An exhibition that details the horrors and magnitude of the Holodomor –
the little-known Ukrainian genocide that resulted in the deaths of some
10 million people – opens at The Ukrainian Museum on Tuesday evening,
May 27 at 5:30 p.m.
The exhibition, Holodomor: Genocide by Famine, is one of a series
of events taking place around the world to commemorate the 75th
anniversary of what James Mace, the director of the U.S. Commission on
the Ukraine Famine (1988), referred to as "the crime of the century that
nobody's ever heard of."
The horrific event, known in Ukrainian as the Holodomor (literally,
murder by starvation), took place in 1932-1933, less than twenty years
after Ukraine was forcibly incorporated into the Soviet Union.
Determined to force all Ukrainian farmers onto collective farms, to
crush the burgeoning national revival, and to forestall any calls for
Ukraine's independence, the brutal Communist regime of Soviet dictator
Joseph Stalin embarked on a campaign to starve the Ukrainian people into
submission.
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The Soviet government confiscated all the grain produced by Ukrainian
farmers, withheld other foodstuffs, executed anyone trying to obtain
food, and punished those who attempted to flee. As a result, in the land
called the Breadbasket of Europe, millions of men, women, and children
were starved to death.
Stalin boasted privately that 10 million people – 25% of Ukraine's
population – had perished during the Holodomor. At least 3 million of
the victims were children.
Despite the magnitude of the atrocity, the Soviet regime, behind its
Iron Curtain, denied the existence of the Holodomor for decades,
denouncing any reports as "anti-Soviet propaganda." It was not until the
breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the subsequent establishment of
an independent Ukraine that the contents of many sealed government
archives were uncovered, exposing a wealth of gruesome information.
Much of that information is included in Holodomor: Genocide by Famine,
which consists of 96 panels of photographs, documents, government
reports, eyewitness accounts, and other archival material detailing
virtually every aspect of the tragedy.
Holodomor: Genocide by Famine draws on numerous sources,
including the Holodomor exhibition organized by The Ukrainian Museum for
display at the United Nations in 2003 – the 70th annniversary of the
tragedy. The current exhibition was produced by the League of Ukrainian
Canadians (LUC) in cooperation with the Museum of Soviet Occupation of
the Kyiv Memorial Society in Ukraine and the League of Ukrainian
Canadian Women (LUCW). LUC and LUCW are non-profit organizations
dedicated to the continued development of a thriving Ukrainian community
in Canada, to raising awareness of the history of the Ukrainian people,
and to promoting the tenets of democracy and respect for human rights.
Over the years, both organizations have actively supported a number of
human rights projects, including the International Commission of Inquiry
into the 1932-1933 Famine in Ukraine (1990).
Dr. Taras Hunczak, professor emeritus in the history department at Rutgers University, prepared the introductory wall text for Holodomor: Genocide by Famine and its accompanying brochure.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has addressed his compatriots on the Holodomor Remembrance Day.
"This crime has changed the history of the Ukrainian people forever. It has been one of the severest challenges of Ukrainians. The Holodomor not only killed people, but also had the purpose of causing fear and obedience. For decades, any mention of those dreadful events has been banned," reads the statement.
"But Ukrainians demonstrated tenacity. Due to belief in our power, love to Ukraine, primordial pursuit of freedom and independence we have survived," Yanukovych said.
"Today, a little candle flame unites us in a prayer for the souls of the Holodomor victims. We also remember those who shared the last piece of bread and saved the lives of compatriots. Our duty is to carry the memory of those dreadful events forever in our hearts. We also must do everything to prevent such a tragedy in the future," the president said.
1 comMENTS:
I am so glad I recently learned about the Holodomor. It was never mentioned in any history book I read during grade school, intermediate school, or high school. I never heard about it in college or in graduate school. The Jewish media has suppressed any publicity concerning the Holodomor. This is because Jews caused the Holodomor. The Holocaust pales in significance to the 10 million deaths caused by Jews in the Holodomor.
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