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Joseph Stalin’s Forced Famine Genocide By Gabrielle Cutts English 10 Stevens High School Claremont NH June 08, 2011 Joseph Stalin’s Forced Famine Genocide Topic: Joseph Stalin Forced Famine Genocide of 1932-1933 Question: Was the words reaction to Joseph Salin’s genocide against the USSR appropriate? Argument: The world did not react to the Stain’s Forced Famine genocide of 1932-1933, but they should have intervened and forced Stalin to feed the people of the Ukraine, because they need to make Stalin realize that it’s not acceptable to starve his people.
I: (# Two) Events A. Forced famine. B. Halted all food shipments at the border. C. Killed or sent thousands to concentration camps. D. Five Year Plan II: (# Five) Location A. Moscow B. Germany C. Ukraine III. (# Six) Parties A. Kulaks B. Germans C. Ukrainians IV. (# Seven) Times A. 1932 B. 1933 Joseph Stalin’s Forced Famine Genocide Genocides have been taking place all over the world for thousands of years. They can happen at any moment, on any day of the week. Most of the time there is no given time or a set place determining where these set genocides will take place.
In 1932, Joseph Stalin constructed a mass genocide putting a hold on all food shipments and starving over six million people in the “Bread Basket” of the USSR or the Ukraine. Joseph Stalin was born in Gori, Georgia on December 21, 1879. His name given at birth was Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili. From 1902 to1913, Stalin was arrested eight times and was imprisoned in Siberia. He escaped seven out of the eight times while in prison. While in prison, inmates nicknamed him “Stalin” which translates to “Man of Steel. ” (“Joseph Stalin”) .
He felt this would be a good name for his image. In 1924 the leader of the Soviet Union, Vladimir Lenin died leaving the position as leader open to Stalin’s nemesis Leon Trotsky who was a lesser party figure, and wanted the title as well. Even though the victory was slow and a long process, Stalin won and became the leader of the Soviet Union. By 1928 Stalin’s supremacy was complete and he could control the party and country. In 1927 Leon Trotsky was expelled, and in 1929 was killed by Stalin’s agents in Mexico City (“Stalin’s Forced Famine”).
In 1932-1933 Stalin ordered a massive famine. He raised the grain quota and the peasants were forced to turn their farms over to the state. Stalin believed that any future rebellion would be led by Kulaks, thus he proclaimed a policy named “liquidating the Kulaks as a class” (“Stalin’s Forced Famine”). Kulaks are former wealthy farmers who owned 24 or more acres of land or had employed farm workers (“Stalin’s Forced Famine”). Secret police and Soviet troops were rushed in to put down the revolt.
They were ordered to confront the farmers by firing warning shots above their heads, and in some situations they would fire at owners. Stalin terrorized large amounts of the Soviet population like Kulaks and small farmers. Kulaks opposed Stalin by burning their own homes rather than surrendering them. They took back their property, tools and farm animals from the collectives, and they also harassed and even assassinated Soviet authorities (“Stalin’s Forced Famine”). With the power of the Soviet Union, the Kulaks were destroyed as a class and the nation of farmers was aid low. All food was considered to be “sacred” property of the state (“Stalin’s Forced Famine”). By 1932, 75% of farmers had been forcibly collectivized. By January there was simply no food remaining to feed the people of Ukraine (“Stalin’s Forced Famine”). Anyone who was caught stealing state property, even an ear of corn or a grain of rice, could be shot or imprisoned for a minimum of ten years (“Stalin’s Forced Famine”). Soviet controlled granaries were said to be overflowing from huge stocks of grains, which had not yet been shipped out to the Ukraine.
Stalin imposed the Soviet Union system of land management, which was also recognized as collectivization. The Collectivization resulted in the appropriation of all privately owned farmlands and animals for the Soviet Union. Prior to taking the farms 80% of the farms were usual village farms. Stalin responded by dictating a policy that stated due to their defiance, mass destruction would occur and later on caused death of millions due to starvation. Soviet police troops inside the Ukraine would go into homes seizing any stored food and would leave the farm families without a crumb.
