Documentation of Ukrainians who saved Jews

Press Release
3 May 2010

A Documentation of Ukrainians
who rescued Jews during the Holocaust

Approached by Leonid Finberg of the Center for Studies of the History and Culture of East European Jews, National University of “Kyiv-Mohyla Academy”, the UCRDC has agreed to collaborate on a project on Ukrainian-Jewish relations. Titled “I am my brother’s keeper”, the project involves both a research element and a public awareness campaign.

The UCRDC will focus on identifying and documenting cases that have a Canadian connection, and will undertake research in Canada to review what is already known, and covered by the media; locate and organize materials from the UCRDC archives and oral history collection; and conduct interviews in Canada regarding Ukrainians who hid or saved Jews during World War II.

The project has the support of the Ukrainian Jewish Encounter Initiative (UJEI), a privately organized, multinational initiative whose goal is to deepen scholarly and broader public understanding of the breadth, complexity, and diversity of Ukrainian-Jewish relations, with a view to the future. Canadians, including notably Jim Temerty, are playing an important role in the development and leadership of this initiative.

Once a number of significant cases have been documented, UJEI, UCRDC, and the Center for Studies of the History and Culture of East European Jews in Kyiv will collaboratively organize events to raise awareness about these exceptional people and those saved by them.

The UCRDC would welcome any information that might be helpful in accomplishing this task – in particular, suggestions regarding people who should be interviewed in connection with their own experience or that of a family member.

Orest Zakydalsky, Researcher

Ukrainian Canadian Research and Documentation Centre
620 Spadina Ave.
Toronto, ON
M5S 2H4

Email – office@ucrdc.org
Tel – 416-966-1819 (office)