In a small village in the Khmelnytskyi region of western Ukraine, 96-year-old Hanna Domanska sits surrounded by embroidered cushions and family photographs, reflecting on the tragic events of the past. Domanska is one of the few remaining eyewitnesses of the Holodomor, also known as the Great Ukrainian Famine, a devastating period in Soviet Ukraine that claimed the lives of millions of Ukrainians from 1932 to 1933.

The Holodomor, which translates to "death by hunger," left an indelible mark on Domanska's memory. Born in 1927, she vividly recalls the excruciating details of the famine that ravaged her homeland almost 90 years ago. The catastrophe struck the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic particularly hard, with nearly 4 million deaths recorded in the region.

Domanska, raised in a large but modest family, shares the gripping stories of her grandparents, parents, and siblings. Her grandfather, Marco Shvedyuk, owned some land but no cows, while her father, Vasyl, built a house on a parcel of land allocated to him by his father.

But their peaceful life was abruptly disrupted by the Soviet leadership under Joseph Stalin. In the early 1930s, grain taxes were drastically increased, making it impossible for farmers to meet the demands. Farmers, labeled as "Kulaks" and blamed for the failure of the communist project, became targets.

Authorities descended upon Domanska's family, ransacking their house and confiscating everything they owned, including food. Officials even checked ovens for cooked food, devouring or taking anything they found. The hardest-working farmers were forcibly taken away, leaving behind a devastated community.

A third of the villagers were displaced from their homes, as their property and livestock were transferred to a collective farm. Many were exiled to Siberia, including members of the Shvedyuk family. Domanska's grandfather, grandmother, aunt, father, and uncle were among those banished, leaving the family fractured and in despair.

Tragedy further struck when Domanska's mother, Olha, set out to find her exiled husband but succumbed to illness on the journey. She tragically lost her newborn daughter. Meanwhile, governmental representatives seized Domanska, her aunt, and her two-year-old brother, leaving them to fend for themselves.

Survival became a daily struggle for Domanska, who recounts her experiences of constantly searching for food. They resorted to eating wild plants, such as acacia blossoms and goosefoot leaves, just to sustain themselves. Bartering a piece of cloth for two potatoes or a piece of bread became the only means of acquiring essential provisions.

The year 1933 marked the pinnacle of suffering, with countless deaths occurring throughout the village. Starving bodies lay scattered, and corpses were piled together like firewood, solemnly carried to their final resting place. The animals, too, had been consumed due to the severe shortage of food, with stories of cannibalism circulated in whispers.

Domanska reveals the harrowing truth of the Holodomor, a truth that was silenced for decades under Soviet rule. It was not until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 that Ukrainians could openly discuss the tragedy without fear of reprisal or imprisonment.

Ukrainian historians estimate that nearly 4 million people perished in the Ukrainian Soviet Republic during the Holodomor. Recognizing the severity of the genocide, the Ukrainian parliament officially classified it as a genocide of the Ukrainian people, and the German Parliament followed suit in November 2022.

Despite enduring the Holodomor and surviving World War II, which claimed the lives of countless villagers, Domanska remains resilient. As she faces another war, Russia's aggression against Ukraine, she defiantly expresses her unwavering confidence in Ukraine's strength and resilience. She believes that Ukraine will prevail.

Hanna Domanska's story serves as a testament to the resilience of the human spirit in the face of unimaginable hardship. Her recollections of the Great Ukrainian Famine offer a stark reminder of the atrocities committed during that dark period of history, ensuring that the world never forgets the millions who lost their lives to hunger and oppression.