Troops sealed off the boarders of the Ukraine preventing any food from entering they turned the entire company into a gigantic concentration camp. Over 5,000 Ukrainian scholars, scientists, cultural and religious leaders were arrested after being falsely accused of plotting an armed attack (“Stalin’s Forced Famine”). The men who were arrested were shot without trials or sent to Russian to a concentration camp. By the end of 1933 25% of the Ukraine population had been demolished. Three million of the 25% were children (“Stalin’s Forced Famine”).
Millions of German POW’s and Soviet ex-POW’s were sent to gulags, a system of labor camps maintained in the Soviet Union. The eastern European states controlled by the Red Army were established as communist. Mothers sometimes would throw their children on passing trains, hoping someone in the city would pity them. People were dropping dead in the streets of town, with their bodies being carted away in a horse drawn carriage to be dumped in a mass grave and forever be forgotten. (“Stalin’s Forced Famine”).
More than 15 million Germans were removed from the eastern part of Germany and pushed into the central and western parts of the country (“Joseph Stalin”). Russians, Ukrainians, Polish, and Czech’s were then moved into German land. Other ethnic groups like Cimmerians Tartars and Volga Germans were moved to the Asian part of the Soviet Union. Measures against all the shuffled people ranged from work camps to assassinations (“Stalin’s Forced Famine”). Stalin with purges, forced famine, state terrorism, labor camps, and forced migration. Stalin was responsible for over 40 million deaths within the borders of the Soviet Union.
In June 1941 Hitler’ troops invaded to rob the breadbasket and simply replace one genocide with another. Stalin’s immediate objections were now achieved and he allowed food shipments to be taken off hold and to resume inside the Ukraine. As the new leader, Stalin had a Five Year Plan for industry. He demanded an increase in coal production, iron production and electric power. He claimed if these production increases were not to take place, the Soviet Union would not be able to defend itself from invasions of other countries (“Stalin’s Forced Famine”).
On every factory building, Stalin posted billboards showing the output of the workers. If not enough was done, the employee would be humiliated and criticized. If workers’ records were poor, the authorities would accuse them of trying to sabotage the Five Year Plan, and if they were found to be guilty they were either shot or forced to work on the Baltic Sea Canal or the Siberian Railway (“Stalin’s Forced Famine”). Stalin’s five year plan for the modernization of the Soviet Union relied on large amounts of purchased goods from Western nations.
Following World War II, Stalin and his men continued his genocide policy while forcing cruel control over the Soviet Union and managing the satellite states. Although death in genocide’s isn’t acceptable in anyway, there are people who feel as if the world shouldn’t have intervened with Joseph Stalin. Stalin killed over 40 million people by torture, execution, or starvation. Stalin could have been stopped by Europe and the US. The world was recovering from World War II, so they didn’t put the right effort forth.
The conclusion was people died unnecessarily and we need to protect people from genocides even if there is war taking place. In conclusion Joseph Stalin was guilty for millions of deaths of innocent people. Even though the world should have intervened, they didn’t. The world should have forced Stalin to feed his people, and not treat them like chattel. The response from 1932 would not have been expected or accepted from the world today. A lot more effort would be put in to stop a genocide, or prevent one from happening.
I think Joseph Stalin needed to be taken out before he had reached his feeling of accomplishment, and the people of the world should have showed justice in destroying him, like he did the 40 million other people he killed. WORK CITED “Joseph Stalin. ” Jewish Virtual Library – Homepage. 2011. Web. 13 Apr. 2011. http://www. jewishvirtuallibrary. org/jsource/biography/stalin. html. “Genocide in the 20th Century: Stalin’s Forced Famine 1932-33. ” The History Place. Web. 13 Apr. 2011. http://www. historyplace. com/worldhistory/genocide/stalin. htm.