James Mace
Encyclopedia
James E. Mace was an American
historian
, professor, and prominent researcher of the Holodomor
.
, Mace did his undergraduate studies at the Oklahoma State University, graduating with a B.A.
in history in 1973. He pursued his graduate studies at the University of Michigan
, where he studied with Roman Szporluk, receiving a Ph.D degree in 1981, with a thesis on national communism in Soviet Ukraine in the 1920s. Starting in July 1981, Mace worked as a postdoctoral fellow
at the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute
. Following the advice of Omeljan Pritsak
, the director of the Institute, he started doing research for Robert Conquest
's book on the Great Famine in Ukraine, The Harvest of Sorrow.
From 1986-90, Mace served as the executive director of the U.S. Commission on the Ukraine Famine
, in Washington, D.C.
. In 1993 he moved from the United States to Ukraine
. Since 1995, he was a Professor of Political Science at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
Mace died in Kiev
, aged 52. He is survived by his wife, Natalia Dziubenko-Mace, one son from a previous marriage, William, and two adult stepchildren. The Order of Yaroslav Mudry, 2nd Class was awarded posthumously to Mace by President
Viktor Yushchenko
, in 2005. A monument in his memory was scheduled to be established in Kiev
in 2008.
in Soviet Ukraine during the early 1930s was an act of genocide
on the part of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin
.
In 1982 at an international conference on the Holocaust and genocide Mace stated: "In order to centralize the power in the hands of Stalin, what was needed was to destroy the Ukrainian peasant, the Ukrainian intellectuals, the Ukrainian language, Ukrainian understanding of their history and to destroy Ukraine as such. This was simply calculated and primitive: No people, as a result no country, and the result - no problem."
As the director of the US Commission into the study of the Ukrainian Famine he collected eye-witness accounts from survivors in North America. Over 200 hours of audio recording were handed over to the Ukrainian Parliamentary Library in Kiev. The tapes of these eyewitness accounts were found scattered over the floor of the library vandalized, some totally destroyed.
Mace commented with anger the reaction of some Western Slavic Sovietologists who denied that there was a horrendous number of victims of the "communist experiment", and secondly that as a result of what he termed their criminal blindness, Washington recognized the USSR and established diplomatic relations with it in 1933.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
, professor, and prominent researcher of 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...
.
Biography
Born in OklahomaOklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, Mace did his undergraduate studies at the Oklahoma State University, graduating with a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in history in 1973. He pursued his graduate studies at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, where he studied with Roman Szporluk, receiving a Ph.D degree in 1981, with a thesis on national communism in Soviet Ukraine in the 1920s. Starting in July 1981, Mace worked as a postdoctoral fellow
Postdoctoral researcher
Postdoctoral research is scholarly research conducted by a person who has recently completed doctoral studies, normally within the previous five years. It is intended to further deepen expertise in a specialist subject, including acquiring novel skills and methods...
at the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute
Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute
The Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute is a research institute affiliated with Harvard University devoted to Ukrainian studies studying the history, culture, language, and politics of Ukraine. Other areas of study include Ukrainian literature, archaeology, art, economics, and anthropology...
. Following the advice of Omeljan Pritsak
Omeljan Pritsak
Omeljan Pritsak was the first Mykhailo Hrushevsky Professor of Ukrainian History at Harvard University and the founder and first director of the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute.-Career:Pritsak began his academic career at the University of Lvov in interwar Poland where he...
, the director of the Institute, he started doing research for Robert Conquest
Robert 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...
's book on the Great Famine in Ukraine, The Harvest of Sorrow.
From 1986-90, Mace served as the executive director of the U.S. Commission on the Ukraine Famine
U.S. Commission on the Ukraine Famine
The US Commission on the Ukraine Famine was a commission set up on December 13, 1985, “to conduct a study of the 1932-1933 Ukrainian Famine in order to expand the world’s knowledge of the famine and provide the American public with a better understanding of the Soviet system by revealing the Soviet...
, in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. In 1993 he moved from the United States to Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. Since 1995, he was a Professor of Political Science at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
Mace died in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, aged 52. He is survived by his wife, Natalia Dziubenko-Mace, one son from a previous marriage, William, and two adult stepchildren. The Order of Yaroslav Mudry, 2nd Class was awarded posthumously to Mace by President
President of Ukraine
Prior to the formation of the modern Ukrainian presidency, the previous Ukrainian head of state office was officially established in exile by Andriy Livytskyi. At first the de facto leader of nation was the president of the Central Rada at early years of the Ukrainian People's Republic, while the...
Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Yushchenko
Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko is a former President of Ukraine. He took office on January 23, 2005, following a period of popular unrest known as the Orange Revolution...
, in 2005. A monument in his memory was scheduled to be established in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
in 2008.
Genocide in Ukraine
In his works, he argued that the famineFamine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including crop failure, overpopulation, or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality. Every continent in the world has...
in Soviet Ukraine during the early 1930s was an act of genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
on the part of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
.
In 1982 at an international conference on the Holocaust and genocide Mace stated: "In order to centralize the power in the hands of Stalin, what was needed was to destroy the Ukrainian peasant, the Ukrainian intellectuals, the Ukrainian language, Ukrainian understanding of their history and to destroy Ukraine as such. This was simply calculated and primitive: No people, as a result no country, and the result - no problem."
As the director of the US Commission into the study of the Ukrainian Famine he collected eye-witness accounts from survivors in North America. Over 200 hours of audio recording were handed over to the Ukrainian Parliamentary Library in Kiev. The tapes of these eyewitness accounts were found scattered over the floor of the library vandalized, some totally destroyed.
Mace commented with anger the reaction of some Western Slavic Sovietologists who denied that there was a horrendous number of victims of the "communist experiment", and secondly that as a result of what he termed their criminal blindness, Washington recognized the USSR and established diplomatic relations with it in 1933.
See also
- Robert ConquestRobert ConquestGeorge 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...
is a British historianHistorianA historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
and researcher of the Soviet UnionSoviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, author of the book The Great TerrorThe Great TerrorThe Great Terror is a book by British historian Robert Conquest, published in 1968. It gave rise to an alternate title of the period in Soviet history known as the Great Purge. The complete title of the book is The Great Terror: Stalin's Purge of the Thirties...
.