Today, the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) and worldwide Ukrainians join Ukraine in honoring the memory of Ukraine’s Righteous Among the Nations, who risked their lives during the Holocaust to save innocent Jewish victims of the murderous Nazi regime doomed to death.
The Holocaust, which took the lives of at least 6 million Jews, among whom nearly 1.5 million were Jews from Ukraine, remains one of the most appalling crimes committed on European soil and one of the most terrible consequences of the Second World War.
We pray for the innocent lives taken by the Nazis, who cultivated hatred, racism, and xenophobia. We pay tribute to those who risked everything, including their own lives, to save the innocent. The 27,000 Righteous Among the Nations count over 2,600 individuals from Ukraine. These people became symbols and pillars of hope, humanity, and salvation during one of the darkest periods of history.
To honor their brave deeds, in 2021, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted a Resolution, “On Honoring the Memory of Ukrainians Who Saved Jews during the Second World War,” and set May 14 as a respective annual memorial day.
Today, criminal Putin and his entourage are using propaganda, disinformation, and distortion of historical facts to promote Russian militarism and justify the Kremlin’s genocidal war of aggression against Ukraine. Hiding behind lies about alleged “Nazism” and “Nazis” in Ukraine, Russia has brought the worst Nazi practices to Ukraine. The massacres in Bucha and Izyum, as well as sadistic and inhumane atrocities committed by the Russian armed forces throughout the occupied territories of Ukraine, have shocked the world. 8 countries, including Canada, Ireland, Poland, and the Baltic states, have already officially recognized Russian atrocities in Ukraine as genocide.
“Honoring the memory of Ukraine’s Righteous Among the Nations, the world cannot say “Never again!” with any confidence, as long as evil and hatred in the form of Putinist Russia exists. The international community must join all possible efforts to stop this evil and help Ukrainians win this war for the independence of their country and the physical existence of their nation!” stated Paul Grod, UWC President.
