Volodymyr Zelenskyy is fighting for respect, diversity, and democracy.

Many were moved by the speech that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made during the night before Russia attacked Ukraine. He used plain words to defend freedom in his country and to fight for respect, diversity, and democracy.

Like many people all over the world at this time, we feel helpless and want to support the Ukrainian people. One option is to participate in our #everynamecounts project. We are building a digital monument to the victims of Nazism – they include hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians whose fates are documented in our archives.

Help us to preserve historical evidence in digital format and make it accessible to the world. On March 1, the Russian army bombed a television tower in the immediate vicinity of the Babi Yar Holocaust memorial. “For any normal person who knows our history, world history, Babi Yar is a special part of Kyiv,” commented Zelenskyy after the attack.

 

Preserving the culture of remembrance for Ukraine

Starting next week, we will be providing documents about Ukrainians who were persecuted by the Nazis for our #everynamecounts crowdsourcing project. We invite all our volunteers to index these documents as a way of upholding part of the culture of remembrance for Ukraine.

#everynamecounts is an initiative of the Arolsen Archives that aims to build a digital memorial to the victims of Nazi persecution. So future generations can remember their names and identities. But #everynamecounts is about society today, too – because by looking at the past, we can see where discrimination, racism, and antisemitism can take us.

The speech made by the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on February 23, 2022 in Russian

"Today, I initiated a phone call with the president of the Russian Federation. The result was silence. Although there should really be silence in the Donbas. This is why I want to appeal today to all the citizens of Russia. Not as president. I am appealing to Russian citizens as a citizen of Ukraine. We are separated by more than 2,000 kilometers of a shared border. Today, your forces stand along that border, almost 200,000 soldiers and thousands of military units. Your leadership approved their step forward into the territory of another country. And this step could become the beginning of a large war on the European continent.

We are pleased to draw attention to the Munich Public Library’s overview of reliable sources and fact checkers for the current situation in Ukraine.

Over the coming days, we will be looking at the fates of Ukrainian victims of Nazism, such as Nadezhda Alexeyeva and Ivan Beliy from Kherson, a city now already captured by Russia.

 

Please donate to help survivors of Nazi persecution in Ukraine

The Arolsen Archives have joined the “Aid network for the survivors of Nazi persecution in Ukraine”. The current war in Ukraine has left many people in great need. Among those suffering are also the survivors of National Socialist persecution. They need our help now more than ever to ensure that they have access to vital basics such as warmth, food and medical care. But the reconstruction of their homes after the war must also be supported.

With this aim in mind, the Aid network for the survivors of Nazi persecution in Ukraine was founded in March 2022 on the initiative of the non-profit association KONTAKTE-KOHTAKTbI. It consists of about 30 associations, foundations, places of remembrance and memorial sites in Germany whose work is about coming to terms with the crimes of the Nazi era. Some of them maintain long-standing contacts with survivors of Nazi persecution, specialist colleagues and cooperation partners in Ukraine. Participants of the network are, among others, the Central Welfare Board of Jews in Germany (ZWST), the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma and the EVZ (remembrance, responsibility and future) foundation.

Help the survivors of Nazi persecution in Ukraine with your donation!

Donations account: Berliner Volksbank
Recipient: Kontakte-Kontakty
IBAN: DE59 1009 0000 2888 9620 02
BIC: BEVODEBB

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