H. Res. 356

In the House of Representatives, U.S.,

October 20, 2003.

Whereas 2003 marks the 70th anniversary of the height of

the famine in Ukraine that was deliberately initiated and

enforced by the Soviet regime through the seizure of

grain and the blockade of food shipments into the affected areas, as well as by forcibly preventing the starving population from leaving the region, for the purposes

of eliminating resistance to the forced collectivization of

agriculture and destroying Ukraine’s national identity;

Whereas this man-made famine resulted in the deaths of at

least 5,000,000 men, women, and children in Ukraine

and an estimated 1–2 million people in other regions;

Whereas the famine took place in the most productive agricultural area of the former Soviet Union while foodstocks

throughout the country remained sufficient to prevent the

famine and while the Soviet regime continued to export

large quantities of grain;

Whereas many Western observers with first-hand knowledge

of the famine, including The New York Times correspondent Walter Duranty, who was awarded a Pulitzer

Prize in 1932 for his reporting from the Soviet Union,

knowingly and deliberately falsified their reports to cover

up and refute evidence of the famine in order to suppress

criticism of the Soviet regime;
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Whereas Western observers and scholars who reported accurately on the existence of the famine were subjected to

disparagement and criticism in the West for their reporting of the famine;

Whereas the Soviet regime and many scholars in the West

continued to deny the existence of the famine until the

collapse of the Soviet regime in 1991 resulted in many

of its archives being made accessible, thereby making

possible the documentation of the premeditated nature of

the famine and its harsh enforcement;

Whereas the final report of the United States Government’s

Commission on the Ukraine Famine, established on December 13, 1985, concluded that the victims were

‘‘starved to death in a man-made famine’’ and that ‘‘Joseph Stalin and those around him committed genocide

against Ukrainians in 1932–1933’’; and

Whereas, although the Ukraine famine was one of the greatest losses of human life in the 20th century, it remains

insufficiently known in the United States and in the

world: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that—

(1) the millions of victims of the man-made famine

that occurred in Ukraine in 1932–1933 should be solemnly remembered and honored in the 70th year marking the height of the famine;

(2) this man-made famine was designed and implemented by the Soviet regime as a deliberate act of terror

and mass murder against the Ukrainian people;
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(3) the decision of the Government of Ukraine and

the Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian parliament) to give

official recognition to the famine and its victims, as well

as their efforts to secure greater international awareness

and understanding of the famine, should be supported;

and

(4) the official recognition of the famine by the

Government of Ukraine and the Verkhovna Rada represents a significant step in the reestablishment of

Ukraine’s national identity, the elimination of the legacy

of the Soviet dictatorship, and the advancement of efforts to establish a democratic and free Ukraine that is

fully integrated into the Western community of nations.

Attest:

Clerk.