Concentration camp survivor helps keep memory alive of those lost in honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day

Mitya Bykov, chairman of the Holocaust Remembrance Association, was one of just over 100 people who made it out of Bogdanovka concentration camp where he says most of his family was murdered.

News 12 Staff

Apr 27, 2022, 2:15 AM

Updated 963 days ago

Share:

A concentration camp survivor who works to keep the memory alive of those who died in the Holocaust as millions get set to mark the day Wednesday.
Mitya Bykov, chairman of the Holocaust Remembrance Association, was one of just over 100 people who made it out of Bogdanovka concentration camp where he says most of his family was murdered.
"I was one year and 8 months old when Germany occupied Odessa, and all my family, 33 people, were transported to extermination camp," says Bykov.
Bykov now works closely with the Ukranian Community of Bogdanovka, a group that is going to special measures to preserve and respect the site.
"I was able to experience being on that blood-soaked ground where 54,600 people were massacred in less than 45 days," says Bykov.
The Holocaust Remembrance Association is also taking part in current troubles and working to bring humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
"We've been sending medical supplies, clothing, sending money that benefit people of Ukraine," says Bykov. "We also sent some money to Ukrainian Red Cross. We sent some money to them."
Vivian Singer, co-president of the Holocaust Memorial Committee, works to develop and maintain the Holocaust Memorial Park. The park was created in 1986.
"I'm very proud of the park because it's the only outdoor Holocaust memorial park in the city," says Singer.
Both Singer and Bykov say the most important thing is to remember and insist that something like the Holocaust never happens again.