Contested History: Professor Paul Robert Magocsi on Babyn Yar and Memorialization
Babyn Yar stands as an open wound in the landscape of Ukrainian memory. A ravine outside Kyiv, it witnessed one of the most horrific massacres of World War II, where tens of thousands, mostly Jews but alsoRoma, and Ukrainians, were brutally murdered by German forces. Yet, despite its historical significance, Babyn Yar has never fully entered the national canon of memorial sites like Auschwitz or Dachau. The process of transforming it into a place of collective remembrance has been fraught with challenges and shaped by Ukraine's turbulent politics, its evolving relationship with the Jewish community, and the legacy of Soviet control.
These complexities were the focus of a recent discussion hosted by the Centre for European and Eurasian Studies (CEES) at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy on September 26th, 2024. The event brought together Professor Paul Robert Magocsi, Chair of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Toronto and editor of Babyn Yar: History and Memory, and Professor Robert Austin, Associate Director of CEES , who moderated the conversation.
Magocsi, in his opening remarks, emphasized that Babyn Yar is more than a symbol of the atrocities committed in September 1941; it has become a site of contention, where the efforts at memorialization are themselves complex and politically charged. Babyn Yar: History and Memory, he explained, offers an encyclopedic overview of the ravine’s legacy as the location of multiple tragedies—while also serving as a foundation for ongoing national debates about how the site should be remembered. The book, which interweaves history, art, and culture, highlights how competing memories of Babyn Yar have prevented it from being fully integrated into Ukraine’s national historical narrative.
A key in the discussion was the tension surrounding Ukraine’s memorialization efforts. Magosci first highlighted the relative lack consensus on what the memorial should be and what its focus should be. Different proposals have stressed that the memorial should only focus on the massacre, whereas others have emphasized the construction of a national monument that would represent the broader history of Jews in Ukraine. The second issue that was highlighted by Austin was regarding funding and the involvement of oligarchs in the creation of a common narrative of Babyn Yar. These two issues have made the future of Babyn Yar’s memorialization very unclear and this has only been complicated by the war in Ukraine nearing its third year.
The conversation was followed by a reception, where lingering questions surrounding the fate of Babyn Yar’s memorialization were discussed. Professor Magocsi and Professor Austin spoke at length with attendees and shared further thoughts on the current projects that have been developed using Babyn Yar: History and Memory as a foundation.
