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Holodomor

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Holodomor
“This was the first instance of a peacetime genocide in history. It took the extraordinary form of an artificial famine deliberately created by the ruling powers. The savage combination of words for the designation of a crime - an artificial deliberately planned famine - is still incredible to many people throughout the world, but indicates the uniqueness of the tragedy of 1933, which is unparalleled, for a time of peace, in the number of victims it claimed.” ~Wasyl Hryshko – Survivor, the Ukrainian Holocaust, 1933 As the cold, iron curtain of Communism swept across Eastern Europe, The Soviet Union strengthened its grip on the Ukrainian SSR and its people. As populations among the Soviet Republics grew, so did the need for resources to maintain these populations. In 1928, Joseph Stalin, the dictator of the USSR, fashioned a detailed agricultural cultivation program that would denounce private ownership and make the farmers that owned this land workers of the state. This so called “5 Year Plan” facilitated economic and social regulation by the Soviets, evidently sparking a fury of nationalism among the Ukrainian people. Stalin’s demands were absolutely impractical; He proposed that Ukrainian lands produce a surplus of grain to be distributed among the Soviet Republic, as well as the world’s population. The cultivation of new crops, such as sweet beets and cotton, were also unfeasible tasks set for the Ukrainian farmers. Ukrainian resilience can be proven immensely within the tragedy of Holodomor. In 1929, Stalin had become livid with the Ukrainian society, deeming them guilty of “bourgeois nationalism,” and accusing them of defying the Republic (Gregorovich). In the spring 1931, my great-grandfather Vasil was one of ten sons that survived an encounter with Kremlin officials in his home town near Cherkassy, Ukraine. Living within the borders of the Soviet Union, the village was exploited for its rich fields of grain. Officials came to warn my family


Cited: Gregorovich, Andrew. "BLACK FAMINE IN UKRAINE 1932-33." InfoUkes: Ukrainian History. A Ukrainian Review, 1974. Web. 15 Sep. 2013. Popovych, Polina Dmytrivna. "Memories of Polina Dmytrivna Popovych." HOLODOMOR WEBSITE - Articles. The Holodomor Memorial Website, n.d. Web. 15 Sep. 2013. “Holodomor Facts and History." Holodomor History. N.p. Web. 15 Sep. 2013. Hryshko, Wasyl. "Quotes About the 1933 Famine-Genocide in Soviet-Occupied Ukraine." Quotes About the 1933 Famine-Genocide in Soviet-Occupied Ukraine. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Sep. 2013. Strong, Anna L. "New Republic." Searching Out the Soviets. N.p.: n.p., 1935. 356. Print.
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