View source for Drobytsky Yar

{{Short description|Ravine and Holocaust site in Kharkiv, Ukraine}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2015}}
{{Refimprove|date=April 2010}}
{{Expand Indonesian}}
{{Infobox Holocaust event
|name = Drobytsky Yar
|image = Drobitskiy znak.jpg
|caption = Memorial entrance sign
|location = [[Kharkiv]], Ukraine
|incident_type = Mass murder
|victims = 16,000–30,000 civilians{{Infobox historic site |embed = yes |designation1 = UKRAINE LOCAL |designation1_offname = {{Lang|uk|Меморіальний комплекс «Дробицький Яр»}} (''Drobytskyi Yar memorial complex'') |designation1_type = History, Monumental Art |designation1_number = 2656-Ха}}
}}
'''Drobytsky Yar''' is a ravine in [[Kharkiv]], Ukraine and the site of [[Nazi]] massacres during [[the Holocaust in Ukraine]]. Starting in October 1941, Nazi troops occupied Kharkiv and began preparations for the mass-murder of the local population. Over the following months, members of the [[Einsatzgruppen]] murdered an estimated 16,000{{ndash}}30,000 local residents, mainly [[Jew]]s. Notably on 15 December 1941, when the temperature was {{convert|−15|C}}, around 15,000 Jews were shot. Children were thrown into pits alive, to save bullets, in the expectation that they would quickly freeze to death.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dt.ua/3000/3150/55411/ |title=Трагедія, про яку дехто не дуже хотів знати. Геннадій КАРПЮК &#124; Історія &#124; Людина |access-date=2013-01-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081209085420/http://www.dt.ua/3000/3150/55411/ |archive-date=December 9, 2008 }}</ref> The site's menorah monument was allegedly damaged by Russia on March 26, 2022 in an artillery exchange during the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine|invasion of Ukraine]].<ref name=menorah>{{cite news|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/ukraine-says-holocaust-memorial-smashed-in-russian-strikes-near-kharkiv/|title=Ukraine says Holocaust memorial smashed in Russian strikes near Kharkiv|publisher=Times of Israel|date=March 26, 2022|accessdate=March 26, 2022}}</ref>

==Memorial==
In the beginning of the 1990s, a competition was held for the best design of the memorial to immortalize the thousands of citizens murdered by the [[Nazi]]s. Twenty-nine designs were submitted. The winner was the architect [[A. Leibfreid]]. The construction of the complex lasted several years however it was suspended due to the lack of funds.

At a meeting in late August 2001, the [[Kharkiv Oblast]] administration decided to resume the construction of the memorial. The oblast authorities supervised the construction process. The Cabinet of Ministers of [[Ukraine]] allotted 600,000 [[hryven]]s for the construction. Contributions have also been made by city and [[oblast]] administrations, as well as by sponsors.{{Citation needed|date=July 2022}}
[[File:Drobitskiy menora.jpg|thumb|right|The Drobytsky [[Menorah (Temple)|Menorah]], which was smashed by Russian military forces in March 2022]]
On 13 December 2002 the President of [[Ukraine]], [[Leonid Kuchma]], opened the memorial.

The main part of the memorial is a monument symbolizing a [[synagogue]], with the [[Ten Commandments]] between its columns; most notably: "Do not kill". The memorial begins with a monument stylized under a Jewish [[Menorah (Temple)|menorah]]. A road leads from a black [[Menorah (Temple)|menorah]] to a white main building of the complex. Thousands of [[Kharkiv]] [[History of the Jews in Ukraine|Jew]]s took their last steps along it in 1941/1942. These dates are found on the wall of the main arched building. Underground is a hall of memory; the wall will bear the names of known victims.

The site includes two burials area. One trench is 100&nbsp;m long and the other is 60&nbsp;m. The [[Kharkiv]] archives contain data on fifteen thousand victims. However, the "Drobytsky Yar" foundation considers the number of victims to be closer to thirty thousand.

The memorial was constructed from [[Zhytomyr]] [[granite]], which was the same material used for [[Lenin's Mausoleum]]. Due to the granite's reddish color, the stones lying at the [[Menorah (Temple)|menorah]]'s foot seem to bleed.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bleeding Stones Lay at Menorah's Foot |publisher=[[Jewish Observer]] |date=December 2002 |url=http://www.jewukr.org/observer/jo24_43/p0204_e.html |archive-date=11 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070911235659/http://www.jewukr.org/observer/jo24_43/p0204_e.html }}</ref>

As of 2006 the names of 4,300 of the 16,000 victims were etched on an underground memorial wall, illuminated by candlelight, in a room called "Room of Tragedy".<ref>{{cite news|publisher=Orlando Sentinel|url=http://www.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment/orl-greg-dawson-travels-to-ukraine-071909,0,85243.story|author=Greg Dawson|title=A return to Ukraine|year=2009}}</ref>

