On the eighty-fourth anniversary of the beginning of the mass shootings of Jews in Dnipro by Nazi occupiers, a ceremony was held to honor the memory of the innocent victims of the Nazi genocide at the site of the first mass shooting in October 1941.
The ceremony took place at the monument erected by the Dnipro Jewish Community at the site of the mass shootings in Student Park (formerly Gagarin Park). The event began with speeches by Dnipro’s Chief Rabbi Shmuel Kaminezki, respected community member Itzhak Friedman, Director of the Dnipro Jewish Community Zelig Brez, Advisor to the Mayor of Dnipro Oleg Rostovtsev, and Dr. Iryna Radchenko, Director of the “Memory of the Jewish People and the Holocaust in Ukraine” Museum.
Following the speeches, which emphasized the importance of preserving historical memory, a candle-lighting ceremony was held in memory of the innocent victims of the Hitlerite genocide. This was followed by the recitation of the memorial prayer “El Male Rachamim” by Rabbi Reuven Kaminezki.
“The Dnipro Jewish Community does a great deal to preserve historical memory and to care for those who, like me, have the recognized status of ‘Holocaust victim,'” said Oleksandr Kolomensky, a congregant of the Golden Rose Synagogue. “Very few of us remain, and not all can come to such ceremonies, so I was very glad for the opportunity to express my most sincere gratitude to the united and cohesive Dnipro Jewish Community and its Chief Rabbi, Shmuel Kaminezki.”
