Louise Slaughter: “I rise today in solemn tribute to a moment in history that none of us should ever soon forget, the Ukrainian famine of…”

“I rise today in solemn tribute to a moment in history that none of us should ever soon forget, the Ukrainian famine of 1932-33. As a co-chair of the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus, I am pleased that the House leadership has chosen to bring this resolution to the floor. I would also like to thank my friends at the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America for working so hard on this issue. Mr. Speaker, on this, the 65th Anniversary of the Ukrainian famine, we pay respect to the victims of this tragedy so that we may educate a new generation of Americans about this tragic, and ultimately preventable event. This event differed from what we often think of as a typical natural disaster in the sense that it was man-made. The famine was created by a repressive government, with its sole purpose to break the collective will of a proud people for whom the principles of private ownership and individual rights were, and continue to be, deeply embedded in their backgrounds and traditions. In the late 1920's, the Soviet government of Josef Stalin began to take steps to collectivize agriculture by whatever means necessary, including the use of harsh and coercive tactics. What nobody could have ever imagined was that these methods would include a forced famine that would lead to the deaths of more than 7,000,000 people in towns and villages throughout Ukraine.”