Drobitsky Yar
Encyclopedia
Drobytsky Yar is a ravine 8–12 km south east from Kharkiv
, Ukraine
. In December 1941, Nazi troops invading the Soviet Union
began killing local inhabitants over the following year. At the end of this period, some 16,000 people, mainly Jews were killed. Notably on December 15, 1941, when the temperature was −15 degrees Celsius (+5 °F), ca. 15,000 Jews were shot. Nazis also executed Russia
ns, Ukrainians
and Armenia
ns at this site.
At a meeting in late August 2001, the Kharkiv Oblast
administration decided to resume the construction of the memorial. The oblast authorities supervised the construction process. The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine
allotted 600,000 hryvnas for the construction. Contributions have also been made by city and oblast
administrations, as well as by sponsors.
On December 13, 2002, the President of Ukraine
, Leonid Kuchma
, opened the memorial.
The main part of the memorial is a monument symbolizing a synagogue
with the Ten Commandments
between its columns; most notably: "Do not kill". The memorial begins with a monument stylized under a Jewish menorah. A road leads from a black menorah to a white main building of the complex. Thousands of Kharkiv
Jews took their last steps along it in 1941-1942. These dates are found on the wall of the main arched building. Underground is a hall of memory; the wall will bear the names of the victims who are known to have died.
The territory includes two burials area. One trench is 100m long and the other is 60m. The Kharkiv
archives contain data on fifteen thousand victims. However, the "Drobytsky Yar" foundation considers the number of dead to be closer to thirty thousand.
180 tons of a Zhytomyr
granite
was used in the construction of the memorial. This is the same material that was used for Lenin's Mausoleum. Due to the granite
's particular qualities (it has reddish veins), the stones lying at the menorah's foot seem to bleed.
As of 2006 the names of 4,300 of the 16,000 victims were etched on an underground memorial wall, illuminated by candlelight, in a room called "Room of Tragedy".
commemorated the 60th anniversary of the Drobytsky Yar tragedy. Excursions to the ravine had already been held before, but the official opening was on January 27. Six candles were lit in memory of the six million Jews, who died in the Holocaust.
Kharkiv
Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. In December 1941, Nazi troops invading the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
began killing local inhabitants over the following year. At the end of this period, some 16,000 people, mainly Jews were killed. Notably on December 15, 1941, when the temperature was −15 degrees Celsius (+5 °F), ca. 15,000 Jews were shot. Nazis also executed Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
ns, Ukrainians
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
and Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
ns at this site.
Memorial
In the beginning of the 1990s, a competition was held for the best design of the memorial to immortalize the thousands of citizens who perished from hands of the Nazis. Twenty-nine designs were submitted. The winner was the architect A. Leibfreid. The construction of the complex lasted several years however it was suspended due to the lack of funds. The memorial is located at 49°56'5.23"N 36°26'55.36"E.At a meeting in late August 2001, the Kharkiv Oblast
Kharkiv Oblast
Kharkiv Oblast is an oblast in eastern Ukraine. The oblast borders Russia to the north, Luhansk Oblast to the east, Donetsk Oblast to the south-east, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast to the south-west, Poltava Oblast to the west and Sumy Oblast to the north-west...
administration decided to resume the construction of the memorial. The oblast authorities supervised the construction process. The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
allotted 600,000 hryvnas for the construction. Contributions have also been made by city and oblast
Oblast
Oblast is a type of administrative division in Slavic countries, including some countries of the former Soviet Union. The word "oblast" is a loanword in English, but it is nevertheless often translated as "area", "zone", "province", or "region"...
administrations, as well as by sponsors.
On December 13, 2002, the President of Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, Leonid Kuchma
Leonid Kuchma
Leonid Danylovych Kuchma was the second President of independent Ukraine from 19 July 1994, to 23 January 2005. Kuchma took office after winning the 1994 presidential election against his rival, incumbent Leonid Kravchuk...
, opened the memorial.
The main part of the memorial is a monument symbolizing a synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
with the Ten Commandments
Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue , are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship, which play a fundamental role in Judaism and most forms of Christianity. They include instructions to worship only God and to keep the Sabbath, and prohibitions against idolatry,...
between its columns; most notably: "Do not kill". The memorial begins with a monument stylized under a Jewish menorah. A road leads from a black menorah to a white main building of the complex. Thousands of Kharkiv
Kharkiv
Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...
Jews took their last steps along it in 1941-1942. These dates are found on the wall of the main arched building. Underground is a hall of memory; the wall will bear the names of the victims who are known to have died.
The territory includes two burials area. One trench is 100m long and the other is 60m. The Kharkiv
Kharkiv
Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...
archives contain data on fifteen thousand victims. However, the "Drobytsky Yar" foundation considers the number of dead to be closer to thirty thousand.
180 tons of a Zhytomyr
Zhytomyr
Zhytomyr is a city in the North of the western half of Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Zhytomyr Oblast , as well as the administrative center of the surrounding Zhytomyr Raion...
granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
was used in the construction of the memorial. This is the same material that was used for Lenin's Mausoleum. Due to the granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
's particular qualities (it has reddish veins), the stones lying at the menorah's foot seem to bleed.
As of 2006 the names of 4,300 of the 16,000 victims were etched on an underground memorial wall, illuminated by candlelight, in a room called "Room of Tragedy".
Museum
On January 27, 2002, a new exposition in the Kharkiv City Holocaust Museum was officially opened. The exposition was created in December 2001, when KharkivKharkiv
Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...
commemorated the 60th anniversary of the Drobytsky Yar tragedy. Excursions to the ravine had already been held before, but the official opening was on January 27. Six candles were lit in memory of the six million Jews, who died in the Holocaust.