Archival evidence of survival during the Holodomor shown in Odesa

An exhibition-requiem has opened in Odesa, depicting the lives of people during the Holodomor through personal stories and everyday objects. The exposition combines archival materials, eyewitness accounts, and interactive elements, demonstrating how people survived during the famine.

This was reported by Suspilne.

An exhibition-requiem "Unbroken by the Holodomor" was opened at the Odesa Higher Vocational School of Maritime Tourist Service on Holodomor Remembrance Day. The exhibition was prepared on the basis of documents from the State Archives of Odesa Region and research by historians of the ONU named after Mechnikov, and is held annually on the last Saturday of November, and this year the exhibition was expanded.

The hall recreates the food and ingredients that residents of Odesa region had to eat during the famine. Among the exhibits are acorns, sawdust, pieces of leather from shoes and belts, and excerpts from people's memories of the 1930s.

The director of the school, Serhiy Bilokonenko, noted that all the recipes and stories were recreated from archival documents.

"Today, when store shelves are full of food, it is important to remember that millions of people were deliberately killed. We are not exaggerating - this is real evidence," emphasized Bilokonenko.

The materials for the exhibition were prepared by masters of industrial training and students of the school, and visitors could try some of the dishes and drinks with their own eyes. Senior master Lyudmyla Marushchak added that in 2023 the project won a gold medal at an international exhibition in the field of national and patriotic education:"We are a culinary school, and we are the ones who should talk about this page of history."

The exhibition lasted throughout the day, and at 16:00, all those present took part in a nationwide minute of silence and the "Light a Candle" campaign. The organizers emphasized that in times of full-scale war, the memory of the Holodomor takes on special significance, serving as a reminder of the price of freedom.

The State Archives of Mykolaiv Region also published in digital form all the materials of the fund No. 6146 "Collection of testimonies of eyewitnesses of the Holodomor of 1932-1933 who now live in Mykolaiv Region."

The documents are systematized mainly by geographical and alphabetical principle, and each case is accompanied by internal descriptions with the surnames, names, and patronymics of the witnesses, as well as sheet numbers. The collection currently includes 78 cases.

Анна Бальчінос