Nazi propaganda invoked mention of the massacre to illustrate communist terror by the Soviet Union.

The excavations started in May 1943 at three locations: the fruit orchard in the west, the central cemetery, and the People's Park.

An international commission of experts in anatomy and forensic pathology were brought in from 11 countries in Europe, predominantly from Nazi Germany's allied or occupied states.

[11] Photos and results of the investigation were published in many countries in Europe, and were used by Nazi Germany in the propaganda war against the Soviet Union.

Later the Soviet authorities rededicated the monument to the "Victims of Nazi Terror", finally completely removing it and creating an entertainment park in its place.

[9] During Soviet times, information about the massacre was disseminated and investigated by the Ukrainian diaspora in the West.