International Commission of Inquiry Into the 1932–33 Famine in Ukraine
Encyclopedia
The International Commission of Inquiry Into the 1932–1933 Famine in Ukraine was set up in 1984 and was initiated by the World Congress of Free Ukrainians to study and investigate the 1932-1933 Famine in Ukraine. Members of Commission selected and invited by World Congress of Free Ukrainians. None of them represent own country or country authority/institution and act as individual. Most of them (5 out of 7) are retired jurists, one of them (Colonel G.I.A.D. Draper) died before Commission finish their investigations. The Commission was funded by donations from the worldwide Ukrainian diaspora
.
The idea for the formation of an International Commission to investigate 1932-1933 Famine in Ukraine
was suggested by Toronto
lawyer V.-Yu. Danyliv at the 4th Conference of the World Congress of Free Ukrainians held in December 1983. According to the resolution the commission was to be initiated in New York
in December 1984 and headed by Ignat Bilinsky. Danyliv consulted with justice John Sopinka
, lawyers Pavlo Chumak, Stepan Rozsokha and the Canadian Minister for Justice. The Commission had its first meeting in May 1988 in Brussels
and was chaired by Professor emeritus Jacob Sundberg. His findings were delivered to the UN Under-Secretary for Human Rights
in Geneva
on May 9, and to the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
on May 10, 1990.
and many other documents by same author, James Mace
as also books Ukrainian Diaspora like “Ukrainian Holocaust of 1933” by Wasyl Hryshko, “Black Deeds of Kremlin” 2 Vol by Dobrus and Pidhaynyy, V.Kubiyovych work etc.
The Commission also examined Douglas Tottle
's controversial book Fraud, Famine, and Fascism: the Ukrainian Genocide Myth from Hitler to Harvard, in which he asserts that claims the Holodomor
was an intentional genocide are "fraudulent", and "a creation of Nazi
propagandists". Tottle was invited by the commission to attend the hearings, however he ignored the request. The commission president Professor Jacob Sundberg subsequently concluded that Tottle was not alone in his enterprise to deny the famine on the basis that material included in his book could not have been available to a private person without official Soviet assistance.
In the commission's final report, published in 1990, it reached the following conclusions:
The final report was also published in Russian: The International Commission of Inquiry famine in Ukraine years 1932-1933 Final Report in 1990, Kiev - 1992 (Международная комиссия по расследованию голода на Украине 1932—1933 годов Итоговый отчёт 1990 г., Киев −1992).
The only dissenting opinion came from Professor Sundberg, who concluded that:
Ukrainian diaspora
The Ukrainian diaspora is the global community of ethnic Ukrainians, especially those who maintain some kind of connection, even if ephemeral, to the land of their ancestors and maintain their feeling of Ukrainian national identity within their own local community.-1608 To 1880:After the loss...
.
The idea for the formation of an International Commission to investigate 1932-1933 Famine in Ukraine
Holodomor
The Holodomor was a man-made famine in the Ukrainian SSR between 1932 and 1933. During the famine, which is also known as the "terror-famine in Ukraine" and "famine-genocide in Ukraine", millions of Ukrainians died of starvation in a peacetime catastrophe unprecedented in the history of...
was suggested by Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
lawyer V.-Yu. Danyliv at the 4th Conference of the World Congress of Free Ukrainians held in December 1983. According to the resolution the commission was to be initiated in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in December 1984 and headed by Ignat Bilinsky. Danyliv consulted with justice John Sopinka
John Sopinka
John Sopinka, QC was a Canadian lawyer and puisne justice on the Supreme Court of Canada, the first Ukrainian-Canadian appointed to the high court....
, lawyers Pavlo Chumak, Stepan Rozsokha and the Canadian Minister for Justice. The Commission had its first meeting in May 1988 in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
and was chaired by Professor emeritus Jacob Sundberg. His findings were delivered to the UN Under-Secretary for Human Rights
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
on May 9, and to the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe , which held its first session in Strasbourg on 10 August 1949, can be considered the oldest international parliamentary assembly with a pluralistic composition of democratically elected members of parliament established on the basis of an...
on May 10, 1990.
