‘Death by Hunger’

1. Set Focus
Pose this essential question: How does the past shape the present?

2. List Vocabulary
Share some of the challenging vocabulary words in the article (see below). Encourage students to use context to infer meanings as they read.

• catastrophic (p. 19)
• reverberates (p. 19)
• instituted (p. 20)
• quotas (p. 20)
• confiscated (p. 20)
• sovereignty (p. 21)

3. Engage
Ask students to share what they know about Joseph Stalin. If needed, explain that he was the dictator of the Soviet Union from the 1920s to 1953, when he died. Then ask: How might Stalin be connected to the current conflict between Ukraine and Russia?

4. Read and Discuss
Ask students to read the Upfront article about the Holodomor. Review why the article is a secondary source. (It was written by someone who didn’t personally experience or witness the events.) Then pose these critical-thinking questions:

• Why did Stalin create a famine in Ukraine? (Stalin created the famine to crush resistance by small-scale farmers to his plan to collectivize agriculture. He had wanted to combine their small farms into large farms owned and run by the state as part of his plan to modernize the Soviet Union, catch up to other advanced countries, and turn the nation into a world superpower. But the small farmers killed their own cattle, destroyed their own machinery, and burned their own land in response.)  

• Why did Stalin end the famine in Ukraine? Had he succeeded in crushing the resistance by then? Explain. (Stalin ended the famine because the death toll became so high that there were no longer enough workers for the farms. He reduced how much grain he seized, which meant people finally had more access to food. He also resettled peasants from other parts of the Soviet Union to Ukraine to work on the farms, ensuring continued output. Yes, he crushed the resistance and even silenced talk of the Holodomor.)

• The article states that historians see similarities between Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and Stalin’s forced famine. Do you agree? Explain. (Responses will vary, but students should support their points with text evidence and their own knowledge. Students may point out similarities in the brutal tactics used by each dictator and their ultimate goals.)

• Soviet authorities confiscated hidden grains and seeds from Ukrainians. What conditions do you think have to be in existence for people to seize food from those who are starving? What does this article help you understand about the fragility of civilized societies? (Responses will vary, but they should be logical and well supported.)

5. Use the Primary Source
Project, distribute, or assign in Google Classroom the PDF ‘Still Among the Living,’ which features excerpts from a letter by Adam and Rosina Ketterling describing their experiences during the Holodomor in Ukraine. Discuss what makes the letter a primary source. (It provides firsthand evidence concerning the topic.) Have students read the excerpts and answer the questions below (which appear on the PDF without answers).

• How would you describe the tone and purpose of these excerpts from the Ketterlings’ letter? Which lines help reveal the purpose? (The tone can be described as grim and imploring. The purpose is to elicit aid from relatives in America. Direct requests such as “please help us out some” and “we hope for a very quick answer from you” as well as the implications of impending death if aid is not sent help show the purpose of the letter.)

• Why do you think the Ketterlings mention that many people get help from relatives in America? (They likely mention it as a way of convincing their relatives to help them. By pointing out that others have helped, they show that sending help is a possibility. They also may be trying to shame their relatives into helping, as in, others have helped, and you will look bad if you don’t.)

• In paragraph 4, what do the Ketterlings mean when they say “we will soon find our end”? What details do they include to support this claim? (They mean that they will die if they don’t soon have better access to food. Details about other people dying from starvation, the high cost of food, and the scraps they are barely able to round up help support their claim.) 

• What other lines do the Ketterlings include to imply that they will likely die soon without help? (In the line “still among the living,” the use of “still” suggests that there is a likelihood that they may soon no longer be among the living. Giving the example of the brother dying from starvation followed by the list of foods they have not been able to eat for a long time also shows they might die soon.  In addition, stating that this is likely the last letter if the hunger continues also implies impending death.)

• Based on the Upfront article and the excerpts from the Ketterlings’ letter, why do you think the Holodomor is still a major part of the Ukrainian collective consciousness today? (Students’ responses will vary, but ideas should be supported with evidence from both texts.)

6. Writing Prompt
Research the continuum of economic systems (from command economy to pure capitalism). Summarize your findings and conclude with an assessment about which system is the most desirable and why.

7. Quiz
Use the quiz to assess comprehension.

8. Classroom Debate
Should the world take stronger steps to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia?

9. Art Analysis
Have small groups analyze paintings by Ukrainian artists that commemorate the Holodomar and then share their main points with the class. Collections can be found at education.holodomor.ca and at usubc.org (consider preselecting images, as some content is sensitive).