Номер объектаM1996/032:112
Создатель Steve Horne
ОписаниеColoured photograph taken by the Special Investigations Unit in Gnivan, Ukraine during the excavation of a mass grave.
Part of a collection of material evidence belonging to the victims and perpetrators of mass killings uncovered during the excavation of three grave sites in Ukraine. In 1990 and 1991 in the wake of the Australian Nazi war crimes investigations, three sites at Serniki, Ustinovka and Gnivan were excavated in order to find the archaeological and forensic evidence of the heinous crimes perpetrated. The excavations were undertaken by a team from the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), headed by Professor Richard Wright, and assisted by Ukrainian officials and soldiers. Before the work undertaken by the SIU, no other mass grave from the Holocaust had been excavated for evidentiary purposes. An estimated 4000-5000 Nazi war criminals found sanctuary in Australia. Of the 843 cases the SIU investigated, only these three presented sufficient evidence to lay criminal charges.
The investigations at Gnivan centred on the massacre perpetrated outside the village of Gnivan in the Tyrov district of Ukraine, sometime between 1 May and 31 July 1942. The remaining Jews in the village were rounded up, herded into the nearby forest at gunpoint towards a deep pit, where they were all shot.
In July 1991 the Gnivan grave was excavated. The remains of approximately 102 people were discovered. Sergeant Steve Horne photographed the site and excavation, and documented all material evidence to be used in a criminal trial. Dr Chris Griffiths, a specialist in forensic dentistry at Westmead Hospital, and forensic specialist Dr Godfrey Oettle assisted in the investigation of the human remains.
In August following the excavation, Mikolay Berezowsky was arrested at his home in Adelaide and charged by Australian police with the murders of five members of the Raykis family who perished that night in Gnivan and with the killings of several other of his Jewish neighbours. The case was dismissed by a magistrate due to contradictory evidence given by witnesses and historical experts.
Part of a collection of material evidence belonging to the victims and perpetrators of mass killings uncovered during the excavation of three grave sites in Ukraine. In 1990 and 1991 in the wake of the Australian Nazi war crimes investigations, three sites at Serniki, Ustinovka and Gnivan were excavated in order to find the archaeological and forensic evidence of the heinous crimes perpetrated. The excavations were undertaken by a team from the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), headed by Professor Richard Wright, and assisted by Ukrainian officials and soldiers. Before the work undertaken by the SIU, no other mass grave from the Holocaust had been excavated for evidentiary purposes. An estimated 4000-5000 Nazi war criminals found sanctuary in Australia. Of the 843 cases the SIU investigated, only these three presented sufficient evidence to lay criminal charges.
The investigations at Gnivan centred on the massacre perpetrated outside the village of Gnivan in the Tyrov district of Ukraine, sometime between 1 May and 31 July 1942. The remaining Jews in the village were rounded up, herded into the nearby forest at gunpoint towards a deep pit, where they were all shot.
In July 1991 the Gnivan grave was excavated. The remains of approximately 102 people were discovered. Sergeant Steve Horne photographed the site and excavation, and documented all material evidence to be used in a criminal trial. Dr Chris Griffiths, a specialist in forensic dentistry at Westmead Hospital, and forensic specialist Dr Godfrey Oettle assisted in the investigation of the human remains.
In August following the excavation, Mikolay Berezowsky was arrested at his home in Adelaide and charged by Australian police with the murders of five members of the Raykis family who perished that night in Gnivan and with the killings of several other of his Jewish neighbours. The case was dismissed by a magistrate due to contradictory evidence given by witnesses and historical experts.
Место изготовленияGnivan, Ukraine
Наименованиеphotographs
Материалphotographic emulsion, paper, paper
Техникаphotography
Размерность
- width: 202.00 mm
height: 203.00 mm
Кредитная линияSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by the War Crimes Investigation Unit