“We knew by then that none of our relatives in Ukraine Survived:” Soviet Jewish Experiences of the Holocaust

The Holocaust in the East, or the “Holocaust by Bullets” as scholars have since dubbed it, transpired differently. Nazi killing squads murdered Soviet Jews in ravines, rivers, and cemeteries as opposed to in major killing centers like Auschwitz. Often, local collaborators joined. Sometimes, neighbors murdered neighbors. The differences between the Holocaust in Poland and Soviet territory, however, transcend the nature of killing. Soviet Jewish experiences of survival and resistance also varied tremendously from their Central and Western European counterparts. Some Soviet Jews survived via evacuation Eastward, to places like Tashkent. Many joined partisan brigades, hid in forests and catacombs, or fought with the Red Army to liberate Europe and exact retribution for their murdered family members. This presentation will give an introductory overview of Soviet Jewish experiences during the Holocaust.

Russian translation will be provided for our Russian-speaking community.