Non-Holodomor: Several children in Ukraine seated in a row, showing evidence of starvation
Description
- Creator
- unknown, Photographer
- Media Type
- Image
- Text
- Item Type
- Photographs
- Description
- Many photographs taken during the 1920s international relief missions were posed, such as this one, and many include children partially or fully unclothed to show the effects of starvation on the body. To date, we have not located any authenticated photos from the Holodomor that present a posed, partially or fully unclothed person or group of people suffering from starvation.
In 1921, the normally abundant southern steppe areas of Ukraine were suffering from drought and resulting starvation as severe as in the Volga regions of Russia. In spite of this, the Bolsheviks in Moscow requisitioned the harvests from throughout Ukraine to feed the starving populations of Russia’s agricultural regions. The dire conditions in the Ukrainian steppes were further compounded as large numbers of migrants from Russia’s famine zones arrived, expecting to find plentiful sustenance.
When word of famine in Ukraine reached the American Relief Administration (ARA) in late 1921, their investigators were initially denied permission by Moscow to inspect the area. Eventually, Moscow relented and the ARA investigators discovered alarming conditions and urged immediate relief. Following extensive negotiations with the Kremlin and Kharkiv, the ARA was finally allowed to open food kitchens and medical relief programs in January of 1922 throughout the famine-stricken regions of southern Ukraine. - Notes
- This is #14 of 17 photographs depicting famine conditions in Ukraine that were mailed by the Ukrainian Red Cross with a separate numbered list in an official envelope date-stamped as arriving in Geneva on May 5, 1922. They are now housed among the documents of the "Union international de secours aux enfants" in the Canton Archives of Geneva, Switzerland.
The photographs were also sent abroad in 1921-1922 to various charitable organizations and to the Ukrainian diaspora press; they did not appear in the Canadian press, although the photos were mentioned. (Serbyn 1992, p. 675.)
For further evidence of the 1920s origins of this photograph, please see Related Features at right.
- Inscriptions
- #14 on photo. Accompanying list identifies the photo as : "Діти опухлі від голоду (Гуляй Поле)." "Enfants affamés (Huliai Pole)." [starving children, (Hulyaypole).]
- Date of Original
- 1921-1922
- Subject(s)
- Corporate Name(s)
- Red Cross Society of Ukraine (1918-1923) ; Union international de secours aux enfants ; International Save the Children Union
- Local identifier
- PD803
- Collection
- Select 1920s famine photos from Ukraine and Russia
- Language of Item
- English; French; Ukrainian
- Geographic Coverage
-
-
Zaporizhia, Ukraine
Latitude: 47.66389 Longitude: 36.25633
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- Copyright Statement
- Copyright status unknown. Responsibility for determining the copyright status and any use rests exclusively with the user.
- Recommended Citation
- "Dity opukhli vid holodu (Hulyay Pole)." 1921-1922. in:
Serbyn, Roman. Holod 1921-1923 i Ukrayinsʹka presa v Kanadi. Toronto: Ukrainian Canadian Research and Documentation Centre, 1992. p. 683.
Retrieved from: http://vitacollections.ca/HREC-holodomorphotodirectory/3633355/data - Location of Original
- Original photograph used in the cited publication held by: Archives d'Etat de Genève (State Archives of the Canton of Geneva), Switzerland.
- Terms of Use
- Contact: Archives d'Etat de Genève (State Archives of the Canton of Geneva), Switzerland for access to the original photograph.
- Reproduction Notes
- Reproduced with permission from: Serbyn, Roman. Holod 1921-1923 i Ukrayinsʹka presa v Kanadi. Toronto: Ukrainian Canadian Research and Documentation Centre, 1992. p. 683.