On 26 March 2022 it was reported that Russian artillery fire had damaged the menorah sculpture.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lonas |first=Lexi |date=2022-03-26 |title=Russian military damages Holocaust memorial near city of Kharkiv |url=https://thehill.com/policy/international/599865-russian-military-damages-holocaust-memorial-near-city-of-kharkiv |access-date=2022-03-26 |website=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=#Russia continues to attack not only the civilian population of #Ukraine but also the places of remembrance. Russians shelled another Holocaust memorial. |publisher=[[Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center]] |via=[[Twitter]] |url=https://twitter.com/babynyarhmc/status/1507683460839882752 |access-date=2022-03-26 |archive-date=29 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220329012407/https://twitter.com/babynyarhmc/status/1507683460839882752 |language=en}}</ref> This allegation was made by Ukrainian government officials, then relayed by the [[Embassy of Ukraine, Tel Aviv|Ukrainian embassy in Israel]] and the Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine [[Michael Brodsky (diplomat)|Michael Brodsky]].<ref name=menorah />

==Museum==
On 27 January 2002, a new exposition in the {{ill|Kharkiv Holocaust Museum|uk|Харківський музей Голокосту}} was officially opened. The exposition was created in December 2001, when [[Kharkiv]] commemorated the 60th anniversary of the Drobytsky Yar massacre. Excursions to the ravine had already been held before, but the official opening was on 27 January, the anniversary of the [[Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp]]'s 1945 liberation (later designated [[International Holocaust Remembrance Day]]). Six candles were lit in memory of the six million Jews murdered in the [[Holocaust]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Харьковский музей Холокоста |url=http://holocaustmuseum.pochta.org/index.html |archive-date=8 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071008082542/http://holocaustmuseum.pochta.org/index.html |language=ru }}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Memorial Sign - Drobytsky Yar Holocaust Memorial - Outside Kharkiv (Kharkov) - Ukraine (30162902498).jpg|Memorial sign
File:Killing Fields - Drobytsky Yar Holocaust Memorial - Outside Kharkiv (Kharkov) - Ukraine - 02 (43982791882).jpg|Killing fields (the sign reads 'Burial place')
File:Memorial Stone - Drobytsky Yar Holocaust Memorial - Outside Kharkiv (Kharkov) - Ukraine (43982786902).jpg|Memorial stone
File:Original Soviet Monument (at Left) with Killing Site - Drobytsky Yar Holocaust Memorial - Outside Kharkiv (Kharkov) - Ukraine (29094013637).jpg|Original Soviet monument (on the left) on the killing site
File:Killing Site with Memorial Stone - Drobytsky Yar Holocaust Memorial - Outside Kharkiv (Kharkov) - Ukraine (30162905688).jpg|Killing site with memorial stone
File:Facade of Main Memorial - Drobytsky Yar Holocaust Memorial - Outside Kharkiv (Kharkov) - Ukraine - 03 (42222134570).jpg|Facade of main memorial
File:Facade of Main Memorial - Drobytsky Yar Holocaust Memorial - Outside Kharkiv (Kharkov) - Ukraine - 01 (30162909378).jpg|Facade of main memorial
File:Distant View of Main Monument - Drobytsky Yar Holocaust Memorial - Outside Kharkiv (Kharkov) - Ukraine (30162910018).jpg|Distant view of main memorial
File:Panorama of Killing Site with Memorial Stone - Drobytsky Yar Holocaust Memorial - Outside Kharkiv (Kharkov) - Ukraine (30162903628).jpg|Panorama of killing site with memorial stone
File:Menorah Monument - Drobytsky Yar Holocaust Memorial - Outside Kharkiv (Kharkov) - Ukraine - 01 (44031359141).jpg|Menorah monument
File:Interior of Memorial - Drobytsky Yar Holocaust Memorial - Outside Kharkiv (Kharkov) - Ukraine - 01 (30162912898).jpg|The "room of tragedy" with names of victims
File:Detail of Jewish Star on Padded Jacket - Drobytsky Yar Holocaust Memorial - Outside Kharkiv (Kharkov) - Ukraine (30162914228).jpg|Detail of Jewish star on padded jacket
</gallery>

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
{{commons category|Drobytsky Yar memorial}}
* [http://www.drobytskyyar.org/ Official website of the memorial complex "Drobitsky Yar"]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20071008071218/http://www.kholokostmemorial.org/main.php Kharkov Charitable fund "to Victims of Holocaust in Drobitskiy Yar"]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070202171439/http://www.artukraine.com/historical/kharkivmon.htm Memorial information]

{{Coord|49|56|5.23|N|36|26|55.36|E|source:enwiki-plaintext-parser|display=title}}
{{Holocaust Ukraine}}
{{Massacres of Jews}}
{{Einsatzgruppen}}

[[Category:Kharkiv in World War II]]
[[Category:Jews and Judaism in Kharkiv]]
[[Category:Mass murder in 1941]]
[[Category:Geography of Kharkiv Oblast]]
[[Category:Massacres in Ukraine]]
[[Category:World War II sites in Ukraine]]
[[Category:World War II sites of Nazi Germany]]
[[Category:World War II memorials in Ukraine]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Kharkiv Oblast]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Kharkiv Oblast]]
[[Category:Holocaust locations in Ukraine]]
[[Category:Holocaust massacres and pogroms in Ukraine]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures destroyed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine]]