform.

Editor's note:

After a Russian missile strike in the vicinity of the Babi Yar Holocaust memorial last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a tweet, “To the world: What is the point of saying ‘never again’ for 80 years, if the world stays silent when a bomb drops on the same site of Babyn Yar? At least 5 killed. History repeating …”

The site carries the weight of a tragic past: In 1941, Nazi forces and their Ukrainian collaborators massacred over 33,000 Jews in the ravines of Babi Yar. Many more were murdered over the next two years, including Romani people, psychiatric patients, prisoners of war and other civilians.

Holocaust historian Jeffrey Veidlinger notes that the site symbolizes the silence of Jewish victimhood in Ukraine, which Zelenksyy likely referenced in his tweet while appealing for action with his warning, “Nazism is born in silence.”

A portrait of Kalpana Jain, Senior Religion Ethics Editor at The Conversation U.S.
 

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Lac La Croix First Nation speaker Gordon Jourdain teaches Ojibwe storytelling to students at Oshki Ogimaag Charter School, Thursday Feb. 24, 2022, in Grand Portage, Minn. Jourdain believes it's his role to pass on ethical teachings to younger generations.

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Commentary and Analysis

To many Ukrainians, Jesus' mother has a special relationship with their country. By Kayla Harris for The Conversation

The denomination won't take schism for an answer. By Jacob Lupfer/Religion News Service

Over centuries, theory on just war has developed six main criteria for assessing conflicts. By Valerie Morkevicius for The Conversation

The 'Spiritual But Not Religious' are embracing  different forms of spirituality – skateboarding may be one of them. By Terry Shoemaker for The Conversation

 
Dancers perform the traditional "Diablada," or Dance of the Devils, during Carnival on Oruro, Bolivia. There are people dancing in costumes while multicolored confetti falls from above.

Dancers perform the traditional "Diablada," or Dance of the Devils, during Carnival in Oruro, Bolivia, Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022. The festival features folk dances, costumes, crafts and music, one of the country's largest tourist attractions and registered on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

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  • This Week in Religion is a publication of the Global Religion Journalism Initiative, a collaboration among the Religion News Service, The Associated Press and The Conversation U.S.
  • The three news organizations work to improve general understanding and analyze the significance of developments in the world of faith.
 
 

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