A large-scale project “The Righteous People of My City” is planned to launch in Ukraine to commemorate the memory of the saviours of Jews during the Holocaust, the president of the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine (JCU), Boris Lozhkin, has said on his Facebook page.
“The greatest example of cruelty in the history of mankind to the whole nation was accompanied at the same time by numerous examples of personal heroism by people who, at risk to their own lives and the lives of their families, helped the Jews who were persecuted everywhere and from every place. According to the National Yad Vashem Museum information, there are more than 2,600 Righteous Among the Nations in Ukraine. The Institute of History of Ukraine of the NASU, referring to Yad Vashem employees, says that the actual number exceeds 25,000. The work to establish the facts of saving and awarding the title of the Righteous among Nations is still ongoing. Assistance in this work is part of our project,” Lozhkin said.
According to Lozhkin, the JCU turned to the mayors and local councils of most large cities of Ukraine with a proposal to name a new street or square (or to rename the existing ones) after one of the Righteous Among the Nations, a native of this city, and to place a corresponding memorable sign there.
We expect the mayors of Ukrainian cities to actively join the project. Ukraine should know its heroes, about whose existence it did not even guess,” the JCU president noted.
In addition to renaming the streets, it is also planned to publish a book with stories about saving the Jews, record a series of interviews with participants in the events and produce a documentary. There will also be direct support for the surviving Righteous in the form of a special pension. The project is designed to contribute to the education of youth, teach interethnic and racial tolerance, and strengthen ties between the global Jewish community and the Ukrainian people.
According to the reports, the Jewish Confederation of Ukraine, which has been headed by Boris Lozhkin since May 2018, announced the launch of four new projects. In particular, the project of a single Jewish information portal has been presented, which will offer insight into the life of Ukrainian Jews and provide users with access to useful services.