Ukranian's Hidden Holocuast

I have been learning so much about the history of Eastern Europe over the past few days. I vividly remember learning about this history of Western Europe in history class- the rise of Rome, the French Revolution, The Protestant Reformation, and Nazi Germany, but other than a few brief lessons on Soviet Russia, I really don't remember studying the history of Eastern Europe at all. The Soviet influence is still very prevalent in the architecture and culture in both Ukraine and Belarus and there are many monuments to commemorate their history.

In Ukraine we ran across a gorgeous monument located in a park overlooking the entire city that was build to commemorate the millions of citizens of Ukraine who died of starvation between 1932 and 1933.

Here is an excerpt from our travel guide describing the horrible conditions and political situation at that time that lead to these deaths:

" Between 1932 and 1933, some three to five million citizens of Ukraine died of starvation while surrounded by fields of wheat and locked government storehouses full of food. Stalin had collectivized Soviet farms and ordered the production of unrealistic quotas of grain, which was then confiscated and stored under protection of the government."

"As Soviet collectivization began in the 1930s, combining individual farms into huge state-run communes, those who resisted were deported or starved into submission. By 1932, Communist Party activists were seizing grain and produce and erecting watchtowers above the fields. anyone caught stealing was executed or deported. As entire villages starved, people committed suicide and even resorted to cannibalism."


"Many historians believe this famine was part of the Soviet leadership's wider plan to solve the 'nationality problem' within several republics. Ukrainians were especially hard-hit and documents released recently suggest the Ukrainians were deliberately targeted. for example, Ukraine's borders were reportedly shut to prevent its people leaving. At the time Soviet authorities denied the famines existence, but it is now recognized by the Ukrainian government as genocide"

"A total of seven to ten million people died throughout the USSR. Russia remains firmly opposed to any 'genocide' description and the true scale of the disaster has rarely been appreciated in the West."

Hearing this story and seeing this monument was really moving. We are now in Belarus, where the history and politics is even more interesting (our flat is only a few blocks away from the KGB building), but I will have to write about that later.