Babyn Yar Models

Babyn Yar Models is a cross-disciplinary research project of spatial reconstruction of the historical events of Babyn Yar. Working with maps, aerial photographs, photos, videos, eyewitness stories, and historical research, the team of the Center for Spatial Technologies reconstructed the historic landscape of Babyn Yar and, through its transformations, followed the course of historical events.

On September 29-30, 1941, more than 33,000 Jews were massacred in Babyn Yar. During the German occupation of Kyiv, between 100,000 and 150,000 people were killed there, including patients of the Kyiv City Psychiatric Hospital, Roma, Ukrainian nationalists, prisoners of war, and local authorities. Before retreating from Kyiv, the Nazis attempted to hide the traces of the massacres. Several hundred prisoners of war from the Syretsk internment camp were forced to exhume and burn the remains of the dead.

After the Soviet takeover of Kyiv in 1943, the Syretsk internment camp was used to imprison German prisoners of war until 1946.

Babyn Yar in 1943 and 2020. (Center for Spatial Technologies, 2020)

In the late 50s and early 60s, the landscape of Babyn Yar was fundamentally changed. The spurs were filled with liquid soil and covered over, resulting in the disappearance of the ravine as such. Highways were laid on the territory of Babyn Yar, and a residential area and a park were built. The area has changed so much that even historians argue about the exact location of the mass executions.

In our work, we have "reassembled" the lost landscape of the ravine as part of an attempt to better understand the historical events.

Building a digital elevation model

The basis for the spatial reconstruction of Babyn Yar is a digital elevation model. We used a combination of visual sources to create the model - topographic surveys from 1924, 1953, 1968, and 2008, aerial photographs from 1939 and 1943, satellite images, and photographs of the area taken at different times since 1930.

Analysis of aerial images and integration with 3D models

We used historical aerial photographs to recreate the area in our research accurately. The images, taken by German intelligence in the late 1930s and early 1940s, helped us identify key landscape elements and overlay them on 3D terrain models. Combining these images with our 3D models, we achieved an accurate correlation that allowed us to see the landscape of Babyn Yar in more detail and played an important role in the subsequent location of historical photographs and identification of historically important sites.

Geolocation of photos and videos

We collected all available photo and video materials, and textual sources, organized and archived them to be able to work with this material systematically and provide open access to it in the future.

Geolocation of photos, videos, and mentions of places and spatial objects in eyewitness accounts allows us to visualize the spatial location of the collected materials and reveals areas that were discussed or recorded more intensively visually, which is an indicator of their significance and or functional importance. In addition, the geolocation of photos and videos is an auxiliary tool for building 3D models, and the geolocation of place mentions in textual primary sources is used in further textual analysis.

Working with testimonies

We worked with different media to verify the data and avoid distortions in our research. Along with 3D ground modeling and localization of photos and videos, testimonial analysis was an important aspect of this project.

We built a prototype of the testimonial component on the Notion platform. It is based on the analysis of primary sources and scientific reports related to the Babyn Yar area. These texts identified place names and other key entities. With the help of this tool, our researchers could find the necessary fragments of evidence faster to better understand historical events.

3D reconstruction of key locations

The Center for Spatial Technologies team worked on reconstructing key locations related to the historical events of the area as part of the last phase of the research. Using three-dimensional landscape models with overlaid aerial photographs, we were able to locate archival photographs and fragments of testimonies. This allowed us not only to visualize the results of our research in a clear and visual form but also to use 3D models as a tool for forming new questions and identifying unknown aspects of the history of Babyn Yar.

Among the main locations on the way of Jews to the western spur of Babyn Yar during the mass executions on September 29-30, 1941: the checkpoint at the intersection of Illienko and Romodanov streets, the place on Dorohozhytska street where people were taken away their luggage and outerwear, the sand quarry in Babyn Yar where people were undressed before the executions, and the western spur of Babyn Yar itself where the mass executions took place. In addition, our work included a detailed reconstruction of the Syrets concentration camp. This multidisciplinary work not only makes the historical picture of the events clearer but also provides a new, spatial way of interacting with the history of Babyn Yar, opening a new perspective for understanding and comprehending these tragic events.