Browsing: Holodomor

The following statement was made by U.S. State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus on November 23.

This November we honor and remember the millions of Ukrainians who perished 86 years ago during Holodomor, the catastrophic famine created by the barbaric policies of the Stalin regime.
Through the deliberate seizure of Ukrainian land and crops and forced collectivization, the Soviet Union caused widespread starvation and death and immeasurable human suffering.
While this horrific tragedy was one of the most atrocious of the 20th century, the Soviet Union could not break the spirit of the Ukrainian people.

COHOES, N.Y. – Members of the Ukrainian community of New York’s Capital District gathered on Saturday, November 16, to commemorate the victims of the Holodomor.
At 10 a.m., braving 20 degree temperature and a blustering wind chill, participants observed the Holodomor’s 86th anniversary with solemnity and reverence.
The program opened with the laying of a wreath at the Cohoes Holodomor Memorial located in a small meditation park, followed by the singing of the U.S. national anthem by Iryna Petryk.
Dr. Andrij Baran, chairman of the New York Capital District Holodomor Committee, then spoke about the “The History and Meaning of Holodomor,” reminding all why we were there. This was followed by a moment of silence.

HARTFORD, Conn. – The Hartford branch of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America organized the annual bus trip to the New York City Holodomor memorial service at St Patrick Cathedral on Saturday, November 16. Shown here are the students from St. Michael Ukrainian School of Hartford before the services.

NEW YORK – Ukrainian Americans gathered in New York City on Saturday, November 16, to remember the victims of Stalin’s Famine-Genocide – the Holodomor of 1932-1933.
Gathering at the landmark St. Patrick’s Cathedral in the heart of Manhattan, attendees were greeted by Metropolitan Antony of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A., prior to the start of the memorial ceremonies. As the Ukrainian Chorus Dumka of New York began singing, students from St. George Academy slowly processed up the nave of the cathedral followed by Holodomor survivor Nadia Severyn, who was escorted by her grandson, Bill Wieting.

Former U.S. Rep. Sander Levin honored for his long-time support of Holodomor issues

PHILADELPHIA – Delegates from across the United States and Canada met Friday, October 4, to Sunday, October 6, in Philadelphia at a Holodomor Forum organized by the U.S. Committee for Ukrainian Holodomor-Genocide Awareness.
Rather than an academic conference, the forum was organized as a working session for advocates to jointly lay out a blueprint to build on recent efforts to increase awareness of the Holodomor as follows: introduce a Holodomor curriculum at the state or local level; maintain a drumbeat of advocacy efforts for recognition of the Holodomor as a genocide; revoke New York Times correspondent Walter Duranty’s Pulitzer Prize; and increase media exposure of the Holodomor.

TORONTO – The Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) together with the Embassy of Ukraine in Germany and the Ukrainian community in Germany is launching a series of initiatives designed to help raise awareness of the Holodomor among German elected officials, academics and civil society. The goal of the Holodomor Awareness Campaign is to have the German Bundestag recognize the Holodomor as an act of genocide against the Ukrainian people.
Earlier this year, with the overwhelming support of the Ukrainian diaspora, a petition calling for recognition of the Holodomor by Germany obtained the required 50,000 signatures and was subsequently tabled for review and further recommendations by the Bundestag Petitions Committee. The Petitions Committee met on October 21 and, following a hearing on the issue, concluded that it requires further study.

EDMONTON-TORONTO – On November 1-2, the Holodomor Research and Education Consortium (HREC) at the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies is holding a conference at the University of Alberta in Edmonton to examine materials related to the Holodomor that are found in archival collections outside of the countries of the former Soviet Union. Sources to be discussed at the conference include the archives of foreign governments and diplomatic correspondence, and the holdings of the émigré Ukrainian community as well as of minority groups and communities.
“With this conference, we aim to bring to light lesser known and under-researched sources related to the Holodomor and thus to encourage and stimulate further research and publication based on primary source materials,” said Dr. Bohdan Klid, research director for HREC.

As we get closer to the annual observance of Holodomor in November, the U.S. Committee for Ukrainian Holodomor-Genocide Awareness asks for your support in bringing attention to your community and general public about the infamous Pulitzer Prize given to Walter Duranty, correspondent for The New York Times during Joseph Stalin’s reign of terror.
After several attempts by the Ukrainian community to press The New York Times and the Pulitzer Committee to revoke Duranty’s Pulitzer Prize, as late as last November on the Holodomor’s 85th anniversary, the Pulitzer Committee refuses to meet and discuss Duranty’s undeserved prize. The U.S. Committee for Ukrainian Holodomor-Genocide Awareness is asking for immediate action by contacting editors of newspapers, magazines, television, radio stations and through electronic social media. A sample letter appears below. It is of utmost urgency that we let the world know that the time has come to finally remove Duranty’s Pulitzer Prize.

Raphael Lemkin, the distinguished lawyer who coined the term “genocide” and is considered the father of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide adopted by the United Nations on December 9, 1948 (the U.N. Convention on Genocide), regarded the Holodomor as a part of the Soviet genocide against the Ukrainian people. (Rafael Lemkin, “Soviet Genocide in Ukraine,” New York, 1953, https://web.archive.org/web/20120302234607/, http://www.uccla.ca/SOVIET_GENOCIDE_IN_THE_UKRAINE.pdf). Yet recognition of the Holodomor as genocide on the international level still is not universal.

WASHINGTON – Based on the successful commemorations of the 85th anniversary of the Holodomor of 1932-1933 in Ukraine, the U.S. Committee for Holodomor-Genocide Awareness (U.S. Holodomor Committee) is continuing its campaign in 2019 and beyond. Holodomor advocacy days are scheduled for early May throughout state capitals and major cities to promote a Holodomor curriculum within the public school systems of the 50 states, as well as to advocate for executive proclamations/legislative resolutions recognizing the Holodomor as genocide against the Ukrainian nation. 

HOLLAND, Mich. – The Michigan Council of Social Studies held its annual conference on March 22-23 at Hope College in Holland, Mich. The theme of this year’s conference was “Inciting Inquisitive Individuals.” Social studies teachers from across the state traveled to Holland to attend the two days of conference sessions. 

More than a year has passed since the publication of Anne Applebaum’s “Red Famine: Stalin’s War on Ukraine.” The paperback and audiobook editions are now also available. In an interview conducted on January 16 by Marta Baziuk, executive director of the Holodomor Research and Education Consortium (Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, University of Alberta), Ms. Applebaum reflects on the reception and impact of the book.