Letter sent from: Village of Krynychky, Balta raion, Odesa oblast
Letter describes events in 1932-1933 in: Village of Krynychky, Balta raion, Odesa oblast
Current location name: Village of Krynychky, Balta raion, Odesa oblast
Mytrofan Shpak shares his experiences of total requisitioning: everything was taken from their household, including poultry and clothing. Search brigades took people to the village council building, confined them there, and forced them to confess where they hid grain. Shpak reports mass deaths: people buried in mass graves of 10-15 people, some even buried while still alive. People sold things for food as a survival strategy: if they managed to hide items such as clothing, they would travel to places 30 km away to sell those items off and get some grain.
The famine of 1947 was not nearly as bad: the state provided some rations and balanda. People would
look for frozen potatoes left in the fields and made soup and pancakes out of them.
Shpak names a few local perpetrators who tormented people, including the head of the collective farm who denied the sick their rations. He discusses the importance of remembering victims of the famine and respect for bread.
The language of the letter is unusual: Ukrainian words written in Russian.
Transcription available.
