Potential of video testimonies from the institute for visual history and education of the shoah foundation of the University of Southern California on the study of the Holocaust at the reichskommissariat "Ukraine"

Abstract

The purpose of the article: on the basis of the analysis of more than 400 interviews from the collection of the Shoa Foundation, to identify and describe layers of information regarding implementation of the Holocaust policy on the territory of the Reichskommissariat “Ukraine” on the example of cases from “Volyn-Podillia” and “Dnipropetrovsk” general districts. The research methodology is based on the principle of historicism, methods of oral history, as well as general scientific methods of analysis, synthesis and generalization. The scientific novelty consists in the use of oral video testimonies to reveal various aspects of the Holocaust on the territory of the Reichskommissariat “Ukraine”. Based on the analysis of video evidence, it was possible to identify various layers of information that have an important potential for introduction into scientific circulation. For the first time in historiography, interviews about the Holocaust from the territories of Volyn-Podillia and Dnipropetrovsk general districts have been analysed for the purpose of comparison, which makes it possible to reveal the specifics and identify common and distinctive features of the Holocaust in these administrative entities. The Conclusion. Video evidence is important for the study of the Holocaust policy on the territory of Ukraine. The team of the Shoah Foundation processed a huge number of memories from almost all areas of Ukraine where genocide against the Jewish population took place. The collection of the Shoah Foundation mainly presents the testimonies of people who survived the years of the Holocaust, but there are also testimonies of eyewitnesses. All interviews are quite well structured, because three main blocks stand out: the interwar life of Jewish communities in Ukraine; the events of the period of the Nazi occupation and the postwar life of the Jews in the USSR. Under such conditions, after analysing almost 400 interviews, we identified the main layers of information from the first two blocks. Thus, from the evidence about the interwar period, you can learn about: material and household situation of their families at that time; leisure time, education, relationships with fellows; interethnic relations; important events experienced by their families at that time, etc. This information is important for understanding the reasons for the phenomena that occurred in Ukraine during the years of the Nazi occupation. For all interviews, information about the Nazi occupation of Ukraine is a basic part of these sources. Almost all witnesses recall the beginning of the Nazi occupation and the possibility or not of evacuation to the East. Later, the witnesses described the discrimination and humiliation of the Jews during the first days, weeks, and months of the Nazi occupation. An important part of the interviews with the Holocaust survivors was the story of mass killings of the Jews, as well as their survival strategies. In addition, in the memories of many people, there are stories about their stay in ghettos and forced labour camps. Therefore, video interviews from the collection of the Shoah Foundation often contain unique information about various aspects of the Holocaust in Ukraine. The introduction of these sources into scientific circulation deepens and concretizes the study of the genocide of the Jewish population, especially at the regional level.