On the day of honoring the memory of the victims of the Holocaust, the Security Service of Ukraine opened archives regarding the memories of Kyiv residents about the shootings in Babyn Yar.
This is reported by UNN with reference to the Facebook page of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).
"Today, the whole world honors the memory of the victims of the Holocaust – one of the most terrible tragedies in history. Millions of innocent people were killed by the Nazis, and hundreds of thousands died in Babyn Yar. In the documents that are now stored in the SBU Archive, there are memories of Kyiv residents who lived near the place of terrible shootings," the SBU said.
It is noted that one of them is Maria Lutsenko, who lived on Melnikov Street (today — Ilyenko Street).
The mass execution of Jews lasted from September 25 to October 10, 1941.
"I saw people being stripped and shot on a cliff over a dungeon, children being thrown there without being shot. Once a teenager ran into our yard, covered in blood, asking for water. He fell into the ravine unharmed and after the shootings ended got out from under the corpses," her testimony reads.
She also told how the retreating Nazis destroyed evidence of crimes.
"In August 1943, they began to dig up corpses, put them mixed with firewood, doused them with fuel and burned them," the resident of Kyiv recalls.
The Holocaust was a turning point in history that prompted the world to say "never again." The UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 60/7, which rejected any denial of the Holocaust as a historical event. Its significance lies in the fact that it encourages you to remember past crimes and make sure that they do not happen again in the future.