Documentary evidence exhibits entered into Commission
Documentary evidence exhibits entered into Commission presented predominantly by World Congress of Free Ukrainians, including “Harvest of Sorrow” by Robert ConquestRobert Conquest
George Robert Ackworth Conquest CMG is a British historian who became a well-known writer and researcher on the Soviet Union with the publication in 1968 of The Great Terror, an account of Stalin's purges of the 1930s...
and many other documents by same author, James Mace
James Mace
James E. Mace was an American historian, professor, and prominent researcher of the Holodomor.-Biography:...
as also books Ukrainian Diaspora like “Ukrainian Holocaust of 1933” by Wasyl Hryshko, “Black Deeds of Kremlin” 2 Vol by Dobrus and Pidhaynyy, V.Kubiyovych work etc.
The Commission also examined Douglas Tottle
Douglas Tottle
Douglas Tottle is a Canadian trade union activist and the author of a book about the Ukrainian famine of 1932–1933 entitled Fraud, Famine, and Fascism: The Ukrainian Genocide Myth from Hitler to Harvard...
's controversial book Fraud, Famine, and Fascism: the Ukrainian Genocide Myth from Hitler to Harvard, in which he asserts that claims the Holodomor
Holodomor
The Holodomor was a man-made famine in the Ukrainian SSR between 1932 and 1933. During the famine, which is also known as the "terror-famine in Ukraine" and "famine-genocide in Ukraine", millions of Ukrainians died of starvation in a peacetime catastrophe unprecedented in the history of...
was an intentional genocide are "fraudulent", and "a creation of Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
propagandists". Tottle was invited by the commission to attend the hearings, however he ignored the request. The commission president Professor Jacob Sundberg subsequently concluded that Tottle was not alone in his enterprise to deny the famine on the basis that material included in his book could not have been available to a private person without official Soviet assistance.
Conclusions
World Congress of Free Ukrainians as petitioner invited a commission to find what the famine was an act of genocide. This invitation resulted in Commission splitting into a number of separate opinions. The Commission majority (5 out of 6) deems it plausible that the constituent elements of genocide were in existence at the time of the famine.In the commission's final report, published in 1990, it reached the following conclusions:
- The famine in Ukraine took place from August–September 1932 to July 1933. The commission stated that a minimum of 4.5 million victims (while assumed Ukrainians as sole nation and inhabitants of the Ukrainian SSRUkrainian SSRThe Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic or in short, the Ukrainian SSR was a sovereign Soviet Socialist state and one of the fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union lasting from its inception in 1922 to the breakup in 1991...
) perished with an additional three million outside the Ukrainian SSR. The responsibility of the famine was placed on the central government of the USSR which the commission concluded various Soviet authorities "carried out those measures that for 10 months occasioned a dire shortage of foodstuffs in the Ukraine." - The Commission stressed that "the polices applied to the Ukrainian people and led to the famine of 1932–33 disregard the precepts of basic morality which are binding on Soviet as on all authorities, and that the Soviet authorities must in consequence be vigorously condemned."
- A majority of the commission does not believe that the 1932–1933 famine was systematically organized to crush the Ukrainian nation once and for all. However, they concluded that Soviet authorities used the famine voluntarily, when it happened, "to crown new policy of denationalization."
- The commission majority was unable to affirm the existence of a preconceived plan to organize a famine in Ukraine, in order to ensure the success of Moscow’s policy. However, the commission majority did conclude that Soviet authorities, without actively wanting the famine, most likely took advantage of it to force peasants to accept policies they strongly opposed.
The final report was also published in Russian: The International Commission of Inquiry famine in Ukraine years 1932-1933 Final Report in 1990, Kiev - 1992 (Международная комиссия по расследованию голода на Украине 1932—1933 годов Итоговый отчёт 1990 г., Киев −1992).
The only dissenting opinion came from Professor Sundberg, who concluded that:
"the evidence shows that the famine situation was well-known in Moscow from the bottom to the top. Very little or nothing was done to provide some relief to the starving masses. On the contrary, a great deal was done to deny the famine, to make it invisible to visitors, and to prevent relief being brought.