Monument to village community – the righteous of this world – the only of its kind in Europe was opened in Bukovyna

The Monument to the Righteous was unveiled in the foothill village of Ispas in Chernivtsi oblast.

The monument was built to pay the tribute to the local community, which in 1941 led by village head and the priest saved the lives of their fellow villagers – 15 Jewish families. The fact of the collective heroic deed of the residents of Ispas was discovered during the research conducted by the “Remembrance and Gratitude” Foundation (Yad Vashem). Thus, this was an unprecedented case when a whole Ukrainian village was acknowledged as the righteous of this world – people, who during the World War II rescued Jews. Over a thousand of local farmers risked their lives for the sake of 100 people. “Yad Vashem Foundation very carefully studied the history of heroism of the Ispas residents, they even found the living witnesses of those events on both sides. Archive materials have also been carefully analyzed. Only after this they have made their decision,” said Dr. Larysa LOIKO.

A few years ago as a token of gratitude Yad Vashem organized a trip to Israel for the descendants of those, who saved the Jews during the war, and the Aleksandr Feldman Charity Fund laid the foundation of the future monument.

The monument was opened on the International Day of Peace on September 16. According to the vice-president of the Association of National Cultural Societies of Ukraine Illia Khoch, this monument as well as the fact of collective heroism is unique not only in Ukraine, but also in the whole Europe. Vitalii Shelehin, sculptor from Bukovyna, won the contest of the monument projects. He immortalized the head of Ispas from the wartime and the local priest in marble.