In 1932-1933, three million people in Soviet Ukraine perished in the man-made famine known as the Holodomor – death by starvation. Saturday, we had the great honor of hosting eight Ukrainian museologists and their interpreters at the Memorial as they tour and research various existing memorials to help them develop a memorial and museum to commemorate the Holodomor in their homeland. The morning was rainy and very cold, yet our visitors listened intently and asked probing questions. It was striking how much respect they had for our project–as if the incarceration of 110,000 Japanese Americans could even begin to compare with the intentional starvation of three million Ukrainians. It is a stark reminder that we can all relate to one another in our suffering and determination to heal from appalling injustice and violations of human rights. Thank you to the U.S. State Department and the World Affairs Council for directing this group to the Exclusion Memorial. We stand by our friends in Ukraine who have suffered so much and remain so strong.
Learn more about the Holodomor Museum in Kyiv, Ukraine and the Holodomor Memorial in Washington, D.C. #historymatters
