Holodomor Genocide

Map of the Ukraine in 1932 showing the control of the USSR

The Holodomor Genocide of 1932 was a man-made famine that occurred in the Soviet Republic of Ukraine and resulted in over 7.5 million deaths across the nation. With it's Ukrainian origin, "Holodomor"  literally translates into "death by hunger."

No one really knows the exact cause of the Holodomor famine, and there are many arguments that portray many different ideas, although the general consensus is that the "Collectivization in the USSR" affected the working class and the ability to produce crops. Enforced by the power of Joseph Stalin, the purpose of the "Collectivization in the USSR" was to consolidate individual land onto collective farms, thus increasing the food production by taking all individual control of the farm and land from the owner. The Soviet Communist Party had never been happy with private agriculture and saw collectivization as the best solution for the problem. Although it began with trying to increase the food supply for the entire nation, the Soviet Communist Party's attempt for rapid industrialization resulted in uneven  and unfair distribution of food (mostly grains) across the nation.


Workers on a collectivized farm


When Stalin came to power, he was able to create the communist community he wanted. Later this “communist community” would be referred to as the Holodomor Genocide as he starved citizens to death. Using the idea of collectivization, Stalin bought the farmland of his people, and then paid the people to work the land; essentially he redistributed the wealth just as Hitler did in the Holocaust.

Starving children on the streets of Kharkiv searching for food. Ukraine, 1933.

When Joseph Stalin assumed command as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union after Lenin passed away, he implemented a policy to force the collectivization of farms in order to increase the overall efficiency and productivity of farms. These collective farms were called kolkhozes and were completely owned by the government; the farmers were not able to keep any products, and they received very little to no pay. Starving peasants dared not touch the collectivized food in fear of execution. From the start, these farms were destined to fail. The Communist regime placed the blame for the failure of the kolkhozes on the few relatively wealthier peasants that had avoided collectivization.  


Picking tomatoes at a kolkhoz on the outskirts of Moscow. The pickers appear to be all women.

Stalin's disappointment in and frustration with the inefficiency of the collectives fuel his rage. As a result he ordered for the severe punishment of any workers who did not let their efforts maximize productivity. Peasants who were unjustly labeled kulaks or seemed to be slacking off were either executed, sent to remote slave labor camps in Russia, or assigned to local labor assignments. Joseph Stalin essentially used the failure of the collective farms as an excuse for the punishment of Ukrainian nationalists who opposed the regime and organized uprisings against the regime. This caused the USSR closed the borders to foreign aid and migration.


By the summer of 1932, most of the kulaks had be executed, but the remaining peasants managed to keep their resistance to communism despite the fact that they were on the brink of a mass starvation. Stalin increased the total grain production quota by 44 percent, a goal that would definitely be impossible to attain. The pressure to increase the grain exports to foreign countries resulted in Stalin's order for all remaining grain reserves be taken if the collectives fail to meet quota. The government considered any grain that peasants refused to surrender to be stolen property was punishable by execution. Thousands of people were shot for supposedly attempting to take a handful of grain or a few beets from the kolkhozes.
 

It was in 1933 that the famine reached it's height. Daily; 25,000 people died of starvation. During this time the life expediencies hit an all time low, with 7.3 years old for females and 10.8 years for males. Starvation drove the workers insane. People turned to anything they could find that remotely resembled food such as weeds, bark, and few were fortunate enough to trap small woodland animals for meat. Millions were dying due to malnutrition, and babies and children were dying due to birth defects once again as a result of malnutrition during pregnancy. At this time, citizens didn't even have enough food to stay alive, let alone fight off viruses and disease. Typhus, Malaria, and Typhoid fever also claimed lives during the famine.

Victims of the famine 

Children on the Collectives

The 1937 population census revealed a sharp decrease in the Ukrainian population as a result of the Holodomor. The workers who conducted the survey were shot, and the census results were buried.

As 7 to 10 million died from starvation, the world kept silent. The American government supposedly had information about the Famine but failed react to the situation. Even today, many people try to ignore the fact that Holodomor existed. No criminal charges or accusations of Holodomor have been laid

Current Statistics of the Ukraine (2013)


Timeline of Holodomor
1917- The Russian Federative Socialist Republic is formed which later became the Soviet Union
1919- Ukraine declares independence and develops an independent state. Ukraine is left out of the hearings regarding the Treaty Of Versailles
1921- Famine begins in the Ukraine as food is being exported to Russia to supply Russian cities. 
1922-The Soviet Union becomes united with Ukraine
1924- Joseph Stalin gains power in Ukraine
1928- Stalin makes plans to begin collectivization. Land is taken from citizens
1929- Enforcement of the collectives begins. Hundreds of inhabitants(mostly farmers) are sent to Siberia to starve.
1932- The production quota is raised to 40% the death penalty for theft of grains is introduced. 
1933- Russification is brought to the Ukraine. Borders between Russia and the Ukraine are closed. Adolf Hitler comes to power in Germany (See Holocaust)
1934- The USSR joins the League of Nations. House representatives introduce a resolution which called for the condemnation of the Soviet Government causing destruction of the Ukraine people

Summary of Holodomor in 4 Minutes