Yahad – In Unum combines the Hebrew word – Yahad, meaning “together,” with the Latin phrase In Unum, meaning “in one.” Our organization seeks to unsilence a chapter of history that has remained silent for far too long. In the former Soviet Union, we seek out eyewitnesses to the executions of Jews and Roma as we work towards identifying each execution site and mass grave.
Mission
The surviving witnesses are in their 80s and 90s, and soon their first-person accounts of history will no longer be available. The window of opportunity to collect evidence is rapidly closing. Without eyewitness testimony, it will be impossible to identify the location of mass graves and collect evidence of genocide.
Yahad – In Unum works towards its mission in 3 different ways:
– Investigate
Yahad – In Unum identifies mass Jewish killing sites and collects forensic evidence of the executions. Our team videotapes/films witnesses’ testimonies to these killings. To this day, Yahad has effectuated research concerning 1,854 execution sites and has gathered 4,633 testimonies during the course of its 111 investigative research trips in 7 countries (Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, Poland, Romania, Moldova, and Lithuania).
– Educate
Yahad – In Unum conducts international workshops and graduate-level seminars to contribute to Holocaust scholarship and the study of genocide. The Sorbonne in Paris and Georgetown University are the organization’s academic partners. YIU also offers academic programs and collaborates closely with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
– Engage
The “Holocaust by Bullets” was a model for the mass violence that continues to be so prevalent in the world today. Exposing a largely unknown chapter of the Holocaust is helping to bring closure to the memory of the victims. It is important to know that Yahad-In Unum is not merely focused on the past. Our work serves to influence all societies to examine the darker recesses of history and to speak out against today’s global disease of genocide.
Yahad-In Unum is not a politically affiliated organization, nor does it advocate any political, economic or military action be taken by any group or nation. Rather, its mission is to uncover facts of genocidal practices wherever they are found and provide a voice of protest on behalf of all victims and potential victims of genocide.