The things which cannot be thrown away

The story of the Holodomor is about human destinies. Millions of family stories together form the fund of national memory. The museum is a place to preserve this heritage for future generations.

The funds of the Holodomor museum are replenished mainly through personal contributions of Ukrainians who want to share their family history and preserve the memory of the victims and witnesses of the Holodomor forever.

For more than half a century, the communists led a ban and persecution because of the memory of this crime. Most Ukrainian families have lost family heirlooms, the most valuable things that should have been passed down from parents to children. Thousands of towels, embroidered shirts, and jewelry were exchanged for food in 1932-1933. Every thing hidden from the ones who caarried out the dekulakization, a handkerchief or a towel saved as a memory, a piece of coral beads in the 21st century is proof of the existence of the people they sought to destroy, and at the same time, the proof of that destruction.

Such things are the most valuable treasure of the Holodomor Museum.

On May 18, 2023, the Museum will show the latest additions to its collection for the first time. Among the new exhibits will be presented: a coral necklace, the only jewelry that remained in the family after the Holodomor; a homespun row remained after the dekulakization, because the owner had already distributed her property to the houses of her fellow villagers; the wedding towel of Oleksiy Vobly, who saved the children of the village of Piskoshiny from the Holodomor; a tablespoon of the aunt, who gave it to her niece with the words: “It rested during the Holodomor, use it always, so that it never rests with you, so that no one knows such grief again.”

Among the presented exhibits, there will be artefacts about the origin of which complete information has not preserved. This is a traditional Ukrainian women’s shirt, a women’s corset and an embroidered towel. After 90 years, hardly anyone can testify to whom they belonged and what fate befell the owners. Just as no one will name absolutely all the names of millions of Holodomor victims. However, this is the historical legacy of Ukrainian society, which must be preserved. These things are traditional markers of the group being destroyed.

The Holodomor Museum invites you to see an exhibition of new exhibits from its collection and immerse yourself in the history of the greatest crime of the 20th century against the Ukrainian people.

The museum calls on citizens to share family stories of the Holodomor and participate in its preservation.

Exhibition period: May 18 – October 30, 2023.