Ukraine Remembers — The World Acknowledges HOLODOMOR 1932-1933 Heightening Awareness of the Holodomor

The word Holodomor – literally translated from Ukrainian means “murder by starvation” – is probably not front and centre for most people when they delve into the history books.

We know that between four and 10 million Ukrainian men, women and children slowly and needlessly starved to death in 1932-33. Like the Holocaust, there are significant lessons to be learned from the Holodomor.

Now there is a determined effort by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress of Saskatchewan to heighten awareness of the Holodomor via a travelling mobile classroom/ bus that will again be available to schools in Saskatchewan early in 2018.

In addition to the mobile classroom, UCC Saskatchewan’s Holodomor Awareness and Education Committee was invited to develop a chapter on the Holodomor to the online educational website Voices Into Action – a site hosted by the Canadian organization FAST-Fighting Antisemitism Together. The site is easily accessible and free for secondary, post-secondary and adult learners at www.voicesintoaction.ca.

Among the many individuals involved in bringing greater public awareness to the Holodomor is a quartet of current and former educators in the province. Nadia Prokopchuk and co-writer George Zerebecky developed the chapter on the Holodomor for Voices Into Action and are both former education consultants with the Ministry of Education. One-time principal

David Katzman is involved as coordinator for FAST’s Voices Into Action website for Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Holly Paluck is the chairperson of the UCC Saskatchewan Holodomor Awareness and Education Committee as well as principal at St. Marguerite Bourgeoys School in Regina.

Paluck said that “while teachers do a wonderful job of facilitating learning through dialogue and inquiry, a critical

piece of any learning plan is the availability of quality resources for instruction. A visit to the mobile classroom will help visitors gain information and resources on the topic of the Holodomor, which remains the biggest Soviet cover-up in history.”

Prokopchuk has personally seen the 450-square-foot mobile classroom and recounts it as being a very powerful experience that goes beyond a textbook, largely due to the use of state-of-the-art technology. The space allows 34 visitors to participate in a 60-minute facilitator-led educational experience that includes audiovisual presentations on a 28-foot video wall and the use of individual tablets.

She believes that both the mobile classroom and the newly developed chapter on the Holodomor provide important resources about “the missing pages in our history texts.”

“Many will come away wondering why they haven’t heard of this before or why this tragic genocide has been omitted from historical studies for so long. Student interest and curiosity will definitely be piqued by what they see in the mobile classroom and they will be able to learn more about the Holodomor and other genocide by accessing information within Voices Into Action. In fact, all of the units presented in Voices Into Action help students to focus on ways that we can fight atrocities against humanity, including anti-Semitism, discrimination and all other forms of racism.

Unfortunately, this is still an issue in our world.”

It is only

within the past decade that the artificial famine, or the Holodomor, has garnered any sort of international exposure, fuelled in large part due to Ukraine gaining its independence from the former Soviet Union. There are more than 40 jurisdictions globally, including Canada and Saskatchewan, that have officially condemned the Holodomor or recognized it as genocide. During Soviet times, any mention of the Holodomor was considered a crime against the state and, as a result, school texts and history books produced in the Soviet Union didn’t include any mention of this dark period.

Aside from now having access to previously hidden government documents and statistical data, Prokopchuk said there are also survivors willing to offer first-hand experiences, which have been incorporated into the Holodomor chapter within Voices Into Action.

“We have to talk about this to ensure that it never happens again,” she stressed, adding that it has taken decades for the survivors to feel a sufficient level of trust in their government to talk about the past. It has an eerie similarity to the lamentable residential school experience that has tarnished Canada’s reputation.

“We have to look at the bold step taken by Canada to right historical wrongs through the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Students across Canada are learning about residential schools. We’re not at that point with Russia because there is still a very strong resistance, so we need to keep the message bold by revealing facts that have been hidden for decades.”

Katzman, who has done extensive research on genocide, said that the Holodomor is yet another example that every genocide brings with it the undeniable truth that some will profit from the suffering and so it is important to be vigilant or we will see it repeated all too soon.

“We have many well-intentioned, dedicated teachers who just don’t know enough about the Holodomor and it’s important that they learn more and understand what it means for us today. We now know how much effort had gone into covering up the fact that entire villages were destroyed.

“Voices into Action provides reliable online resources to help students understand and respond appropriately to all forms of hatred, bigotry and discrimination,” he said.

Paluck highlighted the pivotal role of the Government of Saskatchewan, which was the first in Canada to legislate a provincial Holodomor Memorial Day in 2008. “Our Holodomor Awareness and Education Committee, whose members include educators and academics, believes that the mobile classroom and online resource material will build momentum and bring the message to a wider audience. Our actions as a committee support the provincial government’s recognition of this historic tragedy.”

Prokopchuk added that the bus and the new resource chapter on the Holodomor are not just for a Saskatchewan audience, but also for a Canadian audience.

Paluck is overseeing the visit of the mobile classroom to the province. Principals or senior administrators are invited to contact h.paluck@ucc.sk.ca for booking inquiries.