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Holodomor Facts & Worksheets

Holodomor was a man-made famine that afffected millions in the Ukrainian Soviet Republic from 1932 to 1933.

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Holodomor was a man-made famine that wrecked the Ukrainian Soviet Republic from 1932 to 1933, reaching a peak in the late spring of that year. It was a component of a larger Soviet famine (1931 to 1934) that led to widespread starvation in Kazakhstan and Soviet Russia’s grain-growing regions as well.

See the fact file below for more information on Holodomor, or you can download our 23-page Holodomor worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

UKRAINE BEFORE HOLODOMOR

  • Territories in Ukraine were split between the Russian and Austrian Empires starting in the 18th century. Following World War I and the toppling of the Russian monarchy in February 1917, Ukraine established a provisional administration before announcing its independence as the Ukrainian People’s Republic in January 1918. 
  • For three years (1918 to 1921), the Ukrainian People’s Republic fought the Bolshevik Red Army, but it couldn’t win the independence war.
  • By 1922, Ukraine had become the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic after the majority of its area had been forcibly absorbed into the Soviet Union, often known as the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) (UkrSSR). 
  • Following that, the USSR authorized the confiscation of any agricultural excess produced by the local farmers’ rural populace, which brought about an economic collapse.
  • Lenin was compelled to cease the requisitions due to farmer unrest and implement the New Economic Policy (NEP) in March 1921. The NEP was created primarily for independent farmers and small companies, with the goal of promoting more economic independence and enabling the private enterprise.
  • However, when Stalin took over, he eliminated the Ukrainian peasantry as well as the Ukrainian intellectual and cultural elites to stop them from pursuing independence for Ukraine.

CAUSES OF THE HOLODOMOR

  • Stalin launched broad political repressions, including widespread intimidation, arrests, and incarceration, in order to stop the “Ukrainian national counter-revolution.” 
  • The Soviet government executed thousands of Ukrainian academics, clergymen, and Communist Party officials who had backed pro-Ukrainian initiatives.
  • Most rural Ukrainians opposed collectivization because they were autonomous small-scale or subsistence farmers. 
  • In exchange for employment as laborers on government collective farms (kolhosps), they were compelled to give up their land, cattle, and farming equipment.
  • About 4,000 small uprisings against collectivization, taxes, fear, and brutality by Soviet authorities in the early 1930s have been documented by historians. 
  • These demonstrations were brutally put down by the Red Army and the Soviet secret police. For taking part in anti-Soviet activities, tens of thousands of farmers were either executed or sent to work camps.
  • Soviet propaganda labeled the wealthy and prosperous farmers who rejected collectivization as “kulaks” (which means “a fist”). 
  • The “kulaks” were robbed of their lands, homes, and possessions by the secret police and militia before being executed or deported to the remote reaches of the USSR.
  • The Holodomor was set in motion by these massive repressions, manipulation of state-controlled grain purchases, and the devastation of rural Ukrainian community life in order to collectivize forcefully.

THE HOLODOMOR

  • According to the “Five Stalks of Grain” decree, which was issued in August 1932, anyone, even children, caught stealing any produce from a communal field could be shot or put in jail for stealing “socialist property.”
  • About 54,645 persons were tried and sentenced at the start of 1933; 2,000 of those were put to death.
  • A growing number of farmers soon fled their settlements in search of food outside Ukraine as the famine worsened. Stalin and Molotov’s directives from January 1933 barred them from leaving, essentially shutting down Ukraine’s frontiers.
  • Ukrainian farmers were prohibited from obtaining internal passports, which prevented them from traveling or purchasing train tickets without permission, in order to ensure further that they did not leave their villages in search of food in the city.
  • Over one-third of Ukraine’s villages were “blacklisted” during the Holodomor for not meeting grain requirements. Villages on the blacklist were surrounded by soldiers, and residents were barred from leaving or receiving any supplies.
  • People in the villages ate whatever was edible to avoid starvation, including cats and dogs, as well as grass and acorns.
  • In June 1933, when the Holodomor was at its worst, 28,000 Ukrainians a day were dying. An estimated 3.9 million Ukrainians perished in the Holodomor of 1932–1933.
  • The Soviet Union took 4.27 million tons of grain out of Ukraine in 1932, enough to feed at least 12 million people for a year while Ukrainians were dying. According to Soviet archives, the USSR had more than enough grain reserves in January 1933 to feed over 10 million people.

