FILE - This is a 1942 file photo of a photo found on the body of the Nazi officer killed in Russia, shows a Nazi firing squad shooting Soviet civilians in the back as they sit beside their own mass grave, in Babi Yar, Kiev. Kiev prepares to mark the 75th anniversary of the Nazi massacre of Jews at the Babi Yar ravine, where at least 33,000 Jews were killed over a 48-hour period on Sept. 29, 1941.(AP Photo, file)
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KIEV, Ukraine (AP) - Ukraine on Thursday marked the 75th anniversary of the Babi Yar massacre, one of the most infamous mass slaughters of World War II.
Babi Yar, a ravine in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, is where nearly 34,000 Jews were killed within 48 hours in 1941 when the city was under Nazi occupation. The killing was carried out by SS troops along with local collaborators.
President Petro Poroshenko visited the Babi Yar monument and emphasized the need to create a memorial center dedicated to the victims of the Holocaust in Ukraine.
"The creation of the Babi Yar Holocaust Memorial Center is very significant for the whole of humanity," Poroshenko said. "This tragedy wasn't just national, but global, in scope. Such a tragedy must never happen again."
The target date for the opening of the Holocaust Memorial Center in Kiev is 2021. It's to be funded by donors from Ukraine and other nations.
"If we permit ourselves to forget the horrors of the Holocaust and the reasons which brought it on, then we enable it to happen again," said Natan Sharansky, chairman of the Executive Board of the Jewish Agency for Israel.
World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder described Babi Yar as "one of the most infamous pieces of ground in the entire world."
He also noted that some Ukrainians had collaborated with the Nazis in the massacre.
"While Babi Yar was organized by the Nazis, there were willing helpers in the Ukrainian militia," he said, praising others who had helped save Jews. "There were Ukrainians who risked their lives to save their Jewish neighbors."
Lauder also hailed the Jewish revival that Ukraine has seen in recent years.
"We are here in Kiev for one more important reason: We are here to celebrate the rebirth of a strong Jewish community here in Ukraine," he said. "This rebirth is nothing short of a miracle."
Kiev resident Volodymyr Pogrilchuk said the tragedy of Babi Yar has haunted him ever since.
"I was almost 6 years old at that time and it was something horrible," he said "It was a nightmare. And I come here every year."
Visitors pass by portraits of victims of Nazi concentration camps throughout Europe installed in Babi Yar ravine where Nazi troops machine-gunned tens of thousands of Jews during WWII, in Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016. Ukraine marked the 75th anniversary of the 1941 Babi Yar massacre. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
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FILE - This a 1944 file photo of part of the Babi Yar ravine at the outskirts of Kiev, Ukraine where the advancing Red Army unearthed the bodies of 14,000 civilians killed by fleeing Nazis, 1944. Ukrainians have marked the 75th anniversary of the Babi Yar massacre, one of the most infamous mass slaughters of World War II. (AP Photo, file)
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Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko addresses guests at a ceremony on the 75th anniversary of the 1941 Babi Yar massacre in Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016. Nazi troops machine-gunned tens of thousands of Jews during WWII in Babi Yar ravine. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
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Kiev Cadets hold the national flag of Ukraine during commemoration events in Babi Yar ravine where Nazi troops machine-gunned tens of thousands of Jews during WWII, in Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016. Ukraine marked the 75th anniversary of the 1941 Babi Yar massacre. (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov)
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U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, left, attends a tour in Babi Yar ravine where Nazi troops machine-gunned tens of thousands of Jews during WWII, in Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016. Ukraine marked the 75th anniversary of the 1941 Babi Yar massacre. (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov)
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Kiev Cadets honor guard takes part in commemorative events at the Babi Yar ravine where Nazi troops machine-gunned tens of thousands of Jews during WWII, in Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016. Ukraine commemorated the 75th anniversary of the 1941 Babi Yar massacre. (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov)
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U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker stands near the Menorah monument in Babi Yar in Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016. Ukraine marked the 75th anniversary of the 1941 Babi Yar massacre, where tens of thousands of jews were killed by Nazi troops. (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov)
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U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, centre, attends a tour in Babi Yar ravine where Nazi troops machine-gunned tens of thousands of Jews during WWII, in Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016. Ukraine marked the 75th anniversary of the 1941 Babi Yar massacre. (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov)
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U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, front right, attends a tour in Babi Yar ravine where Nazi troops machine-gunned tens of thousands of Jews during WWII, in Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016. Ukraine marked the 75th anniversary of the 1941 Babi Yar massacre. (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov)
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Jews pray reading sacred texts through cell phones standing near portraits of victims of Nazi concentration camps throughout Europe installed in Babi Yar ravine where Nazi troops machine-gunned tens of thousands of Jews during WWII, in Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016. Ukraine marked the 75th anniversary of the 1941 Babi Yar massacre. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
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Visitors look at a monument to Gipsies killed in Babi Yar ravine where Nazi troops machine-gunned tens of thousands of Jews and others during WWII, in Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016. Ukraine marked the 75th anniversary of the 1941 Babi Yar massacre. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
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A man stands near the Menorah monument in Babi Yar ravine where Nazi troops machine-gunned tens of thousands of Jews during WWII, in Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016. Ukraine marked the 75th anniversary of the 1941 Babi Yar massacre. (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov)
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