“Rava-Ruska was a very Jewish town. And they all disappeared. There’s nobody left here,” said Ludwika Schein, whose parents and brothers were shot by the Germans. On the occasion of the dedication ceremony for the memorial, Mrs. Schein returned to Rava-Ruska after more than 70 years in order to remember the murdered members of her family.
In May 2014, construction in Rava-Ruska was largely complete. The historical marker and the memorial stone were the only elements left to be installed.
A number of smashed gravestones, presumably from both the new and old Jewish cemeteries, were found near the memorial construction site in Rava-Ruska. Some of these stones were used to build a wall of remembrance.
This is how the unfinished pavilion looked at the memorial site in Rava-Ruska in October 2013. Completion of the structure and the path connecting it with the former cemetery, followed in spring 2014.
In an interview with journalist Halyna Tereshchuk, Maurice Herszaft said: “When we arrived here, there were bones everywhere. It was very painful to see that, because according to Jewish law, the souls of the dead cannot rest until the body is left to rest in peace.” The entire Ukrainian-language article can be read here.
Tykhon Yosypovych Leshchuk is interviewed about his memories of Rava-Ruska during the Second World War. His father, a priest, hid a Jewish girl during the war. Leschchuk is a professor of linguistics at Lviv Polytechnic National University.
At some point in the late 1980s or early 1990s, survivors put up this Star of David in memory of their murdered family members and friends. It is still standing and has been integrated into the memorial for the murdered Jews of 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.