As Ukrainians Mark Holodomor Murders, So Does President Biden

As the global Ukrainian community together with its international friends are paying tribute this month to the 7 million Ukrainian men, women and children who were mercilessly starved to death by Moscow, they were joined by President Biden with his feeble commemorative remarks.

In 1932-33, the Russian junta led by Joseph Stalin deliberately decided to further their diabolical mission of annihilating the Ukrainian nation by forcibly starving to death 7 million people. They sent their punitive units to Ukraine to confiscate anything that could be converted into sustenance such as wheat – the people’s natural and ubiquitous crop. Reports from Ukraine also attested to the seizure of livestock. The armed guards didn’t overlook a single green leaf on the trees. If Ukrainians didn’t submit to the orders, they faced summary execution.

“Each November we solemnly honor and pay tribute to the millions of innocent Ukrainians who suffered and perished during the Holodomor –‘death by hunger’ – in 1932 and 1933,” the President wrote. 

It’s a shame that President Biden decided not to cite the universally accepted figure of 7 million victims of that historical Russian crime against humanity. It wasn’t an agricultural accident or a meteorological aberration. This was a conscious plan to deprive men, women and children of food until they bloated and died. The President’s statement seemed as if he wanted to say something to soothe Ukrainians’ grief while not upsetting the Kremlin.

Recently, I came across a similar discussion among Jews, who encountered disagreement with the figure of 6 million Holocaust victims.

In the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, I read the following: “After reading hundreds of books and articles about the Holocaust, and even perusing many documents that have never been published as part of his work as the director of the Elie Wiesel Archive at Boston University, Rappel (a Jewish archivist – ID) realized that despite the research controversy regarding the precise number of victims, ‘in our consciousness the number remains 6 million.’ …

“About 15 years later, during Eichmann’s trial, chief prosecutor Gideon Hausner said that ‘In the consciousness of the nation the number 6 million has become sanctified.’ But he added: ‘It’s not so simple to prove that. We did not use this number in any official document, but it became sanctified.’ Now, thanks to Rappel, historical research had added another layer for understanding the context for the number.”

Indeed the number of Holocaust victims became “sanctified” in Jewish and everyone’s minds. Regardless of what was, is or will be said, that’s the number of killed Jews. Question it and you become an evil denier. We, Ukrainians, should insist on the same kind of regard for the victims of the Holodomor. We should not allow Presidents, researchers and others to discount the number of dead to mere millions. We grew up with the figure of 7 million Ukrainian men, women and children starved to death by Russia in 1932-33 just for being Ukrainian. That figure of 7 million must be sanctified in our and everyone’s minds. Deny the number of victims and you deny the Holodomor.

I won’t disparage President Biden’s decision to blame Stalin’s regime for the murders rather than Russia as the embodiment of the nation’s hatred for Ukrainians. Assigning culpability to the man is easy because everyone has done that. Assigning guilt to a national mentality requires knowledge and understanding that the evil mission has existed for a millennia.

The President also pointed out that “The Ukrainian people overcame the horror of the Holodomor, demonstrating their spirit and resilience, and eventually creating a free and democratic society.” None of which, Mr. President, occurred without numerous wars of liberation against Moscow and other foreign invaders, miles of barbed wire fences and rivers of blood.

“As we remember the pain and the victims of the Holodomor, the United States also reaffirms our commitment to the people of Ukraine today and our unwavering support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” he concluded.

As Russia continues its nearly eight-year war against Ukraine, which in reality is the continuation of all of its acts of aggression over the centuries, Ukrainians everywhere are grateful for America’s “unwavering support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.”