The Odessa Holocaust Museum is to Holocaust museums as the Odessa Holocaust Memorial is to Holocaust memorials. The entrance is via an alleyway. I stood waiting for the steel door within to open, stepped on something crunchy and looked down to see cat food. A hungry cat and I waited for 11.
Inside there are walls full of photographs accompanying nearly identical A4 placards with narratives in Ukrainian and English. Identical space is given to the subjects of WW II, Kristallnacht, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, individual cities, Babi Yar. The numbers and details of Bogdanovka soon blend together with those of Kharkov.
Something I found notable was the place given to crimes of the Romanian occupiers. I’ve read several sources locating the origin of what Americans think of as The Holocaust in the experiences of Transnistrians and Ukrainians at the hands of Romanians, yet Americans think in terms of „Germans“ and „The Jews“.
One exhibit which stood out for me was a diorama split diagonally into a black, burning, sooty past and a green, healthily growing present. On the left Nazi or Romanian troops burnt a village and shot unarmed civilians who tumbled into a ditch. On the right are tourists who have dismounted from a tour bus to gaze at a memorial stone very much like that at Bogdanovka. I saw this exhibit and I thought, „Yes! This is exactly my experience! This is why I go to these places, because I see the past behind the stone.“ Quite honestly for me this was worth the price of admission.
There was a visitors‘ log, in which I wrote a version of the preceding paragraph. The book was full of the usual, which you will also find on Google Maps. „Very interesting museum“. Now what the fuck does that mean? „Interesting“ communicates nothing. „Never again!“ This one always catches my eye and gives me pause for thought. And you will ensure this happens never again how, exactly? I know people who vow „Never again!“ and I think they think they mean it, but they are too cowardly to post anything political on friggin‘ Facebook.
A year and a half ago I had the experience of recommending http://neveragain.tech to people I’ve worked with, and on LinkedIn and on Facebook. There were no takers. I’m thinking „never again“ is really quite an empty slogan for most everyone in my acquaintance.
The last room at the museum was devoted to military records. There were many photographs of Ukrainians proud in their uniforms, chests heavy with metals. There were cases of actual de-milled grenades and small arms. On the one hand, I felt right at home. If my country were invaded, the guys I would want beside me would be the ex-military and law enforcement guys from both handgun and rifle competitions. These men and women are generally really good shots, but more importantly they are used to functioning well in small groups, and do what they say. I would know I could depend on anyone from the California handgun or rifle groups. The idea of depending on people who are „triggered“ by anything other than anodyne Berkeleyesque touchy-feely talk is too absurd to expend the energy laughing.
On the other hand, what faces the US today is nothing like military invasion by an adversary. Talking about political discussion with the Northern California handgun or rifle communities is like talking about political discussions with kindergartners or people with Down Syndrome. Come to think of it, that’s what political discussions are like with people who identify themselves as „leftists“ as well. At the moment I think the thing I can best do is learn Russian and improve my German, both of which I am doing.
I must say, this Odessa promenade is quite enjoyable. Ukraine has some fine looking women.