UKRAINE: FROM BABI YAR TO VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY / YOU’VE COME A LONG WAY BABY
Vol. I | Issue. 70 | February 28, 2022
On September 29-30, 1941, The Nazi occupation forces of Ukraine murdered 33,941 Jews and dumped them into a ravine at Babi Yar, outside of Kyiv, the city now being attacked by the Russians and fiercely defended by Ukrainian patriots throughout the land.
While it’s true that as Hitler swept through and occupied Eastern Europe with savage, brute force. It has been argued that those occupied by the Nazis had no choice but to cooperate in the genocide. Of course, history has made clear, however, that there is always a choice…
The Massacre of the Jews at Babi Yar was a cooperative effort between the conquering Nazis and their very willing partners in the slaughter of the Jews, mainly the Ukrainian "Auxiliary Police". Ukrainian nationals went on to commit countless atrocities as concentration camp guards and murderers of Jews as members of the Einsatzgruppen, the “mobile killing squads” organized by the Nazis to hunt and murder Jews throughout Eastern Europe, preponderantly in Ukraine.
Astonishingly, Ukraine, with a 1000 year history of virulent anti-Semitism, elected Volodymyr Zelensky as its first Jewish President in 2019. They also elected Volodymyr Groysman as their first Jewish Prime Minister.
Zelinsky, whose grandparents were murdered in the Holocaust in that neck of the woods, is now a national hero and international inspiration. At this juncture, none of us know what the outcome of Putin's nutball invasion will bring to Ukraine, or the world, for that matter. Regardless of the outcome, however, there are two things that are always in short supply and will always matter: LEADERSHIP and COURAGE.
Zelinsky’s courage and leadership are inextricably linked. When Joe Biden offered him transit out of the country, his response was one for the ages when he stated:
.... “The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride.”…
The likes of Zelinsky, as commander in chief, walking the existentially threatened streets of Kyiv, hasn't been seen since Winston Churchill's inspirationally famous walks through the bombed, burning, streets of London while flashing the “V” for a victory. Those walks and his words gave hope to both those already vanquished by the Nazis, and those still fighting for their freedom.
Churchill made clear that even if the Nazis were to invade that tiny island of freedom, then standing alone, he would rip their guts out......
“We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.”
Zelinsky, the grandson of Holocaust murder victims, has been called upon by fate to save the nation that has historically been a very unwelcoming home to the Jews ranging from simple hostility to pogroms to the extermination pits of Babi Yar.
Will Zelinsky save Ukraine??
Regardless of the military outcome, he already has…
-Emes
Perfectly stated.
yes, a modern hero! very inspiring and a leader his people will rally around