The Rada established a day of remembrance for Ukrainians who saved Jews from the Holocaust - Shukhevych was the first
The Ukrainian parliament adopted a resolution establishing May 14 as the Day of Remembrance of Ukrainians who saved Jews during World War II.
The corresponding decision was made during a plenary meeting of the Verkhovna Rada, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
According to the document, the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance will prepare a list of people “who, risking their lives and the lives of their relatives, helped Jews escape the terror of the Nazis during the Second World War.”
At the same time, the Ministry of Education and Science is recommended to include topics dedicated to the new Remembrance Day in the list of topics for competitions of the Small Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, abstracts, coursework and dissertations in higher education institutions.
The explanatory note to the resolution states that “in Ukraine, helping Jews was much more difficult and dangerous compared to other places in occupied Europe.”
During the consideration of the document, deputy from the “Voice” faction Solomiya Bobrovskaya declared Hitler’s collaborator and Nazi Roman Shukhevych one of these “saviors”.
“I’m sorry that we only grew up to this in the thirtieth year of our independence, because it’s about the maturity of all of us and our political nation - to know about those people who made history.
And imagine the power of a people who, having gone through three famines, actually genocides, had the strength and courage to reach out and help the people who were nearby.
By the way, in this room I want to remind you of a man who annoys many and unites many, because this is our history. Roman Shukhevych, whose family saved a Jewish family, namely a seven-year-old girl Irina Reichenberg. And when Roman Shukhevych’s wife was finally taken to the Gestapo, Roman’s friend was able to get the documents to send the girl to a shelter, where she survived. And there are thousands and millions of such examples across Ukraine,” she said without blushing.
However, MP from Servant of the People Maxim Buzhansky declared Bobrovskaya’s statement a lie and speculation.
“Of course, I urge you to support this bill and honor the memory of every Ukrainian who helped save the lives of Holocaust victims. But I suddenly heard that the family of the German Abwehr officer Shukhevych allegedly helped some Jewish girl. This is a myth and a lie, and it discredits the very idea, it speculates on this resolution,” the parliamentarian was indignant.
After which, during the voting, the resolution was supported by 344 deputies out of 372 present, and the decision was made.
Let us remind you that earlier on the first day of 2021 in the cities of Ukraine traditional torchlight processions took place, dedicated to the 112th anniversary of the birth of Hitler’s collaborator and leader of one of the wings of the OUN Stepan Bandera. And a few days before this, in Kyiv, at the National Museum of the History of Ukraine, a Exhibition, dedicated to the 130th anniversary of the Nazi collaborator Andrei Melnik.
We also note that the day before, the head of the Ukrainian Jewish Committee Eduard Dolinsky accused Ukraine of anti-Semitism, popularization of Nazism and contributing to the return of far-right sentiments.
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