Holodomor started in 1932, ended in 1933 with more than seven-million deaths. Holodomor had the purpose of destroying the Ukrainian nation, especially its farmers. This genocide had as its goals collectivism in the Soviet Union and industrialization. Holodomor refers to the Ukrainian word for starvation and death. The genocide was mainly concentrated in the eastern and central parts of Ukraine. Ukrainian farmers had to give up their entire harvest in order to feed the government, which led to famine. Joseph Stalin was behind the Soviet Union’s mass occurrence of famine. This essay aims to describe what caused the Holodomor genocidal event, as well as the effects of that genocide upon the Ukrainian people during and after it.
Joseph Stalin, a Georgian revolutionary born in Russia on 18 December 1878. Joseph Stalin was born Ioseb Besarionis Jughashvili. Lenin led the Soviet Union before Stalin took over. Stalin was gaining political support and moving up the ranks, but after Lenin’s death Stalin took over the Soviet Union. Joseph Stalin was responsible for the Holodomor Genocide because he wanted Russia to grow and he also wanted to make money. Stalin sent undesirables to forced-labor camps, or killed them. Joseph Stalin collectedivizes farming and executes enemies that could be a danger to him. Joseph Stalin was aware that Ukraine’s economic growth would be dangerous. Joseph Stalin also said in 1932: “If we do nothing to improve the conditions in Ukraine now, Ukraine may be lost”. The increase in population is a good indication that Stalin’s policy of the Holodomor was motivated by this. Joseph Stalin was a key player in the Holodomor. Stalin made many efforts to turn Russia into an industrialized country before the Genocide. Stalin’s goal was to feed workers in the industry. He wanted to supply grain that would be sold to foreign countries to generate income, which he could use to fund his plans for industrialization.
Stalin began an agricultural collectionivization in 1928. This program forced people into collective farms that were owned by the state and to give up land. The ‘Class Warfare Policy’ was implemented in 1929 to combat the resistance of farmers to collective farms. The secret police and troops were sent to kill many farmers that were successful. Dekulakization, a policy where people were put in trains to be transported into remote areas of Siberia with no food or shelter, caused many victims. Stalin created many police that hinted at his plans for something big. The Holodomor made life very difficult for the people. Twenty-five percent were put to death. One of the most horrifying results of the Holodomor was the death of many children younger than ten years old. The poor would steal food and give it their children as a way to save themselves. The government decided that soldiers would steal all the food found in people’s homes when they went to collect it. If you hide food, you could be sent to Siberia. Kateryna Pachenko was a Holodomor survivor who said these words.
In 1933, more than 300 000 children died in the Kyiv area alone. In 1933, over 300,000 children were recorded dead in the Kyiv region alone. Two-thirds were also missing from school, and many children became orphans. People walked to other towns or cities to find food after their villages were unable provide it. As the famine reached its worst in 1933, close to a third of the people who died were under 10 years old. The cities had food, but they were forbidden to give it to the poor villagers. Doctors were also not allowed to care for them. There were many events that took place following the Holodomor, which affected many lives and caused many to continue to starve. Stalin denied that there was a famine in Ukraine, but he exported millions of tons worth of grain, more than enough to feed all the men, women and children who died from starvation. Joseph Stalin’s plan to make money for industrialization didn’t go as planned. Less grains were exported. Stain’s enemies were spread by anyone who spoke out against him. Many of those who survived the Holodomor went through mental breakdowns after their family members died from hunger. Four million people died of starvation on the Soviet Ukrainian border in 1933 and 1934.
Holodomor, a famine in Ukraine that killed seven million people between 1932 and 1934, was an event of great magnitude. A claimed in the essay that Joseph Stalin did not help the Ukrainians, who were suffering from a famine. He was even unable to stop it. Stalin feared nationalism, and he viewed it as a serious threat. As a result, he created Holodomor in order to eliminate the Ukrainian nationalist idea, by wiping the elite out of the country, along with their social support. Stalin’s decision to end the life of Ukrainians was a difficult one. People began to starve to death. Holodomor caused the deaths of more than 7 million Ukrainians. The soldiers sent those who had hidden food to Siberia after they caught them.
Holodomor – a tragedy that swept away countless lives in 1932-1933. “God, spare us the pain of reliving this again.” Ksenia Datsenko, another Holodomor-survivor. A high number of children died because they were absent from school. Holodomor was the cause. Overcrowded orphanages, children’s shelters and other places for children led to a rise in starvation deaths.
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