Through the efforts of partner organizations, the Hesed Menachem Foundation and the Museum of Jewish Memory and the Holocaust in Ukraine, another meeting of the Open Lecture was held. It was dedicated to the exhibition “Someone Was a Neighbor: Choice, Human Behavior, and the Holocaust,” recently opened in the Museum's temporary exhibition space. It reveals the problem of “neighborhood” in the events of the Holocaust – the role of ordinary people who lived next to Jews for years, sometimes decades. Dr. Olena Ishchenko introduced the audience to the materials of the exhibition. The emphasis was on the extreme conditions in which the “neighbors” of the Jews were placed. After all, they were faced with a very difficult ethical choice: to be accomplices in the crimes of the Nazis; to remain indifferent to what was happening around them, immersed in personal problems; or, conversely, to help the persecuted. The latter choice was associated with an incredible risk to one's own well-being and that of one's family, and in the case of the Holocaust in the occupied territory of the USSR, with a risk to life (again, not only one's own, but also that of loved ones).

The exhibition showcases little-known photo documents that help reconstruct the atmosphere that prevailed in Europe on the eve and during World War II. Throughout the territory occupied by the Nazis, people of different nationalities and social strata sought to survive and avoid repression. To do this, they were forced to adhere to the behavioral model proposed by the Nazis: to follow orders, to engage in various forms of cooperation. Only a few found the strength to take risks and help their Jewish neighbors. It is the determination of these people to resist evil that clearly demonstrates the possibility of different behavior, different choices. The exhibited materials allow us to think about our own ethical motives and to reflect on the quality of the decisions we made.

The class started late due to a massive attack by enemy drones. However, after the alarm went off, our listeners actively joined the broadcast and continued discussion of an important topic. They talked about how sometimes even small gestures of compassion overcome alienation and help to endure adversity.

We sincerely thank the participants of the Lecture for their thoughts!