Two Hundred people gathered in the memorial site in Rostov to remember the victims of the largest mass killing of Jews by the Nazis in Russia.
August 11-12 marks 71 years since the mass killing of 27,000 people (mostly Jews) by the Nazis at Zmievskaya Balka (Snake Valley), when they gathered all remaining Jewish residents of Rostov to the outskirts of town to be killed.
After reciting Kaddish, Rostov’s Rabbi Chaim Danzinger spoke about the importance of taking on a Mitzvah in the merit of those who perished, and then they heard shofar.
This year, in honor of the event, a book was released containing historical facts about the tragedy, as well as the names of over 3,000 people who were killed at Zmievskaya Balka.
The names were gathered over the past several years via a project called Rememberingrostov.com, as many of those who perished were not reported, and very little information exists about the murders.
Copies of the memorial book were distributed free of charge to all participants. The project is headed by Mr. Yuri Dombrovsky who is sponsoring all expenses related to this important project.
“The names gathered so far are a good start, but we still need the public’s help in sending in any additional names or information they may have,” said Rabbi Danzinger.