This workshop introduces pupils to the story of the Holodomor. It is designed to be highly interactive – always engaging pupils, asking them questions both verbally and on printed sheets.  

    The workshop starts with a family in Wales and the story of one of its members: Gareth Jones. Gareth grew up to become a  journalist in Moscow in the early 1930s. Unlike other journalists, he took the initiative and went to see for himself whether reports of a mass famine were true or not. He was horrified by what he discovered. He wrote newspaper reports that were printed in Britain. He also gave a press conference about it in Berlin. But there were other journalists who contradicted him. 

    And so began the long history of how the truth of the great famine which killed 3.9 million people in Ukraine, came to be covered up and largely forgotten about. It is surely the biggest event in European history which most people have never heard of.

 

    The download has two parts: 

1.  The Powerpoint slides which include photos, a short video and original sources. Each slide is accompanied by notes for the teacher. 
2.  Print-outs for students which is for them to fill in – perhaps in groups of three to five. 

    The lesson is suitable for GCSE and A-Level students, particularly those studying Russian or Soviet history.

   We would be glad to hear any feedback and suggestions for changes. Please email us at contact@historyoftotalitarianism.com.