• Memorial to the Victims of the Holocaust in Lubny
Situated in Lubny - 180 kilometres east of the Ukrainian capital Kiev - is a memorial to the Jewish victims murdered by members of Einsatzgruppe C (mobile killing squad) in the autumn of 1941. The memorial was dedicated by the Jewish community of Lubny in 2001.
Image: Lubny, around 1900, Historical view, jewua.org
Lubny, around 1900, Historical view, jewua.org

Image: Lubny, 2004, Memorial to the Victims of the Holocaust in Lubny, Jewish community Lubny
Lubny, 2004, Memorial to the Victims of the Holocaust in Lubny, Jewish community Lubny
In 1939, there were about 5,300 Jews living in Lubny. Most of them were able to flee before the invasion of the German Wehrmacht in September 1941. In October 1941, the local German Kommandantur ordered the Jews from Lubny and the surrounding areas to gather on October 16 at nine in the morning. The Jews were told - under the pretext of an upcoming »resettlement« - to bring supplies and warm clothes for three days. From the collecting point the Germans chased the Jews out of town. Upon reaching a closed off field on the town's outskirts, the Jews were forced to leave their luggage and undress. They were then taken to the shooting site in groups and shot by members of SS Sonderkommando 4a (SS mobile killing unit). The Sonderkommando 4a later reported the murder of over 1,800 Jews. The valuables and property that was left behind was confiscated by the local German Kommandantur.
Image: Lubny, around 1900, Historical view, jewua.org
Lubny, around 1900, Historical view, jewua.org

Image: Lubny, 2004, Memorial to the Victims of the Holocaust in Lubny, Jewish community Lubny
Lubny, 2004, Memorial to the Victims of the Holocaust in Lubny, Jewish community Lubny
Over 1,800 Jewish children, women and men from Lubny and surrounding areas were shot by SS Sonderkommando 4a (SS mobile killing unit).
Image: Lubny, October 16, 1941, Jews from Lubny before being shot, Hamburger Institut für Sozialforschung, Sammlung Haehle
Lubny, October 16, 1941, Jews from Lubny before being shot, Hamburger Institut für Sozialforschung, Sammlung Haehle

Image: Lubny, October 16, 1941, Jews from Lubny hand in their valuables before being shot, Hamburger Institut für Sozialforschung, Sammlung Haehle
Lubny, October 16, 1941, Jews from Lubny hand in their valuables before being shot, Hamburger Institut für Sozialforschung, Sammlung Haehle
After the war, Jewish life has organized again in Lubny. In the 1950s, the Jewish community had as many as 600 members, but afterwards, their numbers decreased steadily. In the 1960s the synagogue and the Jewish cemetery were shut down - they decayed afterwards. In 1953, a small plaque was installed at the site of the shootings. Everyyear, the Jewish community held memorial services there.In 2001, the Jewish community of Lubny dedicated a new memorial. It has the form of a Menorah.
Image: Lubny, 2004, Memorial service at the Holocaust memorial in Lubny, Jewish community Lubny
Lubny, 2004, Memorial service at the Holocaust memorial in Lubny, Jewish community Lubny

Image: Lubny, um 2015, Tomstone in the destroyed Jewish cemetery, jewua.org
Lubny, um 2015, Tomstone in the destroyed Jewish cemetery, jewua.org
Name
Pamjatnik shertwam holokostu na okolyzi Luben
Address
Bul. Shevchenka, budinok 2/2
37500 Lubny
Phone
+380 (0) 536 171 061
E-Mail
jcclubny@luport.com
Open
The memorial is accessible at all times.