On the 28th of November on Commemoration Day of Famishment Victims representatives of USPU participated in mass meeting-requiem near memorial to victims of famishment and politic repressions. Lecturers and students participated in mournful events and nationwide actions minute of silence and “Set Fire of Memory to a Candle”.
The words “Famishment in Ukraine is a tragedy of my nation!” were chosen as epigraph for educational event at Primary Education Department. Students honoured by minute of silence millians of Ukrainian peasants, who died from famine organized by Stalin regime.
About Famishment as genocide of Ukrainian nation told deputy dean in educational work Alla Dobryden. Head of the information sector Sergiy Tarasyuk prepared presentation, which acquainted students with terrible pages of our history. Head of Student Council at the department Vira Prytuliak had chosen a documentary to watch and reinterpret history of Ukrainians under the title “It is forbidden to live. Famishment in Ukraine in 1932-1933”.
Undoubtedly, historians know about Famishment the most. At History Department of Pavlo Tychyna Uman State Pedagogical University were held a lot of events, dedicated to Commemoration Day.
The students organized and delivered a lecture under the title “There are some ears left”, dedicated to 82 anniversary of Famishment-genocide (1932-33).
To commemorate millions of perished from famine people there were organized an exhibition “Pages of Tragedy”, actions “Historical lickbez”, exhibition of literature “Freedom was killed by famine”, evening-requiem “People of the Truth. Famishment of 1932-1933: Ukraine remembers”.
The historians remembered the people, who were not afraid to talk and write about Famishment even in times, when it could cost them a life.
Garth Jones, William Henry Chamberlin, Raphael Lambkin, Robert Conquest, Malcolm Maggeridge were politicians who raised a problem of Famishment at international level. It was dangerous to tell the truth about Famishment on the territory of our country. Marco Zhelizniak, Nestor Bilous, Victor Kravchenko, Oleksandra Radchenko, Volodymyr Maniak and Lidiya Kovalenko-Maniak were people who told about Famishment at cost of their lives. For decorating the exhibition were used materials of Ukrainian Institute of National Memory, documentary pictures of those tragedy times.
Dean of History Department Tetyana Kuznets thanked participators in the evening-requiem for their indifference to Famishment and appealed to commemorate killed people.
“Such a terrible tragedy, which outlived Ukrainian people in 30-s of the XX c., didn’t experience another nation in human history”, was stressed at Ukrainian Philology Department during educational event under the title “Let’s stoop down in sorrow”, organized by Nataliya Mamchur and academic supervisors Zoya Komarova and Nataliya Zarudniak.
Traditionally, the participators of the event set fire to a candle and honoured victims of famishment by a minute of silence. Guest of the event, candidate of historical sciences, assistant professor at History of Ukraine Chair Olga Skus told that this year commemoration was special, as People of the Truth were commemorated too. They put at stake their lives telling truth about Famishment.
Olga Skus invited to watch a documentary “Occupation by famine”. Each new scene shocked the audience by truth and injustice of communists towards Ukrainian peasants, who were fond of their work and bread.
After watching a film lecturer Nataliya Zarudniak told first-year students about Ukrainian writers who were writing about famine and remembered Pavlo Tychyna, name of whom uses our university, and our fellow countryman Todos Osmachka.
With Olga Skus assistance was held educational and educative event “People of the Truth. The world must know”, in which participated students of Pre-school and Correction Education. They got to know about tragic history of millions of Ukrainian families, connected with awful events during Famishment.
In the framework of Commemoration Day of Famishment Victims was held the event, dedicated to recollections and memories about genocide of Ukrainian people (1932-1933) and organized at the Institute of Economics and Business Education. Students watched a presentation and photos of those times.
At the Foreign Languages Department was held an event to commemorate victims of the tragedy event of Ukrainians, organized by Student Council of the department, headed by Yulia Chernysh. Victoria Balitska explained chronology of events in Ukraine of those times and told real stories told over again.
The day before Commemoration Day of Famishment Victims was held educational evening at Professional and Technology Education Department. Conductors of the evening Dmytro Drobilko and Inna Pysarska retold the stories of those tragedy times. The audience watched a film “Famishment”. All the present were amazed by poems, recited by a student Iryna Baburnych.
At Physics, Mathematics and Informatics Department was held an evening of commemoration of famishment victims (1932-1933) under the title “Remembering one – let’s commemorate millions”. Lecturers and students watched a film-lecture “Yellow Lord”, which depicted Famishment times.
The day before Commemoration Day of Famishment Victims was held a thematic evening under the title “Documents witness and reveal” at Social and Psychological Education Department, dedicated to the tragedy in Ukrainian history.
The boys and the girls realized that famishment should be remembered and victims commemorated not only on this day, but always. The more people study the history of their nation, land, country, the more they know about Famishment. Memory of this tragedy unites many Ukrainians.
The years in past, a tragedy of 1933 will always worry people: those who were somehow touched and those who were born after. It will always unite us owing to common memories, grieve and hope.
