In Ukraine, September 29 is a day to remember the victims of Babi Yar, a horrific symbol of the Holocaust.

In 1941, the Nazis carried out the first mass execution of unarmed civilians in occupied Kyiv over two days, September 29 and 30.

From September 29 to October 11, 1941, the SS killed nearly the entire Jewish population of the city - over 50,000 men, women, and children. In the first two days alone, nearly 34,000 people were slaughtered, and an additional approximately 17,000 were executed on October 1, 2, 8, and 11.

Babi Yar, a ravine stretching two and a half kilometers in the northwest of Kyiv, was chosen as the site for these mass shootings. Victims were forced to undress, had their personal belongings confiscated, then were herded to the ravine's edge where machine gunners awaited. Once the ravine was filled with layers of bodies, they were covered with earth.

During World War II, estimates suggest that between 100,000 and 150,000 people were killed at Babi Yar, including Jews, Roma, Soviet POWs, and members of various social or national groups deemed 'unnecessary' by the occupiers.