LEGACY AND AFTERMATH

  • 1933 saw the conclusion of the Holodomor famine. Recent demographic estimates reported that 13.3% of Ukraine’s population perished during the Holodomor. 
  • The percentage of deaths attributable to the famine was higher in other parts of Ukraine; for instance, it was 19% in Kyiv and 29% in Kharkiv oblasts. But the Ukrainians continued to endure hardship even after the Holodomor ended.
  • Families of Holodomor victims lived in constant fear of starvation and additional oppression, and this terror was handed down to subsequent generations.
  • They would soon go through further horrors, including the Holocaust, World War II, the Nazi occupation, and Stalin’s purges in 1937–1938.
  • Loss of collective memory was another effect of the Holodomor in Ukraine. The Holodomor was not brought up in Soviet Ukraine’s official public discourse until just before the country gained its independence in 1991.
  • After the Chernobyl tragedy in 1986, the first person to openly discuss the Holodomor famine was Ukrainian poet Ivan Drach, who used it as an example of how harmful official silence can be.
  • Both the Ukrainian government and the Ukrainian public have erected monuments to remember the Holodomor, and the fourth Saturday in November is designated as Holodomor Remembrance Day around the world.
  • By the beginning of 2019, both houses of the US Congress had passed resolutions stating that “Joseph Stalin and those around him perpetrated genocide against the Ukrainians in 1932-1933.” 
  • The Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) issued a resolution on November 28, 2006, designating the Holodomor as an intentional act of genocide. Additionally, 16 nations, as well as the Vatican, had recognized the Holodomor as a genocide.

Holodomor Worksheets

This fantastic bundle includes everything you need to know about the Holodomor across 23 in-depth pages. These ready-to-use worksheets are perfect for teaching kids about Holodomor, a man-made famine that wrecked the Ukrainian Soviet Republic from 1932 to 1933.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

  1. Holodomor Facts
  2. Holodomor Country: Ukraine
  3. Holodomor Summary
  4. Map of Destruction
  5. Faces of Holodomor
  6. Holodomor Day
  7. Ukraine Today
  8. Voices of Holodomor
  9. Ukraine’s Famines
  10. Thoughts to Ponder
  11. Dealing with Famine

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Holodomor?

Holodomor was a man-made famine that occurred in Soviet Ukraine from 1932 to 1933 during the leadership of Joseph Stalin. It is estimated that between 2.4 to 7.5 million Ukrainians died as a result of the famine, which was caused by forced collectivization and other policies implemented by the Soviet government.

What caused Holodomor?

Holodomor was caused by a combination of factors, including forced collectivization, grain confiscations, and the exportation of food from Ukraine to other parts of the Soviet Union. The Soviet government also imposed restrictions on movement and trade, which prevented people from seeking food elsewhere. Additionally, the government propaganda campaign portrayed the famine as a natural disaster rather than a man-made crisis, which delayed international assistance.

What was the impact of Holodomor?

The impact of Holodomor was devastating for Ukraine, with estimates suggesting that up to 10% of the population died as a result of the famine. The demographic impact was particularly severe, with a significant decline in the birth rate and a shift in the population towards urban areas. The famine also had a profound psychological impact on the survivors, many of whom experienced trauma and loss that continued to shape their lives.

How was Holodomor covered up?

The Soviet government actively covered up the extent of Holodomor and prevented international aid from reaching Ukraine. The government also censored news of the famine within the Soviet Union and punished those who spoke out about it. It was only after the fall of the Soviet Union that the full extent of Holodomor became widely known.

How is Holodomor remembered today?

Holodomor is remembered as a national tragedy in Ukraine and is recognized as a genocide by several countries, including Canada, Australia, and Ukraine itself. There are memorials and museums dedicated to the victims of Holodomor, and the Ukrainian government has designated the fourth Saturday in November as a national day of remembrance for the victims of Holodomor.

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Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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