"The Foundation for the Memory of the Shoah has supported from the first hour the work of Father Desbois in his search for places of memory related to the extermination of the Jews by the Einsatzgruppen. By collecting testimonies, finding the exact locations of mass graves in Ukraine, and revealing the conditions under which the massacres took place, Father Desbois’s team is accomplishing a work of the first order. It should be noted that this search for historical truth, the first act of the work of transmitting memory, is carried out in respect and fraternal dialogue between Jews and Christians.
The Franco-Ukrainian team of Father Desbois stands out for its professionalism and responsibility towards History. The archival work, of which the exhibition is only the first illustration, continues. It is the first step in a process that will lead, on one hand, to the sanctuarization of tombs and on the other hand to an appropriation of this past by the Ukrainians themselves. Without omitting the heavy past of the Soviet period, this awareness is one of the conditions for the embodiment of the European project, particularly in Ukraine.
Anne-Marie Revcolevschi, Director General of the FMS
The Foundation for the Memory of the Shoah is a private foundation recognized as being of public utility. Its endowment consists of the escheated funds that were stolen from the Jews of France during the Second World War.
The Foundation aims to support, in France and abroad, projects in several fields of activity:
The Foundation has financed more than 1100 projects since its creation. It also provides permanent financial support to the Shoah Memorial in Paris.
Foundation for the Memory of the Shoah
52 Boulevard Malesherbes, 75008 Paris
Tel. 01 53 42 63 11/