Non-invasive Scans


Memorial, Rava Ruska

The mild winter in 2011 allowed non-invasive scanning to measure the mass grave in Rava-Ruska. This method made it possible to identify of the grave’s contours without opening it. In this way, Halacha, which stipulates that the dead may not be disturbed, was observed.

Inspecting the Site


Memorial, Ostrozhets

Maurice Herszaft of the Committee for the Protection of Jewish Cemeteries in Europe inspected the site of the mass shooting at the former Jewish cemetery in Ostrozhets. Herszaft supervised construction to ensure compliance with Halachic regulations.

In Quiet Thought


Kysylyn, Memorial

Scholar Maurice Herszaft of the Committee for the Preservation of Jewish Cemeteries in Europe made his first visit within the framework of the Protecting Memory in September 2011. In a quiet moment, he reflected on the 48 Jews and two Ukrainians, presumably Orthodox Christians, buried at a mass grave in the center of Kysylyn.

Protection for Mass Graves


Memorial, Prokhid

In September 2011, Serhii Shvardovsky of the Volhynian Religious Community of Reform Judaism and Maurice Herszaft filled in an open mass grave with sand to prevent further damage from erosion and plunder.

A Witness Speaks


Memorial, Ostrozhets

A witness tells what she saw as a child in Ostrozhets in October 1942, when approximately 800 Jews from Ostrozhets and Torhovytsia were shot. Within the framework of Protecting Memory, historian Mikhail Tyaglyy of the Ukrainian Center for Holocaust Studies conducted numerous interviews with locals. In many cases, this was the first testimony given by these witnesses – after more than 70 years.

First Inspection in Prokhid


Memorial, Prokhid

Joe Shik of the Committee for the Protection of Jewish Cemeteries in Europe made his first visit to the former killing site and mass grave in Prokhid in July 2011. The scholar supervised construction work on the memorial at this former sand quarry, where the Jewish community of Ratne was shot and hastily buried.

Bakhiv Prior to the Beginning of Construction


Bakhiv, Memorial

In in the 1960s, survivors and members of the Israeli organization Israeli Organization of the Jews of Kovel and its Surroundings created a small hill in the center of the mass grave site in Bakhiv. Thirty years later, they put up a memorial stone with a Hebrew inscription, which replaced a Ukrainian- and Yiddish-language plaque.