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Babi Yar – 2 – Mass Massacre in Kiev

Istanbul Institute of
Russian and Sovietic Studies

“Boys climbed on trees, to see what was happening.  And they fell down vomitting:  they saw it.  We suddenly realized that there was a mass massacre that was happening there”

“Before the Nazi occupation of Kiev the housekeepers were known as the spies of the KGB.  After the Nazi occupation they all suddenly converted to Nazi spies.  One of them was coming to our house and saying to my mother – who was looking as Jewish because she had a big nose – “Madam, you should go to Babi Yar, why don’t you go to Babi Yar?” Continue reading “Babi Yar – 2 – Mass Massacre in Kiev”

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Babi Yar – 1 – History of Jews in Kiev

Istanbul Institute of
Russian and Sovietic Studies

The interview in the video above was made in the winter of 2017 with Yelena Lugovaya, Professor of History, Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in Kiev, the last survivor of Babi Yar. Her granddaughter, our Kiev representative and Arsenal Art Gallery curator Alisa Lozhkina made the simultaneous translation of the speech.

The testimony of Prof Lugovaya is to be compared with that of a Karaite Judaist lady living at the same period of time in Istanbul. Kiev versus Istanbul !

This part tells about the History of Jews in Kiev and the pre-War period to give our audiences a general knowledge prior to Babi Yar massacre. The aim of this study is to contrast the city lifes in Kiev and in Istanbul during the Second World War then to judge the neutrality policy of the Turkish government.

As a reminder, President İnönü was accused by the opponent party members in “killing the manhood of Turkish People” by not taking part in the War.