"Holodomor," "Great Famine," or even the "Great Terror," are all names of one of the darkest periods of time for the Ukrainian people. While Ukraine was a member of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), they were known as the breadbasket of Europe, and they would produce a large amount of the food for the USSR. As leader of the Soviet Union, Josef Stalin would enforce many policies, and one of these policies was called "Forced Collectivization." Collectivization was a policy where the state would combine many small farms into one massive farm with no private ownership or profit. Setting an astronomical quota for farmers to meet, this policy would throw the country into one of the worst man-made famines in the 20th century, with the brunt of the deaths coming from Ukraine.

An estimated 6 to 7 million Ukrainians lost their lives from the years of 1932-33, an estimation that is still disputed today with some sources saying the death toll could have reached as high as 15 million. Stalin had raised the grain procurement quotas by a staggering 44% which also made it nearly impossible for the Ukrainian people to have enough food to feed themselves. Stalin's secret police and the Red Army also assisted in confiscating the harvest. If any person, woman or child, was caught with any amount of grain they would be either executed or deported. The
illustration shows the irony and tragic events of the artificial famine with a starving child surrounded by wheat at a picnic table. Even Ukrainian people who seemed to be in good health were thought to be stealing from the government and would be dealt the same fate as the others. Death or deportation.

Text by Kevin Davila