Khurdei, Oleksii (Aleksey Khurdey)

Description

Creators

Oleksii Khurdei (Aleksey Khurdey) (b. cir 1926), Author

Volodymyr Maniak

, Recipient

Media Type

Text

Item Types

Correspondence

Envelopes

Transcriptions

Translations

Description

Letter sent from: Gukovo, Rostov oblast, Russia
Describes events in (1932-1933): Petrivka, Poltava raion, Kharkiv oblast
Current location name: Petrivka, Poltava raion, Poltava oblast

Author was born cir 1926. He discusses extensive mortality in the village; familial cannibalism; violence by bandits who would come at night to take possessions remaining after the searches. Describes what they ate, including birds, river creatures; severe hunger in winter-spring of 1933.

In 1932 their family had 1.5 hectares of land. They were not rich but were doing well and did not want to join a collective farm (kolhosp). The commissar for requisitioning took their grain by deception (1932).

Mother sold her gold jewelry to the Torgsin (misspelled) in Poltava. The definition of a kurkul was rather loose. Once people were labeled as such, they were subjected to harsh treatment, evicted from their homes in the middle of a cold January.

Body collectors, gravediggers sometimes would not wait for people to die before burying them.

Author says that “No one is worse than Stalin; Mao copied Stalin's methods”. He wants to make sure at least one line will be published in the memorial book about his survival of the 1933 famine.

Notes