Victor Pinchuk Foundation and YES held a discussion “To Fear Evil or Stop Evil: Confronting 1938’s Mindset Today” during the YES Special Gathering in Kyiv “Three Years — Time to Win”

On 24 February 2025, the Victor Pinchuk Foundation and Yalta European Strategy (YES) held a discussion “To Fear Evil or Stop Evil: Confronting 1938’s Mindset Today”, on the occasion of the YES Special Gathering  in Kyiv “Three Years — Time to Win” dedicated to the third anniversary of Russia’s brutal and unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Politicians and experts discussed strategies for securing Ukraine in a changing world.

Brendan Simms, Director, Centre for Geopolitics, University of Cambridge, spoke to Roman Shvartsman, Head of the Odesa Regional Association of Jews –  Former Prisoners of Ghetto and Nazi Concentration Camps,  about his role in the 80th anniversary of the Auschwitz liberation, his family's suffering and the hope one can find in such environments.

“Roman lost family members in the Holocaust, he lived in the ghetto but he is also a victim of the current Russian war of aggression on Ukraine. His children and grandchildren are also under attack.”, said Brendan Simms, Director, Centre for Geopolitics, University of Cambridge.

Roman Shvartsman, Head of the Odesa Regional Association of Jews –  Former Prisoners of Ghetto and Nazi Concentration Camps,  addressed the participants of the YES Special Gathering with a speech (some quotes are presented below):

“Dear Ladies and Gentlemen.

To mark the 80th anniversary of the Auschwitz liberation I was asked to address the German Bundestag as a person that witnessed suffering and violence during the second world war.  Hitler wanted to exterminate me as a Jew, Putin wants to kill me as a Ukrainian.”

“You had pledged that this will not happen again. If you are serious, now is the time to stand by Ukraine. We need action at long last. Russia wants to conquer us and destroy us as an independent nation. They attack us day and night. They destroy our power, energy sector, they destroy Ukrainian culture and history in the occupied territories. We want to be free - we want to be part of a free Europe rather than a Russian colony.  

“Please gather your courage, please do it now. Otherwise, your free society will also crumble. I'm an old man; I had a chance to look the devil in its eyes. I can tell you that you are giving too much power to the evil. If you stand up together, if you overcome your fears, you will be able to defeat the devil.”

To listen to the speech please check our YouTube

Photos are available here