Holodomor

Emaciated woman in heavy coat and work boots stands near a factory in Ukraine

Description
Creator
Williams, Whiting, 1878-1975, Photographer
Media Type
Image
Text
Item Types
Photographs
Newspaper illustrations
Description
In the original photo, we see a tall thin woman standing, as if waiting, near a modern, new factory building. She is wearing a heavy coat, although the man behind her is simply wearing a shirt and summer white shoes, and others in the distance are also not heavily dressed. Her tall work boots are like those worn by the women workers seen in PD206: http://vitacollections.ca/HREC-holodomorphotodirectory/3634117/data

The cropped photo in Answers shows only the figure of the woman, deprived of any context. Thus shown, it appears to be a photo taken in the winter and we do not know whether the location is urban or rural. In context, however, the incongruity of the heavy coat worn in an industrial setting in August most likely indicates that she is a worker living in such dire straits and limited space that like the homeless, she must carry or wear her belongings everywhere, including her coat and industrial work boots. Furthermore, if she is suffering from starvation, the coat may give her comfort even in warm weather.

For further information on: The situation for Urban Residents and Industrial Workers, 1932-1933, see "Context Note" under Related Features at right.
Notes
This photo, taken August, 1933, was used to illustrate “My Journey Through Famine-Stricken Russia,” (February 24, 1934, p.16), the first of two articles by Whiting Williams that ran in a London weekly titled Answers.

The original photograph and the published version are both shown here.
See Related Features menu to link to the article.


Inscriptions
Williams' caption on back of photograph: “One of the weaker ones whose very life depends on, not the present crop but the present harvest.”

Caption under photo in Answers: “A real ‘hunger-marcher’ - a woman, reduced by famine to skin and bones, ‘snapped’ in Soviet Ukraine.”
Date of Original
August 1933
Subject(s)
Local identifier
PD202
Collection
Whiting Williams Collection
Language of Item
English
Geographic Coverage
  • Ukraine
    Latitude: 49 Longitude: 32
Copyright Statement
Copyright status unknown. Responsibility for determining the copyright status and any use rests exclusively with the user.
Recommended Citation
For original: Williams, Whiting. 1933. “One of the weaker ones whose very life depends on, not the present crop but the present harvest.” [Container 1, Folder 9 ] PG 89 Whiting Williams Photographs, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, OH. Retrieved from: http://vitacollections.ca/HREC-holodomorphotodirectory/3634045/data

For published version: Williams, Whiting. 1933. “A real ‘hunger-marcher’ - a woman, reduced by famine to skin and bones, ‘snapped’ in Soviet Ukraine,” in “My Journey Through Famine-Stricken Russia,” Answers (weekly). London, February 24, 1934, p.16. Retrieved from: http://vitacollections.ca/HREC-holodomorphotodirectory/3634045/data
Location of Original
[Container 1, Folder 9 ] PG 89 Whiting Williams Photographs, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, OH.
Terms of Use
Reproduction of images is restricted to fair use for personal study or research. Any other use requires a contractual agreement with the Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, OH. Contact the Society directly at:
https://www.wrhs.org/research/library/services/
Reproduction Notes
Reproduced by contractual agreement with the Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, OH.
Powered by / Alimenté par VITA Toolkit
Privacy Policy