Podcast Analysis
This episode is from February 18, 2020 from the podcast "The Pursuit". The main speaker is Tess Terrible with the guests Anne Applebaum, Valentina Kuryliw, and Serhii Plokhii featured throughout. Valentina Kuryliw begins by explaining a brief summary of the Holodomor and Stalin's collectivization. Then she is followed by Anne Applebaum who goes further into detail explaining the collectivization program and how it worked. Applebaum explains how the Holodomor was not a natural famine caused by drought, and was indeed caused by Stalin's policies. Maria Bartink, a survivor, talks about her experiences with the Holodomor and how brutal it was to live through. Later, Serhii Plohii talks about how this is relevant to the starvation and concentration camps in North Korea. Due to political tensions, the leaders of the US and North Korea do not find it relevant to talk about the struggles of the people.
There are several speakers, but the main creator by the name of Tess Terrible appears to be curious about the topic. "One of the most common types of historical denialism is Holocaust denial. But while I was researching this, I came across something else. The Holodomor, a genocide that took nearly 4 million people. And I want to know why I have never heard of it." (1:37). Anne Applebaum is very passionate about educating others on the topic, as is visible when she says "So it's very important to understand that the Ukrainian famine was not a natural famine. In other words, it was not caused by, you know, drought... But in practice, everybody who went through this and many of the people who were carrying out these collections, understood that the point was to deprive the people on the ground of everything so that they would starve to death within 3 or 4 months after these collections began." (6:33).
News Analysis One
The article "Ukraine: This 96-year-old survived Soviet Holodomor famine" was written by Iryna Ukhina for Deutsche Welle on 24th November, 2023. The article showcases the story of Hanna Domanska and how she survived the famine. Domanska recalls how the Soviets took everything away, including the successful farmers. She talks about how 1933 was the worst year, that there were bodies piling up on the streets and no animals were left. "There is nothing worse than hunger. How can you sleep when you haven't eaten for days? You'll chew on whatever you can find, leaves from trees, anything. All that matters is that there is something to eat," Domanska stated.
The author, Iryna Ukhina, does not seem to express any particular emotion about the subject. While Ukhina mainly states facts, she also seems to express compassion towards Domanska. "She still lives alone in her house in the village of Severyny in the Khmelnytskyi region of western Ukraine, which today has around 230 inhabitants. She was only five years old when the deaths began." This quote showcases that the author is sympathetic to what Domanska had to live through as a young child. Also, the quote "After surviving the Holodomor, Domanska went on to survive World War II. Anyone from her village who did not starve during the Holodomor died during the war, she said. Even her father, who had been transported to Siberia, later lost his life on the frontline." showcases the hardships that Domanska has lived through, and how Ukhina sympathizes with her.
A photo of Hanna Domanska's passport.
News Analysis Two
This was a press release by the European Parliament from December 15th, 2022. The release discusses the acknowledgement of the Holodomor as a genocide in a resolution. Members of the parliament also wish for the European Union to bring awareness to crimes committed by the Soviet regime. 507 voted in favor, 12 voted against, and 17 abstained from voting for the resolution.
The author is entirely neutral on this topic. This makes sense as it is a release of a formal conclusion by the European Parliament. Statements such as "Parliament states that the whitewashing and glorification of the totalitarian Soviet regime and the revival of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin’s cult has led to Russia being today a state sponsor of terrorism." show that the parliament cares about the wellbeing of Ukrainians, but that the author is strictly stating facts. Despite the author bringing ties towards the past and the present, they do not ever express a direct opinion or change their tone from anything but neutrality.
The European Parliament building.