Letter received February 8th 2005

 

   "Official Pronouncement of Dr. Anatoly Podolsky, 

    Director of Ukrainian Centre for Holocaust Studies.

 

In December 2004 Mr. Hans Steinfeld from Norway was in Kiev. I had a meeting with him in our Centre, on which I spoke about research and pedagogic activities of Ukrainian Centre for Holocaust Studies aimed at preserving the memory about Holocaust in the Ukrainian society.

In the discourse it was mentioned that it is indeed important to be objective when looking into the history of Ukrainian-Jewish relationship in times of World War II. That is a very difficult issue. Relationship of two nations in the period considered (the Nazi occupation and Holocaust) was characterised not only by collaboration but also saving of Jews by Ukrainians. The most vivid examples are probably stories of metropolitan A.Sheptiskiy and A.Glagolev, orthodox priest.

 

I have not uttered a word about Polish Nazis in Lvov in our conversation. As a historian, I consider his claim about such Polish collaboration with the Nazi in Lvov a falsification.

 

Polish-Ukrainian-Jewish relationship in the years of Holocaust was ambiguous. And the thing to do is to research them honestly. In such context I would also like to mention that in Yad-Vashem Institute (Jerusalem) the absolute majority of trees to the Righteous Among the Nations is given to the Poles, Dutch and Ukrainians. About 3000 to the Poles and over 2000 to the Ukrainians.

___________________________________________

Ukrainian Center for Holocaust Studies

8 Kutuzova str., office 107, 01011, Kyiv, Ukraine

tel/fax: +38 044 285-90-30,

e-mail: uhcenter@binet.com.ua

Web: www.holocaust.kiev.ua"



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