The exhibition «We were killed because we are Ukrainians» was opened at the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
On September 27, 2018, an exhibition «We were killed because we are Ukrainians» was presented at the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The exhibition was opened by Director General of the National Museum «Holodomor Victims Memorial» Olesia Stasiuk, Deputy Chairman of the Vasyl Stus Yuriy Balanyuk, State Secretary of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine Oleksiy Perevezentsev and President of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Gennadiy Chizhikov.
During the presentation, the Director General of the National Museum «Holodomor Victims Memorial», Olesia Stasiuk, emphasized the importance of spreading the truth about the Holodomor at national and international levels. The Director talked about the International Action «Light a candle of remembrance!», which unites different people from all over the world for the commemoration of people who were killed and who suffered during the Holodomor.
President of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Gennadiy Chizhikov said about the importance of spreading information about the Holodomor. He thanked the National Museum «Holodomor Victims Memorial» and the All-Ukrainian Human Rights Protection Organization «Memorial» for active work in this direction. He said that the exhibition will also be presented at the regional offices of CCI throughout Ukraine.
State Secretary of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine Oleksiy Perevezentsev conveyed the greetings of Stepan Kubiv, the First Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine, the Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine. Oleksiy Perevezentsev read a letter from the First Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine on the importance of commemorating the Holodomor Victims and the necessity to disseminate knowledge about the history of the genocide of Ukrainians. In the letter, Stepan Kubiv said that the exhibition «We were killed because we are Ukrainians» is about the story of the Holodomor through the prism of the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948). It makes possible to understand the causes and intent of committing a crime.
Deputy Chairman of the All-Ukrainian Human Rights Protection Organization «Memorial» Yuriy Balanyuk spoke about the organization’s activities in 2018 and emphasized that the priority for them is a broad information campaign on the Holodomor. For example, an International Scientific Conference «Artificial Famines in Ukraine in the 20th Century» was held in the cooperation with the National Museum «Holodomor Victims Memorial» and other organizations.
At the end of the presentation, the Director General of the Museum, Olesia Stasiuk, described the exhibition, focusing on the archival materials and testimonies of Holodomor eyewitnesses, used during the preparation of the exhibition. She informed about current museum projects and planned events dedicated to the 85th anniversary of the Holodomor.