CHRONOLOGY OF THE FAMINE YEARS
This year marks the 50th anniversary of one of history's most horrifying cases of genocide - the Soviet-made Great Famine of 1932-33, in which some 7 million Ukrainians perished.
Relying on news from Svoboda and, later, The Ukrainian Weekly (which began publication in October 1933), this column hopes to remind and inform Americans and Canadians of this terrible crime against humanity.
By bringing other events worldwide into the picture as well, the column hopes to give a perspective on the state of the world in the years of Ukraine's Great Famine.
PART III
April 1932
On April 2 Svoboda reported from Bucharest that a special commission composed of both Rumanian and Soviet representatives was beginning investigations of the shootings of Ukrainian refugees who crossed the Dnister into Bessarabia.
Rumanians represented included the minister of the press, Bagnal, and the ambassador for Bessarabia, Christie. Svoboda reported that the commission representatives from Russia were Gen. Meneshchynsky of the Moscow secret police and Redel, head of the secret police in Ukraine.
An official of the Rumanian government said there was a possibility that the League of Nations would be asked to take part in the investigations of this "masquerade staged by the Bolsheviks on the Dnister by shooting more than 1,000 refugees in a three-month period," reported Svoboda.
The April 9 headlines in Svoboda read: "Hungry peasants steal from and then burn a preserved foods factory; Soviet armies and secret police shoot at the hungry masses." From Bucharest news reached Svoboda that in the Soviet town of Tyraspol, peasants raided a factory of canned goods as Soviet soldiers tried to intervene and began shooting at the peasants. When there was nothing left in the factory, the peasants set if afire, causing great material damage to the Soviet state.
In mid-April the Rumanian government released figures on the number of Ukrainians who had succeeded in escaping to Rumania during the winter of 1931-32. The total had reached 6,000. But the people who had crossed the Dnister to safety had no money and went hungry. In response, the Rumanian government bank had begun a special fund drive for them, Svoboda reported on April 18.
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As news about the famine in Soviet-occupied Ukraine reached the pages of Svoboda, news about hunger in other Ukrainian territories was also covered on the pages of the newspaper. In the April 4 issue the headline of a story datelined Uzhhorod read: "The hunger in Zakarpattia is even worse than that in China and India. The government is not organizing any help for the starving population." The economically depressed Zakarpattia, or Transcarpathian region, then part of Czechoslovakia, was visited by representatives of the International Workers Aid, who surveyed the land and apprised the Czechoslovak minister of internal affairs, the minister of health and Czech president Thomas G. Masaryk of the situation.
On April 5, a representative from Transcarpathia, Kurtiak, addressed the Czechoslovak Parliament in Prague about the catastrophic proportions the food shortage had reached in that area. The hunger and poverty in the region were due to an economic crisis that had been concealed by Rozcypal, the governor of Transcarpathia, who, soon after the investigations, resigned from his post.
Zakarpattia was not the only area that suffered from a food shortage and poverty. The Hutsuls received aid from Lviv to help them through their economic crisis. They were also plagued by flooding, which destroyed what little crops they had.
On April 23, Svoboda carried the news that Volyn, especially the Lutske oblast, also was suffering from a food shortage due to the crops destroyed in the region by hail storms. All of Ukrainian territory suffered that month because of weather conditions. Heavy rains and the spring thaw caused tremendous flooding in parts of Galicia, Bukovina, Bessarabia and Volyn. However, damage was also great in the Dnipro River areas. The Soviet government also tried to cover this up, but news leaked out to Lviv. Svoboda reported that the Dnister, and its tributaries, the Prypiat, Ros, Teteriv, Irpen and Desna, overflowed their banks. Other rivers flood the Podillia, Kharkiv, Odessa and Kiev regions, totally wiping out whatever few crops remained on the land. Svoboda also reported that a special commission was formed by the Soviet government to survey the flooding situation. It was headed by the chief of the secret police.
Around the world, during the month of April, the International Labor Organization (which operated under the auspices of the League of Nations) held its 16th convention in Geneva. The delegates discussed the state of the world, which at that time had 20 million unemployed.
Also in the early spring, President von Hindenburg won the absolute majority in Germany's general elections, beating Hitler by 6 million votes. Hitler's party, however, made substantial gains in various regions. April also saw the end of the dictatorship of General Zhyvkovych, who was appointed dictator of Yugoslavia in 1929. He resigned in 1932, saying that he believed he had done the work King Alexander had outlined for him. A more popular belief, Svoboda reported, was that he had actually done the country more harm than good and, therefore, resigned.
In the Soviet Union, in Lower Novgorod, the largest automobile and tractor factory in all of Europe closed down due to its chaotic and disorganized structure, reported Svoboda. This was blamed on the collective direction of its management.
The Japanese-Chinese conflict continued, with the Japanese increasing the number of troops in Manchuria. Svoboda reported that tension was mounting between the Japanese and the Soviet government, which removed its railroad cars from Manchuria.
In Italy, the Fascist Party held a large meeting at which members discussed the need to cancel all reparations and international debts in order to keep the world from economic chaos and avoid world war.
The House of Representatives called for the granting of complete independence to the Philippines within eight years (1940). The bill awaited action in the Senate.
An earthquake shook China's Yangtse River region, destroying towns and villages, and leaving thousands of people homeless. In South America, Chile and Ecuador experienced military unrest and volcanic eruptions in the Andes scattered ashes over 400 miles of the Chilean countryside.
Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, March 6, 1983, No. 10, Vol. LI
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