Memorializing Babyn Yar : Politics of Memory and Commemoration of the Holocaust in Ukraine

Abstract: Recently in the West, interest in the memory of the Holocaust considered as a commonly shared dark past has increased. In Ukraine the commemoration of the Holocaust is affected by the ongoing nation-building process, with a focus on the collective memories of the Holodomor (the Famine of 1932-1933) and the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN). At the core of the debates around the Holocaust remembrance lies the memorialization of Babyn Yar, a multilayered memory site where Jewish and non-Jewish collective memories compete. Public and political actors vie for its memorial space in order to promote their own views through recognition of their respective tragedies. The memorialization and landscape of Babyn Yar is therefore transformed together with changes in the memory politics of the Holocaust. This thesis studies the contemporary politics of memory and commemoration of the Holocaust in Ukraine with a focus on Babyn Yar and its memorial objects. Through the illustrations of the memory site this project analyzes the memorial space and grounds and explores the struggles over the collective memories in Ukraine.