Seven years ago, on October 6, 2008, the National Committee to Commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Ukrainian Genocide of 1932-1933 announced that a site for a U.S. national memorial to the millions of victims of the Holodomor had been approved after negotiations between the Embassy of Ukraine, the commemorative committee, the U.S. National Park Service and numerous other federal and local agencies.
The memorial site – chosen among 24 potential sites reviewed – is located in Washington at the intersection of North Capitol Street, Massachusetts Avenue and F Street – five blocks north of the U.S. Capitol. Public hearings were held before the National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission. As a result of these hearings, the memorial committee hired a private firm to prepare various presentations and a comprehensive environmental impact assessment of the sites at a cost of nearly $100,000.
President George W. Bush signed a law on October 13, 2006, authorizing the Holodomor memorial in Washington. The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed H. Res. 1324 that recognized the 75th anniversary of the Holodomor and condemned “the violations of human rights, including freedom of self-determination and freedom of speech of the Ukrainian people by the Soviet government.”
On October 8, 2008, the national memorial committee, in a press statement, underscored, “The Holodomor memorial will remind our government, the American people and the world that history can and will repeat itself unless we remember the horrors of the past and pledge our energies to fight genocide and tyranny wherever we find it.”
The monument – designed by Ukrainian American architect Larysa Kurylas – was installed earlier this year on August 4 and is set for official unveiling ceremonies on Saturday, November 7, with other related events all weekend.
Source: “”Site for Ukrainian Genocide Memorial in D.C. is approved,” The Ukrainian Weekly, October 13, 2008.