Excerpts from speech by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the 80th anniversary of Babyn Yar tragedy
In this place, the Nazis shot more than a hundred thousand people. It is difficult to speak in this place. For thousands of years it has been occupied by silence. It is difficult to breathe in this place. Thousands of children took their last breath here. It is difficult to stand in this place. Thousands of bullets knocked those killed off the feet right here, in the Babyn Yar, which is permeated with pain and screaming, blood and death. A place that the Lord has forsaken forever, and the devil bypasses. This is such a place. Horrible crimes took place here 80 years ago.
Two days later, the quote: “All Jews of Kyiv” were ordered to come here. Allegedly to be sent by train to work in Germany. In fact, they were coming for the express train, which is headed for death. Documents and belongings were confiscated from the "passengers". They were undressed, driven with sticks to the edge of this ravine - to the abyss. And then - the lock sound. The machine-gun's deadly patter. And the first "cars" with innocent victims moved from this terrible "platform" in eternal darkness.
A Nazi plane was circling over the ravine day and night, the noise of which drowned out the shots. But it could not drown out the terrible moan, which, according to eyewitnesses, was heard over Babyn Yar for several more days, and the ground shook from the convulsions of those buried alive
How many were left to lie here forever? Nobody can tell exactly today. The Nuremberg trials mentioned the figure of about 100,000 people. Today, new research says there were probably about two hundred thousand people. For the Nazis, these thousands did not matter, unlike all of us. Because every new thousand of victims is a new thousand of years of our pain. Although there is hardly any time that can soothe it.
To a man who shoots and believes he is doing the right thing. To a man who saves because he knows he is doing the right thing. To every man who has both black and white. The question is: what exactly will prevail one day?
Among those whose stories are known, 2659 Ukrainians hold this title today. We are proud of each of them. And we will always be a state where the main value is a person, not an ideology. This is proof of the unity of our views. A test for like-minded people. In my opinion, we have passed it successfully.
There were many statements, many promises, presentations, concepts, and in total - many years without a decent memorial complex in this place. I am happy that after so many arguments, obstacles, different "buts", we finally started moving. The state together with the public, the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center, investors, historians, scientists, architects and many other experts have begun the process when the Babyn Yar Memorial Complex and National Historical and Memorial Reserve will finally be established.
Unfortunately, it will not help the dead here, but it will help the living - those who need to know about it. Remember it. Pass it on to children and grandchildren. So that when we get to the next round of the spiral of civilizational development, we have no crossroads. So that we all have one path - the path of human, which we will all choose with deep respect for the memory of all the victims of Babyn Yar, the Holocaust, the Second - and I believe - the last world war. For the peaceful and happy future of our children. For the peaceful and happy future of our children's children… Of all future generations on the planet Earth.