DALLAS – The North Texas Holodomor Committee (NTHC), in partnership with the Dallas Public Library, on September 23 opened a Holodomor 85th Year Commemoration Exhibit on the fourth floor of the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library in downtown Dallas. The exhibit will run through November 9.
Display cases exhibited the hunger, horror and history of the artificial famine imposed on the Ukrainian population by the Soviet regime. Personally directed by Joseph Stalin, this genocide resulted in the death and starvation of millions of Ukrainians in 1932-1933.
Showcased in the exhibit were two black breads baked with wheat imprints (donated by Hania Prochko); candles, representing eternally shining flames of hope; and white paper cut-out bones, inscribed with the names of 85 Holodomor victims, symbolic of the 85th anniversary of the Holodomor, lying on black fabric.
People coming to see the exhibit.
NTHC Chair Chrystya Geremesz emceed the commencement program, which began when senior dancers from the Zorya Dance Ensemble of Dallas silently welcomed the audience. Holding black bread and sheaves of wheat, the dancers were flanked by the Ukrainian and American flags. The Rev. Pavlo Popov of St. Sophia’s Ukrainian Catholic Church of The Colony, Texas, then recited a prayer for the Holodomor victims.
Marta Petrash narrated a very informative PowerPoint presentation outlining the historical injustices and statistics of the Holodomor.
Veselka Folk Singers of Dallas sang “A Hymn for Ukraine” as a part of its performance. North Texas Food Bank spokesperson Talia McAllister then shared how the canned food drive sponsored by the North Texas Holodomor Committee will battle hunger in the local community. Two traditional folk selections by bandurist Mark Krasij concluded the program.
The main exhibit in the library.
Books about the Holodomor were available for purchase and, wheat, symbolizing its importance to Ukraine as the “Bread Basket of Europe,” was displayed in various areas of the exhibit.
The exhibit includes a series of documentaries about the Holodomor that are scheduled to be shown at the library weekly through November 4.
Sponsors who helped make this exhibit possible included the Dallas Public Library, the Ukrainian American Society of Texas, Dnipro Valley Transport, Ben Yager Designs and Moxie Graphic Productions. For more detailed schedule information, readers can visit www.UAST.org/Holodomor.