Non-Holodomor: Corpses of children who died of starvation in the streets of Kherson, Ukraine, lie in a heap at a mortuary
Description
- Creator
- unknown, Photographer
- Media Type
- Image
- Text
- Item Types
- Book illustrations
- Photographs
- Description
- Photographers who accompanied the relief missions during the 1920s famine had ample access to a whole range of facilities - including mortuaries, which was denied to any investigator during the Holodomor. With the denial of famine during the Holodomor came the denial of any access to evidence.
In 1921,the normally abundant southern steppe areas of Ukraine were suffering from drought and subsequent starvation as severe as in the Volga regions of Russia. However, 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
- Photo source: Information report series published by the Comité International de Secours a la Russie, Haut Commissariat du Dr. Nansen: no. 22: "La Famine en Ukraine, rapport," by Vidkun Quisling. April 30, 1922. Genève: Imp. de H. Vollet . p.20. http://diasporiana.org.ua/wp-content/uploads/books/16481/file.pdf
For further evidence of the 1920s origins of this photograph, please see Related Features at right. - Inscriptions
- Caption: “Un coin de la morgue de Kherson.” [A corner of the Kherson morgue.]
- Date of Original
- 1921-1922
- Subject(s)
- Personal Name(s)
- Quisling, Vidkun
- Corporate Name(s)
- American Relief Administration ; Comité International de Secours a la Russie ; Conference universelle juive de secours ; International Save the Children Union ; Jewish World Relief Conference ; Nansen Mission ; Red Cross Society of Ukraine (1918-1923) ; Union international de secours aux enfants
- Local identifier
- PD801
- Collection
- Select 1920s famine photos from Ukraine and Russia
- Language of Item
- English; French; Ukrainian
- Geographic Coverage
-
-
Kherson, Ukraine
Latitude: 46.65581 Longitude: 32.6178
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- Copyright Statement
- Public domain: Copyright has expired according to Canadian law. No restrictions on use.
- Copyright Date
- 1922
- Recommended Citation
- “Un coin de la morgue de Kherson.”1921-1922. Comité International de Secours a la Russie, Haut Commissariat du Dr. Nansen: no. 22: La Famine en Ukraine, rapport, by Vidkun Quisling. April 30, 1922, p.20. http://diasporiana.org.ua/wp-content/uploads/books/16481/file.pdf
Retrieved from: http://vitacollections.ca/HREC-holodomorphotodirectory/3636158/data
- Location of Original
- Original photograph used in the cited publications held by: Archives d'Etat de Genève (State Archives of the Canton of Geneva), Switzerland.
- Reproduction Notes
- Reproduced from the digitized version of the publication cited above.
