IV 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 608 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the 85th anniver-
sary of the Ukrainian Famine-Genocide of 1932–1933 (Holodomor) 
should serve as a reminder of repressive Soviet policies against the 
people of Ukraine. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 7, 2017 
Mr. LEVIN (for himself, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. FITZPATRICK, and Mr. HARRIS) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 
the 85th anniversary of the Ukrainian Famine-Genocide 
of 1932–1933 (Holodomor) should serve as a reminder 
of repressive Soviet policies against the people of 
Ukraine. 
Whereas 2017 marks the 85th anniversary of the Ukrainian 
Famine-Genocide of 1932–1933; 
Whereas, in 1932 and 1933, an estimated 7 to 10 million 
Ukrainian people perished at the will of the totalitarian 
Stalinist Government of the former Soviet Union, which 
perpetrated a premeditated famine in Ukraine in an ef-
fort to break the nation’s resistance to collectivization 
and communist occupation; 
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•HRES 608 IH 
Whereas the Soviet Government deliberately confiscated grain 
harvests and starved millions of Ukrainian men, women, 
and children by a policy of forced collectivization that 
sought to destroy the nationally conscious movement for 
independence; 
Whereas Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin ordered the borders of 
Ukraine sealed to prevent anyone from escaping the man- 
made starvation and preventing any international food 
aid that would provide relief to the starving; 
Whereas numerous scholars worldwide have worked to un-
cover the scale of the famine, including Canadian wheat 
expert Andrew Cairns who visited Ukraine in 1932 and 
was told that there was no grain ‘‘because the govern-
ment had collected so much grain and exported it to Eng-
land and Italy’’, while simultaneously denying food aid to 
the people of Ukraine; 
Whereas nearly a quarter of Ukraine’s rural population per-
ished or was forced into exile due to the forcibly induced 
starvation, and the entire nation suffered from the con-
sequences of the prolonged famine; 
Whereas the Soviet Government manipulated and censored 
foreign journalists, including New York Times cor-
respondent, Walter Duranty, whose reports from Ukraine 
knowingly denied not only the scope and magnitude, but 
also the existence, of the man-made famine; 
Whereas noted correspondents of the time were refuted for 
their courage in depicting and reporting of the forced 
famine in Ukraine, including Gareth Jones, William 
Henry Chamberlin, and Malcolm Muggeridge who wrote 
‘‘They (the peasants) will tell you that many have already 
died of famine and that many are dying every day; that 
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•HRES 608 IH 
thousands have been shot by the government and hun-
dreds of thousands exiled . . .’’; 
Whereas, in May 1934, former United States Congressman 
Hamilton Fish (NY) introduced a resolution in the 
House of Representatives (H. Res. 399, 73d Congress, 
2d Session), which called for the condemnation of the 
Government of the former Soviet Union for its acts of de-
struction of the Ukrainian people; 
Whereas Public Law 99–180, signed into law on December 
13, 1985, established the Commission on the Ukraine 
Famine to conduct a study to expand the world’s knowl-
edge of the famine and provide the American public with 
a better understanding of the former Soviet system by re-
vealing the Soviet role in the Ukraine famine; 
Whereas the final report of the United States Government’s 
Commission on the Ukraine Famine, concluded that the 
victims were ‘‘starved to death in a man-made famine’’ 
and that ‘‘Joseph Stalin and those around him com-
mitted genocide against Ukrainians in 1932–1933’’; 
Whereas with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, archival 
documents became available that confirmed the deliberate 
and premeditated deadly nature of the famine, and that 
exposed the atrocities committed by the Soviet Govern-
ment against the Ukrainian people; 
Whereas the Parliament of Ukraine passed on November 28, 
2006, law No.: N 376–V ‘‘About the 1932–1933 
Holodomor in Ukraine’’ that gave official recognition to 
the Famine as an act of genocide against the Ukrainian 
people; 
Whereas the Congress passed and the President of the 
United States signed Public Law 109–340 on October 
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13, 2006, authorizing ‘‘the Government of Ukraine to es-
tablish a memorial on Federal land in the District of Co-
lumbia to honor the victims of the Ukrainian famine- 
genocide of 1932–1933’’, which was officially dedicated in 
November 2015; 
Whereas the Government of Ukraine and the Ukrainian com-
munities in the United States and worldwide continue 
their efforts to secure greater international awareness 
and understanding of the 1932–1933 tragedy; and 
Whereas 
victims 
of 
the 
1932–1933 
Famine-Genocide 
(Holodomor) will be commemorated by Ukrainian com-
munities around the globe, and in Ukraine through No-
vember 2018: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) solemnly remembers the 85th anniversary of 
the Ukrainian Famine (Holodomor) of 1932–1933 
and extends its deepest sympathies to the victims, 
survivors, and families of this tragedy; 
(2) condemns the systematic violations of 
human rights, including the freedom of self-deter-
mination and freedom of speech, of the Ukrainian 
people by the Soviet Government; 
(3) encourages dissemination of information re-
garding the Ukrainian Famine (Holodomor) in order 
to expand the world’s knowledge of this man-made 
tragedy; and 
(4) supports the continuing efforts of the people 
of Ukraine to work toward ensuring democratic 
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