Letter sent from: Village of Maiakivka, Orzhytsia raion, Poltava oblast
Letter describes events in 1932-1933 in: Village of Zolotukhy, Orzhytsia raion, Kharkiv oblast
Current location name: Village of Zolotukhy, Orzhytsia raion, Poltava oblast
Ivan Semonenko’s family were middling peasants but were dekurkulized anyway. When their family land was taken by the state farm (radhosp), they moved to Russia until 1932, when Ukrainians were sent back. The parents were getting some rations and were bringing some of home: watery soup and a tiny piece of bread for the children.
Semonenko’s father died and the family survived until the summer on mock foods. When the children tried stealing some grain from the fields, their parents were punished by having workdays taken from them.
Semonenko describes the beginning of the war, the bloody and uneven battle for Orzhytsia. He was taken as Ostarbeiter to Germany in 1943, and then treated as a traitor when he came back after the war. He then worked for two- years in the Urals on industrial reconstruction.
Semonenko has a seven-grade education. He condemns Stalin and Stalinism and supports the idea of raising funds for a memorial to famine victims. He describes a life of deprivation and poverty caused by excessive taxes and “loans,” and supports perestroika.
Ukrainian transcription available.
