Jews in Ukrainian historical memory discourse after 1991
This project examines how historical narratives about Jews and Jewish memory have developed in independent Ukraine since 1991, with a particular focus on the evolving Babyn Yar memorial complex in Kyiv. The “memory wars” around competing projects for this site of memory illuminate key tensions and conflicts surrounding Holocaust memorialization and, more broadly, the construction of a national historical narrative in Ukraine.
The project argues that Jewish themes function as a kind of litmus test, revealing the actors and agendas that shape Ukraine’s emerging discourse of historical memory in the post-Soviet period. It concentrates on the pre-2022 period, tracing how debates over Babyn Yar and related initiatives reflected changing understandings of the Holocaust, Soviet legacies, and Ukrainian statehood up to the full-scale Russian invasion of 2022.
During his stay at the ZZF Potsdam Semion Goldin is Visiting Fellow in Dep. I.