Bundestag declares Holodomor famine in Ukraine a genocide
The German Bundestag supported the resolution on the recognition of the Holodomor of 1932-33, initiated by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, as genocide of the Ukrainian people.
Germany recognized the political leadership of the Soviet Union under Stalin as the authors of the genocide.
"Mass death from starvation was not the result of crop failure, but the responsibility of the political management of the USSR under Joseph Stalin. The Holodomor is a crime against humanity. From today's point of view, the historical and political classification as genocide is obvious. The German Bundestag shares this classification," the document reads.
German MPs admitted that in 1932-33 hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians died of malnutrition. But the forced seizure of crops continued.
Bundestag stresses that the USSR used famine as an additional punishment. In the event of non-fulfilment of the harvest plans, it was required to confiscate a multiple amount of grain and other products.
"The suffering districts have been encircled to prevent the starving residents from fleeing to the cities and food from being delivered to the regions," the resolution reads.
Artificial famine killed millions in other parts of the Soviet Union, including Kazakhstan and along the Volga and Don rivers.
