Solidarity with Ukraine
© Kateryna Babenko
© Kateryna Babenko
Two years since the beginning of the Russian attack, Ukraine remains a priority for the EVZ Foundation. One of the main objectives is to assist survivors of National Socialist persecution, who are particularly vulnerable due to their old age and the injustices they suffered. In 2023, the EVZ Foundation provided funding of some 1.2 million euros to 21 civil society associations that are committed to this target group. With its solidarity budget, the EVZ Foundation has been making a clear statement against Russia's unlawful war of aggression since 2022. The EVZ Foundation stands side by side with the state and civil society in democratic Ukraine. Read here to find out more about the activities of the EVZ Foundation in support of Ukraine.
Archives, libraries and museums are being destroyed in the course of the war with the aim of weakening Ukrainian culture and its national identity, and ultimately erasing the historical memory of the Ukrainian nation. The EVZ Foundation seeks to counteract this through its new funding program YeMistechko – a place for everyone in Ukraine, which helps Ukrainian cultural institutions transform into places of interaction and coexistence. Diverse groups are targeted including minorities (Jews, Roma/Romnja), survivors of National Socialism, veterans, internally displaced persons and returning refugees.
SpilnoHub - Third place in the youth library of the city of Dnipro
© Aliona Vovk
The Russian interpretation of history has dominated German scholarly discourse for decades, in turn informing debate in society at large. Through its event series EVZ Conversations!, the Foundation contributes to the acknowledgement of other historical perspectives, in particular that of Ukraine.
The Foundation’s funding program local.history supports locally and regionally active history initiatives in Central and Eastern Europe, including Ukraine. Funding is available for projects that focus on places, people and events relating to the history of National Socialism. The aim is to shed light on overlooked aspects of National Socialist history.
In response to the Russian war of aggression, a number of memorials, museums, associations and historical initiatives from all over Germany joined forces to form a network on March 9, 2022. Its aim is to collect donations in Germany so as to provide direct aid for the survivors of Nazi persecution, their relatives and colleagues in Ukraine. By raising 822,200 euros in donations and third-party funds, we have so far been able to support survivors of Nazi persecution in 5,838 cases by providing emergency financial aid and urgently needed relief supplies. We were able to support relatives and professional colleagues in 935 cases. 183 survivors of Nazi persecution receive a monthly sponsorship (as of November 2024).
Funded by the EVZ Foundation, the Aid Network is coordinated by the Berlin association “Kontakte-Kontakty”.
Tetiana Radyvylovska was deported for forced labor as a teenager
© Anna Yatsenko / After Silence.
The LGBTQ community is among those suffering from the consequences of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Many members of the community have lost their jobs and face considerable uncertainty. The aims of our Regranting Program are as follows: Using Foundation funds, ILGA-Europe supports the community by offering flexible and long-term funding, as well as direct assistance with capacity-building. The strategic objective is for project sponsors to have a broad impact on the LGBTIQ movement in Ukraine and become more resilient themselves.
A total of 14 projects in Central and Eastern Europe are receiving funding of almost 500,000 euros.
Members of the Roma minority in Ukraine often live in precarious circumstances, frequently suffering discrimination and marginalization. As such, this community is especially affected by the repercussions of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. The funding program Latcho Dives (“Hello” in Romani) improves the situation of survivors of the genocide against the Romani people, strengthening local communities, autonomous organizations, and social participation, and promoting their culture of remembrance.
Young people from the Roma community in Uzhhorod
© Viktor Tschowka
Vitsche is a Berlin-based association of Ukrainian activists that represents the voice of Ukrainians in Germany. It is running a project from 2023 to 2024 that aims to raise awareness in German society of the urgent problem of the deportation of Ukrainian children from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and the violations of human rights that are occurring. The NGO informs the general public about this issue by means of a media campaign: in addition to a panel discussion, videos and posters provide information on the topic.
Running from 2022 to 2024, the Vidnova Fellowship Program will be implemented to support Ukrainian civil society actors both in exile and in the country itself. The fellowship enables activists to continue to work for human rights, democracy and participation in Ukraine while at the same time forging links with new partner organizations abroad.
In the “Three questions for ...” column, Vidnova fellows talk about their experiences in the fellowship program.
Vidnova Fellowship recipient, President of the “Human Rights Roma Center”. Click here for the interview.
Vidnova Fellowship recipient, President of the Roma Youth Organization “Youth Agency for the Advocacy of roma Culture ARCA”. Click here for the interview.
(they/them), Vidnova Fellowship recipient, Ukrainian filmmaker and queer activist. Click here for the interview.
