International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which takes place today (Thursday) this year carries a complex message for the Jews of Ukraine and Russia, two countries that are now at the center of an international crisis and that in 1945 cooperated as part of the Soviet force that liberated Auschwitz and contributed to the fall of the Nazis.
For some Ukrainian Jews, International Holocaust Remembrance Day serves as a reminder that they must remain vigilant, prepare for the worst - and especially be prepared to get out of danger quickly, only for the growing fears of hundreds of thousands of Russian troops invading Vladimir Putin's command across the border.
Rabbi Alexander Duchovny, the 71-year-old leader of the Reform community in Ukraine, says the tension along the border made him think of his Holocaust survivor mother.
"Her relatives, who all perished, stayed in their countries even though they had a chance to escape, and they preferred to stay with their ancestors' property," Duchovny said.
But he adds that there are also reasons for optimism.
He welcomes the fact that the United States and Britain have warned Russia against invading Ukraine and that they are sending forces to the region.
"They are not abandoning Ukraine," he added.
"Therefore, I am ready for the future. And if the worst happens, we have a homeland: Israel."
A Guide Explains the Holocaust Visitor at the Museum of the Revival in Dnipro, Ukraine, May 20, 2014, Photo: Canaan Lifshitz
Israeli officials are also preparing for a scenario of a military struggle in Ukraine and the Israeli media reported this week that discussions have already begun about the possibility of organizing an air train from Ukraine to Israel that will rescue, if necessary, Jews who want to leave the country.
Such plans have existed since 2013, when the Ukrainian government fell as a result of a bloody revolution against the regime of President Viktor Yanukovych, whose critics claimed he was a corrupt puppet of Russia.
In 2014, Russia invaded and annexed the Crimean peninsula, claiming, among other things, that nationalists allegedly close to Ukrainian neo-Nazis threatened the well-being of 10,000 Jews in the region.
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Since then, thousands of Jews have left Ukraine and immigrated to Israel, many from areas affected by the fighting.
In Ukraine, which has a population of about 42 million, there are about 56,000 Jews, according to a demographic survey conducted by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research in London.
Russia has also supported rebels who set up separatist enclaves in 2014 near the Ukraine-Russia border, in Donetsk and Lugansk, areas that remain outside Ukrainian sovereignty to this day.
The conflict in 2013-14 aroused the feelings of nationalists on both sides of the border, further complicating the lives of members of the Jewish community in Ukraine.
The Jewish population of the country is mainly Russian-speaking, not Ukrainian-speaking, and they are perceived by the native Ukrainians as "Muscovites," a common nickname that often includes an antisemitic tone.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zlansky, who is Jewish, was elected in 2019 and replaced the hawkish government that served after the revolution led by Petro Poroshenko.
Zelenki, a former beloved entertainer, has won the support of those who hoped his moderate policies would help rebuild the economy destroyed by the conflict and restore relations with Russia.
But the failure of the peace talks and the effects of the corona plague, which thwarted any attempt to grow Ukraine's economy, shattered those hopes and damaged Zalanski's popularity.
Zlanski was elected by a majority of more than 70% and today he enjoys a support rate of only 30%.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zlansky, Photo: AP
The current round of tensions between Ukraine and Russia is expected to further hurt the Kiev government's attempts to convey stability.
Foreign embassies, including the United States Embassy, began evacuating families of non-essential representatives and staff and calling on their citizens in Ukraine to leave the country or, at the very least, compile a rescue list in the event of an outbreak of hostilities.
Ukraine condemned these measures and called them "hasty" and "excessive".
On the streets of the capital Kiev "there are no signs of war, only snow," Dukhovny said.
"Reality runs as usual, but there is a snowball effect when you hear what the embassies are doing, and so on. Feel that something terrible is about to happen."
As a rabbi, Duchovny tries to "reassure community members without giving them a false sense of security," he said.
"We have to be vigilant and open our eyes, but we can not panic, otherwise it will be as dangerous as doing nothing."
Ukrainian soldier stands in a snow-covered trench on the front line against Russian-backed separatists near the village of Zolota in the eastern Lugansk region, Ukraine, January 21, 2021, Photo: Anatoly Stefanov / AFP via Getty Images
Due to the corona wave that is sweeping Ukraine, many synagogues are now operating mostly online anyway, with no prayer meetings in physical presence.
In the east of the country, closer to the border with Russia, Ukrainian battalions were deployed in response to Russian moves.
The military, which also includes civilian volunteers, will reinforce its fortifications in strategic areas near the border, another reminder of what happened in the wars of the 20th century.
Igor Shupak, director of the Revival Holocaust Museum in the city of Dnipro, can not help but see similarities between the current conflict and the conflict that his institute perpetuates and documents.
"We are in a propaganda war, in which we are constantly talking about where Russia will invade, where it will strike," 60-year-old Shufrak said in an interview with JTA on Monday.
"It's almost funny, but unfortunately there are similarities, unfortunately, to the tactics used by the Nazis in the 1930s. Creating a fear of violence before the violence itself occurs to weaken the opponent."
The justification for the expected violence is similar to the justification made by the Nazis, Shupak claimed.
"She is presented as being meant to secure the rights of ethnic Russians, just as the Germans talked about the Silesian region," he said, but immediately added: "Anyone looking for similarities will always find one."
For now, Schopark and his team are "continuing as planned and making final preparations for events and ceremonies to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day with the participation of survivors and witnesses."
And what will Shufak, who openly criticizes Russia and supports Ukrainian sovereignty, do if he finds himself on the path of Russian invasion?
"I do not know. I will have to wait and see, and I will decide at that moment," he replied.
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