FAMINE EXPOSURE

Gareth Jones Diary Notes relating to Soviet Ukraine Famine 1932-33

Excerpt from Gareth's Diary  relating to the Soviet Famine of 21st March 1933

TRANSCRIPTION OF DIARY NOTES

[TRANSCRIPT OF PREVIOUS PAGE  OF DIARY - NOT SHOWN ABOVE]

Heddyw, 21st , allan gyda cheffyl,  [Today I went out with a horse.]

The suburbs of Moscow are in a disgraceful condition.  The wonderful houses so much admired 2 or 3 years ago now look shabby and look broken down.  Very pale and ill looking people. 

New factories going up .  Went past Nepht gas factory. 

Stopped to talk to a peasant.  "Terrible.  We have no bread.  We have to go all the way to Moscow to get bread and then they give us two kilos and we have to pay 3 rubles a kilo. How can a poor man do that ?. 

We have no potatoes left.  

[BEGINNING OF TRANSCRIPT OF PHOTO ABOVE]

The cattle has nearly all died.  The horses also.  

I joined the Kolhkoz 3 weeks ago… They made us pay so many taxes that life became a burden. 

 Woman came out and started crying." They’re killing us.  In my village there used to be 300 cows and now we only have 30.  The horses have died.  How can I feed us all? 

Man: "I have a family of 10 people.  How can they live?"

Woman : "And the kulaks   Look at what they call kulaks.  Just ordinary peasants who have a cow or two.  They’re murdering the peasants, sending them away.  Oppression – oppression – oppression!"

They said : "How can the harvest be good?  We haven’t horses and they don’t give us enough to eat."

Went on a bit further and spoke to a girl 19 and a man 18 years old.  Both said : "We have nothing.  If it were not for Moscow we would starve. No Potatoes left.  [END OF TRANSCRIPT OF PHOTO]. It is terrible.  We have never had it so bad. "

People I spoke to repeated this repeated this all along the way. 

Winter sowing (rye) very bad.   This region mainly vegetables.  Spring sowing and planting will be bad. 

"There is little seed - one village   "No seed next village.