Ukrainian Famine Holodomor Commemoration

Lecture and Film

The Holodomor, also known as the Great Ukrainian Famine, was a man-made famine in Soviet Ukraine from 1932 to 1933 that killed millions of Ukrainians.

About Holodomor:

The term Holodomor (death by hunger, in Ukrainian) refers to the starvation of millions of Ukrainians in 1932–33 as a result of Soviet policies. The Holodomor can be seen as the culmination of an assault by the Communist Party and Soviet state on the Ukrainian peasantry, who resisted Soviet policies. This assault occurred in the context of a campaign of intimidation and arrests of Ukrainian intellectuals, writers, artists, religious leaders, and political cadres, who were seen as a threat to Soviet ideological and state-building aspirations.

About the speaker:

Valentina Kuryliw is an educator, author and retired department head of history and social sciences with over 35 years teaching experience. She is the Director of Education at the Holodomor Research and Education Consortium (HREC). Her recent book, Holodomor in Ukraine, the Genocidal Famine 1932-1933: Learning Materials for Teachers and Students, was published in 2019. Her upcoming book is the Historian's Craft Lesson on Human Rights and the Holodomor (already published in the Ukraine).

Valentina is the daughter of two Holodomor survivor. She works at including the Holodomor in secondary school curricula across Canada. In 2016, she signed a memorandum of agreement with the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine to promote the teachings of the Holodomor in Ukraine with a focus on human rights and their abuse. Her work continues to this day, running workshops for teachers on the Holodomor and as a guest speaker on the topic.

For more information and resources, visit https://education.holodomor.ca/top-picks

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