The Path of Destruction
From the moment the Germans and their Hungarian, Italian and Romanian allies invaded Ukraine from the west and south on 22 June 1941, it was clear what lay in store for the Jewish families that did not flee eastward: death by starvation, beatings, deportations to death camps in German-occupied Poland (from western Ukraine), and for well over a million men, women and children: death by firing squad. The total: between 1.5 million and 1.6 million.
The map and chart below show the progress of the German Army, its allies and the Waffen SS in the early months of the war. As can be seen, the vast majority of Jews in the west of the country had no chance to flee; the farther east they were, the better their chances to escape.
| Date | 28 June | 29 June | 25 Aug | 19 Sept. | 16 October | 24 Oct |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City | Rivne | Lviv | Dnipro. | Kyiv | Odessa (*occupied by Romania, not Germany) | Kharkiv |
| Nr of Jews, prewar | 25,000 | 200,000 by 1941 | 89,000 | 150,000 | 200,961 by 1931 | 130,250 |
| Nr killed between 41-44 | 20,540 | 152,200 | 17,000 | 33,771 (by 1941) in Babyn Yar. By the end of 1943 over 50,000 Jews were killed in Babyn Yar. | 111,000 | 12,000 |
| Nr fled to east | Basically none | 10,000 | 74,000 | 100,000 | 80,000-90,000 | 115,000 |
| % survived | 17,9% | 23,9% | 81% | 66,7% | 44,8% | 90,8% |