The scandal surrounding Russian filmmaker Illia Khrzhanovskyi, who was appointed in 2019 as the artist director of Ukraine’s largest Holocaust Memorial Babyn Yar, has provoked outrage within Ukrainian civil society, the Jewish community in Ukraine, Israeli media, and generated international criticism. Khrzhanovskyi was previously accused of child abuse from his latest filmmaking session. What remains most concerning is his vision of the Holocaust memorial as if it was a Disneyland theme park, filled with attractions and experiences designed to immerse the audience. Visitors will participate in psychological experiments and virtual reality simulations (VR); and further immersing themselves by taking the roles of Nazi soldiers, collaborators, or even to be the victims.
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Bohdan Ben: ‘Holocaust Disneyland’ on mass graves
People attend a memorial rally to mark the 78th anniversary of the Babyn Yar tragedy in Kyiv on Sept. 29, 2019.
