Special Fund Raiser Offers: Free Autographed Copies of "The Secret of Priest's Grotto", Private Slide Show Presentation by Chris Nicola, Go Caving with Chris Nicola, Visit the Priest's Grotto Cave area in Ukraine with Chris Nicola. Contact Chris Nicola for details.
The Priest's Grotto
Heritage Project
While in Ukraine July of 2009 I established a joint project, The Priest
Grotto Heritage Project, in cooperation with the Borchev
Museum and my caving organization, the Ukrainian American Youth Caver Exchange
Foundation which will serve to protect the things left behind in Priest Grotto
and Verteba caves by the 38 courageous Jews who
survived the Holocaust by taking refuge in these caves for 544 days.
The PG Heritage Project will serve as a sort of Genocide awareness program
by training the youngsters in the Borchev area, many
whom are the grandchildren of the Gentiles who inhabited the area during the
Holocaust, to work as young archeologists with the local museum staff in order
to locate, preserve and protect those items (e.g. shoes, pottery, pots, tools,
etc.) left behind in the caves occupied by 38 Jews during the Holocaust.
In addition to local museum staff, some of the grandchildren of the PG
Survivors, such as Cliff Stermer who accompanied me
on my July trip, will work with the project's "young archeologists",
telling them about their relative's amazing cave survival story that took place
in this area during WWII; an area which is now devoid of any Jews. In short,
one generation will be teaching the next of the horrors of War and Genocide,
and how to Survive; and at the same time preserving an amazing story of
survival for future generations so that "Nobody Forgets" and things
like the Holocaust never take place again.
For Background on the Priest's Grotto Story Please Click here to View a Short Video that aired on the NBC Today Show.
To See the Sierra Tango Productions Video about the Documentary being made, Please
Click here.
For Information on our Student Exchange Program Please
Click here.
If you would like to make a donation to this
project, please click on the below "PayPal"
Link.
Join The Priest's Grotto Heritage Project Facebook Group