[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 177 (Thursday, November 15, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2441]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 UKRAINIAN FAMINE-GENOCIDE OF 1932-1933

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                            HON. JIM GERLACH

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 15, 2007

  Mr. GERLACH. Madam Speaker, there are few more disturbing examples of 
human cruelty toward its own kind in the history of the world than the 
Ukrainian Famine-Genocide of 1932-1933. It is inconceivable that a 
government could have so little value for human life to kill up to 10 
million people, including 3 million children, in order to break 
national resistance to Communism. For 500 days, 25,000 people died 
daily from hunger, when nature's harvest provided them with everything 
needed to lead a normal life and when food was in their plain view. The 
brutality of such a policy and the callous way it was enforced are 
beyond comprehension. The Ukrainian Famine-Genocide was caused by the 
imposition of extraordinarily high grain quotas in the agricultural 
areas of Ukraine, and inhumane efforts by the Soviet government in 
taking every foodstuff available to fulfill the quotas. Taking a 
handful of grain or a potato was considered ``stealing from the state'' 
and capital punishment could be--and was--applied as a consequence.
  The eyewitness accounts are horrifying in their candor. One survivor 
wrote the following in her diary: ``Upon entering [the village] we 
caught up with a boy of about 7; my fellow traveler shouted [for him to 
step out of the way] but the boy did not seem to hear and continued to 
walk, swaying; our carriage caught up with him; I shouted; the boy 
stepped out of the way as though unwillingly; I wanted to look him in 
the face. That face left a chilling impression on me, one that I will 
never forget. I think that this was the expression of people who know 
that they will soon die, but who do not want to die. But this was a 
child. [. . .] I cried silently, so that my companion would not hear. 
The thought that I could not do anything, that millions of children are 
dying from hunger [. . .] dismayed me. . . . Near the village soviet 
office we ran into an old man with the same expression on his face.''
  When the news of the Famine-Genocide reached the free world, the 
Soviet government denied its existence and refused humanitarian aid 
that could have saved the lives of millions. For the next 60 years, the 
government aggressively continued to deny the existence of the Famine-
Genocide and even banned the use of the word ``famine''.
  On the event of the 75th anniversary of the Ukrainian Famine-
Genocide, I am confident that I speak on behalf of my constituents and 
our entire nation when I join the Ukrainian nation in mourning the 
millions of innocent victims. Their memory will always be with us. I 
believe it is our moral responsibility to recognize the Ukrainian 
American community's work and continue to inform the whole world of the 
crime against the Ukrainian people and humanity committed by the 
Stalinist totalitarian regime. We cannot let any similar tragedy be 
repeated ever again. Together, we need to continue to fight 
totalitarianism and the oppression until every corner of this planet is 
free and democracy reigns supreme. We honor the memory of the innocent 
victims and the brave fighters for Ukraine's independence today and we 
will remember them always.

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