In the Museum “Memory of the Jewish People and the Holocaust in Ukraine“ in Dnipro, an international exhibition “Some Were Neighbors: Choice, Human Behavior, and the Holocaust” has opened. The exhibition was created by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, and this fact alone makes the event significant not only for Ukraine but also for the broader Jewish and international context.
This is not just another museum initiative, but an attempt to once again pose one of the most difficult questions of the 20th century: what did ordinary people do next to the crime, how did they react to the persecution of Jews, and why did some choose indifference, others cooperation, and a few found the courage to help.
The exhibition is based on the idea expressed by Esther Bem: it is important for generations born after the Holocaust to know that people had a choice.
This thought becomes central to the entire exhibition because it shifts the conversation from an impersonal historical scheme to personal responsibility in the face of evil.
The exhibition is open at the Museum “Memory of the Jewish People and the Holocaust in Ukraine” in the city of Dnipro.
The exhibition runs from April 19, 2026, to June 7, 2026.
The exhibition can be visited on Wednesdays and Sundays from 10:00 to 19:00.
It is important to note that entry to the museum is only open until 18:00.
What the exhibition says
The exhibition is dedicated to the role of so-called ordinary neighbors in the events of the Holocaust. It shows that the tragedy unfolded not only at the level of regimes, armies, and orders but also at the level of the everyday behavior of those around. Some became accomplices, some preferred to notice nothing, while others, risking themselves, helped the persecuted.
That is why the exhibition raises not only a historical but also a moral question. It invites the visitor to think about where the line lies between fear, indifference, submission, and personal responsibility. This is its particular strength: it does not limit itself to telling about the past but translates the conversation into the realm of today’s moral choice.
Why this is important for Ukraine, Israel, and Jewish memory
The ceremonial opening was conducted by the museum director, Dr. Irina Radchenko. She told the guests about the concept and idea of the project and emphasized its significance for the museum and cultural space of Ukraine. Such an emphasis seems especially important now when the memory of the Holocaust in Eastern Europe remains not only part of history but also part of the public conversation about dignity, evil, responsibility, and the price of human silence.
A special moment of the ceremony was a video message from the director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Sara J. Bloomfield. She noted that the exhibition explores the role and responsibility of ordinary people across Europe during the Holocaust, as well as the choices they made and the motives behind these decisions.
According to her, most people watched from the sidelines, tried to survive, followed orders, or collaborated, and only a few resisted. But it is the actions of these few, she emphasized, that prove: choice always existed. For the Israeli reader, this is one of the most fundamental conclusions of the entire exhibition because the memory of the Catastrophe in Israel is built not only around the scale of the crime but also around understanding how society, neighborhood, and everyday environment can become part of either salvation or destruction.
In this context, NAnews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency views the exhibition in Dnipro as an important example of how the Ukrainian Jewish space continues to speak about the Holocaust seriously, modernly, and without simplifications. This is not a formal memorial gesture but a substantive conversation about the mechanisms of human behavior at the moment of historical collapse.
Not only history but also a warning for the future
The meaning of such projects is that they do not allow the tragedy to be hidden behind familiar formulas. When the visitor is shown not abstract evil but specific models of behavior of neighbors, witnesses, and participants, they involuntarily transfer this question to themselves: how would they act if they were next to persecution, humiliation, and dehumanization of another.