09.17.05
History Come to Life
(Note: Originally written on 1 Dec, 2004)
During World War II, before the concentration camps became commonplace and after Hitler began his push into Russia, the city of Kiev was occupied by the Nazis. Troops would line citizens up and shoot them. In one day over 330,000 citizens of this beautiful city were shot and killed. That was one lynchpin episode that led to the creation of more concentration camps. So inefficient was the method of murdering people on that cold day in Kiev, Ukraine that Hitler and his advisors began drawing up plans for more efficient and effective ways of murdering everyone they didn’t like.
This little bit of history can be looked up in any textbook or history website. What made it come home for me was the guided tour my Ukranian co-worker gave me through a souvenir picture book of Kiev. The squiggly and square Cyrillic characters under the pictures captivated me. I kept sneaking glances at them, trying to figure out their meaning. The pictures were of beautiful old Orthodox and Catholic churches, squares, parks and paths along the river.
My co-worker pointed to one picture of a huge monument of a woman holding a sword upright, with a museum in her base. In her Russian accent, Sasha explained that everyone thought this monument was ugly and told the story of why this symbol of Mother Ukraine had been built on that particular spot. 330,000 people died on or near there at the hands of Hitler’s henchmen and, ugly or not, this monument with an elevator in her sword gives testimony to the horrors of that day and the days that followed.
EvanRobinson said,
September 17, 2005 at 10:41 am
My mother’s family came from Kiev, where her father’s family were grocers. Her mother and father emigrated independently to New York / New Jersey in the first decade of the 1900s. They were teenagers, coming to the US to join other relatives who had already left Russia. Other members of the family came until the mid 20’s. Anyone who didn’t leave by then never did. Even the original family name was lost (it’s thought to have been changed to something approximating “Rudiiak” which is thought to have been the village an uncle came from). My grandparents were named “Roman” and the family joke was that it was short for “Romanov”.
I’ve always figured that some of those relatives were in Babi Yar, but it’s entirely possible that they were killed in the city instead.
Thanks for the history.
Stephanie said,
September 17, 2005 at 10:47 am
Hi Evan!
Thanks for adding this personal tidbit about your family. The discussion in my Historian’s Craft class has been, “what is history?” To which I maintain and many classmates agree, it is people’s stories. Stories like this one which make it personal and interesting.