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Congressman Sandy Levin (D-MI)
U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C.
July 29, 2003
Dear Colleague,
As a member of the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus, I invite you to join us
in cosponsoring H. Con. Res. 254, to recognize the 70th anniversary of the
Soviet-engineered Ukrainian Famine of 1932-1933 and to remember the more
than seven million victims of this man-made tragedy.
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This event graphically illustrates the degree of persecution the Ukrainian
people experienced under the rigid control of the government of the former
Soviet Union. Concerned about Ukrainian self-assertion, Joseph Stalin
implemented a policy of forced collectivization of agriculture and grain
seizures. The Soviets hoped to crush the spirit of Ukraine and replace it
with a politically homogenous Russian realm.
Historians have named this the "harvest of sorrow" because Ukrainian farms
in the early 1930s yielded bumper crops, but the Soviets imposed such harsh
levies on the crops that villages were often left with nothing. The
situation worsened as Soviet officials conducted house-to-house searches for
any remaining stores of food, and as border checkpoints were established to
prevent starving Ukrainians from entering Russia and to prevent any food
from being brought into Ukraine. The people in the land once known as the
"breadbasket of Europe" were reduced to eating weeds and the bark of trees.
This resolution presents an opportunity to recall the brutality of Communist
policies, to remember the innocent victims of those policies, and to
reaffirm our support for Ukraine's path toward democracy and a free market
economy.
I encourage your support for this legislation. Through remembrance, we
honor the memory of all those who perished and work to ensure that such a
tragedy never happens again. If you would like to cosponsor H. Con. Res.
254, please contact David Ettinger at 5-4961.
Sincerely,
Sander Levin
Member of Congress
Cosponsors: Marcy Kaptur (OH) , Curt Weldon (PA)
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J. Stalin. This Should Not Happen Again
Poster from ArtUkraine.com Collection
(Click on image to enlarge it)
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By the Chumak Road of the Thirty Seventh
Poster by B. Boyko
Private Collection of ArtUkraine.com
(Click on image to enlarge it)
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