A new monument in memory of the victims of the Holocaust during WWII was recently inaugurated in the Ukrainian city of Verkhivtseve, located near Kamianske. The project was initiated by the Jewish community of neighboring Kamianske following new research that revealed the site of the mass shooting and burial of eighteen of the city’s Jews who were horrifically murdered by the Nazi regime.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by members of the Jewish community, the Chief Rabbi of Kamianske Levi Stambler, dignitaries and local officials. The Yizkor and Kaddish prayers were recited along with selected chapters from the book of psalms, and stones were placed at the foot of the monument, according to Jewish custom.

The city’s Jews were brutally murdered by the German army in November 1941 and buried together in a mass grave. The grave’s exact location wasn’t clear until recent research about the Holocaust in the Denieprotrosk region revealed the precise location.

“This is the first and only Holocaust memorial in the area,” said Rabbi Stambler. “Together with the dozens of community members who participated, we feel anguish and sorrow for the horrors our nation has endured. Yet, simultaneously, we also feel Jewish pride and a strong feeling of commitment. We must make sure such a horrific event will never happen again.”

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