To commemorate the 75th anniversary of the 1932-33 Ukrainian famine, Dickinson State University and the Ukrainian Cultural Institute will present “The Ukrainian Famine-Genocide: Reflections after 75 Years” at 10 a.m. on Friday, July 18 in DSU’s Beck Auditorium, Klinefelter Hall. Known as the Holodomor, the famine killed an estimated seven-10 million Ukrainians and is believed to have been a planned repression of farmers by the Soviet government for resistance to forced agricultural collectivization. The program at DSU includes the showing of the film “Harvest of Despair” followed by a panel discussion. The public is invited to attend this free event.

“Harvest of Despair” is a powerful film that documents the Ukrainian famine using interviews with survivors and scholars as well as rare photographic evidence. The film establishes that the Holodomor was deliberately created by the Soviet government as part of Stalin’s decades-long effort to destroy the Ukrainian peasantry who resisted the forced collectivization of their lands. Since its original release in 1985, the film has received many awards including an Academy Award nomination.

Following the film, DSU Department of History Chair Dr. David Meier will moderate a panel discussion about the events surrounding the famine. Meier is an historian and professor who has researched and taught German and Russian history. Panel members include Olexandr Aleksandrovych, Minister-Counselor for Economic and Cultural Affairs, Embassy of Ukraine to the United States in Washington, D.C; Ronald Vossler, senior lecturer, University of North Dakota Department of English; Dr. Myron B. Kuropas, adjunct professor in Educational Foundation at Northern Illinois University, who served on the White House staff as a special assistant for ethnic affairs in 1976; and local Ukrainian historian and director of the Ukrainian Cultural Institute Agnes Palanuk. DSU Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Rich Brauhn will give opening comments.

In addition to the program at DSU, there also will be a requiem service in honor of those who died during the famine at the newly restored Ukrainian Orthodox Church of SS Peter and Paul, Belfield, N.D., on Saturday, July 19 at 9 a.m. Remembrance wristbands honoring the victims of the Ukrainian famine will be available at the Ukrainian Cultural Institute.