Germany recognises Holodomor as genocide of Ukrainian people
German Bundestag [parliament - ed.] voted in favour of a resolution which recognises Holodomor as the genocide of Ukrainian people. This is reported by European Pravda. Members of Parliament from Social Democratic Party, the Greens, Free Democratic Party and oppositional Christian Democratic Union have prepared a non-partisan resolution, in which they advocate for recognising Holodomor as genocide.
"The whole of Ukraine suffered from famine and repressions, not only its grain-producing regions. From today's perspective, historic and political classification of it as genocide is obvious. The German Bundestag shares this classification," the document states.
The document points out that a forced famine was also directed at "political suppression of Ukrainian national consciousness".
Widespread deaths of famine were not a consequence of crop failure but a responsibility of the USSR's political leadership headed by Joseph Stalin. "Thus, Holodomor is a crime against humanity," the parliamentarians said. "Holodomor came during a time of the largest crimes against humanity on the European continent, brutality of which was unimaginable up until then. It refers to Holocaust of European jews in its historic uniqueness, war crimes of Wehrmacht and planned murder of millions innocent civilians within the racist German war of extermination on the East, which Germany is held historically accountable for," the resolution declares.
The members of parliament have called on the federal government to remember victims of Holodomor and encourage its international publicity - for example, through education offers. The government also has to counteract "any attempts to spread one-sided Russian historis narratives".
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Oleksii Makeiev, Ukraine's Ambassador to Germany, and Andrii Melnyk, former ambassador and current Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, were present at the Bundestag during the vote.
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Germany had advocated against recognising Holodomor as genocide in the past.
Background: On 24 November, the Upper House of the Parliament of Ireland and the Parliament of Moldova recognised Holodomor as genocide of Ukrainian people; the Parliament of Romania recognised Holodomor as a crime against humanity and Ukrainian people.
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