Today, as every fourth Saturday of November, we commemorate the Holodomor, one of the darkest tragedies in human history. This famine, deliberately orchestrated by the Soviet regime between 1932 and 1933, claimed the lives of 6 million Ukrainians, victims of a policy of annihilation aimed at destroying their national identity. This genocide, still unknown to many, remains a deep wound in Ukraine’s collective memory.
The famine was implemented through forced collectivization and repressive laws such as the “Law of the Ears,” which punished the theft of grain with deportation or the death penalty, while Ukrainian wheat continued to be exported in large quantities to fill the coffers of the USSR and feed other regions, leaving local populations to starve. These measures were part of a deliberate effort to deprive the Ukrainian people of any chance of survival.
Kharkiv, Ukraine in 1933 – Photo by Alexander Wienerberger
In 2024, this commemoration carries particular significance, as the war in Ukraine has been ongoing for eleven years, and the full-scale invasion by the Russian army continues to be marked by atrocities that painfully recall the past. The similarities between the destructive policies of Stalin’s regime and those of Putin are striking and cannot be ignored.
The recognition of the Holodomor as genocide by the French National Assembly on March 28, 2023, was a historic moment for memory and justice. It is part of an international awareness that has been growing over the past few decades, with the European Parliament also contributing to this in December 2022. These symbolic advances strengthen the idea that achieving justice for the victims of the past is a lever to condemn the crimes of today. At a time when propaganda and dehumanization methods are repeating, the memory of the Holodomor reminds us that it is essential to name the crimes in order to combat them.
On this day of remembrance, we honor the millions of Ukrainians who died from starvation, as well as all those who continue to fight today to preserve their freedom and identity in the face of Russian aggression. Remembering the Holodomor is not only to honor these lost lives but also an act of solidarity with Ukraine today.
Photo : Shutterstock/Drop of Light
