VIDEO

‘Share the Story’ – Semen’s story (VIDEO)

 

Semen Tymchenko, born June 8, 1921 in Kharivka village, Poltava Oblast, describes the confiscation of grain in his village.

They took the land away from people. This is when the Famine started. They didn’t sow the winter wheat, and they couldn’t plant the vegetables, because the horses had died from hunger – so there was nothing to plow with, and nothing to sow. This was 1932, already half of the grain was gone. The authorities levied a quota, but it wasn’t fulfilled, because people had nothing to give. In 1932, in the fall, they came with a hand‐drill made of metal wire, and began to search in the house, and in the barn, for grain. He said, “Ukraine has not fulfilled its quota of however many millions or thousands of tons, and we have come not to take away your grain, but to help you” ‐ he spoke in Russian ‐ “to help you fulfill your debt to the state. You’ve hidden the grain, and you haven’t paid your tax to the state.” Then they went around to every house – this was the end of 1932. And wherever they found a pood, or half a pood or (something) in the mother’s sleeve – they took everything. And this man said “We are from Moscow oblast. We’ve come to take you on a boksir (a car that isn’t running and they were pushing) – they’ve come to take it on a boksir in order to fulfill the state debt.” And they took whatever people had and hadn’t hidden.