The University of Michigan team partnered with The Reckoning Project, an international NGO dedicated to collecting fact-based, legally admissible testimonies from witnesses and victims of human rights violations, war crimes, and atrocities in Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion.
What We Do
Since 2022, WCEE analyzed testimonies from over 300 incidents and prepared them for legal, archival, commemorative, and educational purposes. To ensure objectivity, our team was trained in translation standards, research ethics, and qualitative methods.
![Textbook from The Reckoning Project @ WCEE: Investigating War Crimes in Ukraine. Three civilians looking at the rubble of a heavily damaged residential building in Chernihiv, Ukraine. The image is framed as if being recorded, with the words Ukraine Testifies and [REC] in opposite corners.](https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/thereckoningproject/wp-content/uploads/sites/1129/2025/08/Textbook_The-Reckoning-Project@WCEE_Ukraine-Testifies_smaller.png)
The Weiser Center for Europe and Eurasia together with the Center for Education Design, Evaluation, and Research at the University of Michigan developed comprehensive materials for educators to teach about the war in Ukraine and build knowledge about broader issues such as war crimes, genocide, human rights, and sovereignty. The resources include a detailed teaching guide with classroom activities and discussion prompts, and a student textbook with assignments and projects. Both are meant to be used in conjunction with WCEE’s interactive maps and archive of witness testimonies of war crimes collected by TRP.
All teaching materials are provided free of charge.
Areas: Social Studies, World History, US History, Government
Lesson Sequence:
• The War in Ukraine: Historical Context
• What are War Crimes? What Does Justice Look Like?
• Looking for Patterns of War Crimes
• Incident Case Studies
Interactive Maps
Archive of Testimonies
Users can find details of incidents marked on the interactive maps in the archive.
Featured Incidents
Below is a selection of incidents that include a variety of relevant media materials from The Reckoning Project and other vetted media outlets.
- 2. Three teenagers shot by tank. Mokhnatyn (Chernihiv)
- 13. Shelling of train station. Kramatorsk (Donetsk)
- 47. Forced relocation and illegal adoption of Ukrainian children. Mariupol (Donetsk)
- 55. Shelling of shopping mall. Kremenchuk (Poltava)
- 74. Mass captivity in school basement. Yahidne (Chernihiv)
- 113. Occupation of local hospital. Snihurivka (Mykolaiv)