This paper surveys the archival sources available to Holodomor scholars in the USC Shoah Foundation Visual History Archive at the University of Southern California, in particular the audiovisual oral history accounts of people who lived through the Ukrainian famine of 1932–33. The paper focuses on the types of personal Holodomor accounts available in the archive to researchers, educators, and the community at large. The archive’s audiovisual testimonies cover the precursors of the Holodomor—collectivization and dekulakization—as well as the key events that transpired in the midst of the tragedy: arrests, deportations, border patrols, export of grain, famine, deaths of loved ones, and resistance. Eyewitness testimonies, shown in parallel with Soviet collectivization legislation, demonstrate the devastating impact of the totalitarian regime’s policy on individuals, families, and communities. Special attention is paid to the educational use of Holodomor testimonies and the VHA access sites, listed in the concluding section.
Gogina et al. (Thu,) studied this question.