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Kateryna Yushchenko Takes Part in Ukrainian Genocide Memorial Groundbreaking Ceremony

December 2, 2008, Head of the Supervisory Board of the Ukraine 3000 International Charitable Foundation Kateryna Yushchenko, who is currently staying in Washington with a working visit,  took part in the Ukrainian Holodomor Memorial groundbreaking ceremony took place in Washington DC at the intersection of North Capitol street, Massachusetts avenue and F street NW which was selected as a site of a solemn memorial to the 10 million victims of the 1932-1933 Ukrainian Genocide. Members of Ukrainian community, Hierarchy of Ukrainian Catholic and Orthodox Churches, Members of US Congress and Administration, Ukrainian and foreign diplomats, and Ukraine 3000 Foundation members.

This august gathering started with the performance of Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus of Taras Shevchenko in Detroit followed by a memorial service conducted by Ukrainian Clergy.

Addressing the audience, Mrs. Yushchenko thanked all those taking part in the process of revealing the truth on Ukrainian famine-genocide through obtaining a lot in Washington for erecting a monument to the ten millions of the genocide in Ukraine in 1932-1933.

Mrs. Yushchenko, whose parents had been Holodomor survivors, relayed their experience and the Ukraine 3000 Foundation’s work on revealing the truth of the Stalin regime crimes to the global community. “The Manmade Famine of 1932-1933 was a deliberate action to destroy Ukrainian peasantry, the traditional bearer of Ukrainian values,” she said. “Today we have no doubts that Holodomor was a part of the Bolsheviks’ ambitious plan to destroy Ukraine. First it eliminated Ukrainian leaders, then Ukrainian peasantry, intelligentsia, etc. (…) We are certain that if the global community knew the truth and duly condemned the Ukrainian Holodomor, the subsequent genocides might never had happened,” she said.

Mrs. Kateryna Yushchenko spoke about the recent Holodomor commemorative events in Kyiv. “Paying great attention to the Holodomor subject, we want to remind the world once again how dangerous totalitarianism is,” she said.

The meeting was also addressed by Ambassador of Ukraine Oleh Shamshur, Rep. Sander Levin, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor David Kramer, Holodomor witnesses, and members of the Ukrainian American community.

On October 13, 2006, President Bush signed into law the authorization for a Holodomor memorial in Washington, DC.  Ever since then, the National Committee to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Holodomor and the Embassy of Ukraine in Washington, DC, have worked diligently to choose a suitable site in the heart of US capital for this solemn memorial. A number of US federal commissions eventually designated the land parcel for the Ukrainian Genocide Memorial back in October, 2008. The site is prominently located not far from Washington’s Union Station, and is within walking distance of the U.S. Capitol building, the Supreme Court, and the National Mall.  The location is highly visible both to tourists and to everyday Washingtonians and offers ample space for erection of a memorial in a dignified setting. The news of the selection of the Ukrainian Genocide Memorial site came just two months after the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously approved H.Res. 1314, a resolution recognizing the 75th Anniversary of the Ukrainian Famine (Holodomor).