[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 148 (Tuesday, October 21, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2104-E2105]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 EXPRESSING SENSE OF HOUSE REGARDING MAN-MADE FAMINE THAT OCCURRED IN 
                          UKRAINE IN 1932-1933

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                               speech of

                           HON. RAHM EMANUEL

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, October 20, 2003

  Mr. EMANUEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 356, 
expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that millions of 
Ukrainians, who were deliberately and systematically starved in the 
early 1930's, should be remembered and honored today. To properly 
commemorate Ukrainians who starved at the hand of Joseph Stalin, we 
must first acknowledge that this genocide was not only ignored but was 
also concealed and perpetuated under Stalin's regime.
  In its darkest hour, Ukraine was viewed by Stalin as a source of 
dissent against the Soviet Union. Its rich tradition of open political 
discourse and cultural splendor were threats to his tyrannical and 
oppressive regime. To preempt Ukrainian opposition, Stalin wielded a 
heavy hand in enforcing an ironclad policy of collectivization, in 
which peasant farmers were forced to turn over the grain they produced. 
Any man, woman or child caught with even a handful of grain from a 
collectivized farm

[[Page E2105]]

would be swiftly executed or deported. Stalin's policy resulted in the 
one of the worst episodes of genocide in the history of the world as an 
estimated 7 to 10 millions Ukrainians perished in the course of just a 
single year.
  Mr. Speaker, on behalf of 4,300 constituents of Ukrainian descent, I 
offer my solemn remembrance to the victims and people of Ukraine. In 
tribute to the millions who witnessed their family members perish 
before succumbing to their own starvation, we must always remember and 
honor the victims of genocide so that mankind never again turns an 
unseeing eye or an unfeeling heart. I join my colleagues in Congress in 
remembering this tragic chapter of human history.

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