[September 10, 2019] Karl Marx knew what he was talking about when he said, “There is a specter haunting Europe, the specter of Communism.” Fortunately for European leaders, they discovered the Ukrainian Holodomor. During the 1932-33 Holodomor, 7-10 million Ukrainians died of starvation in a catastrophe nearly unprecedented in the history of humankind.
Surpassed only by the Great Chinese Famine of 1959-61 (where policies of the Communist Chinese government killed an estimated 15-20 million people) can the Holodomor be held up as just another symbol of the horrible end-product of Marxism. Marxism, in its many forms, is very attractive; like a trip through the Garden of Eden where everyone is happy and there is no violence, death, or chaos.
Western values themselves may be part of the explanation of why Marxist ideology is making a comeback. A New York Post article by Maureen Callahan titled “Americans have become children: demanding, dependent, and needy”1 touch on this very idea. She calls it the “death of adulthood” but her warning comes at a pivotal time for Americans and Westerners who are hooked on anti-depressants, cartoons, computer games, and roller-coasters.
We don’t know about the deaths from 20th century Marxism; we don’t even study it or learn from it. By this, I mean most young people don’t have the intellectual tools to reject this beautifully constructed theory that has failed every time it has been tried. The Holodomor is just one example but an important one. That is why I’m bringing this to the attention of my readers. Odds are, no one reading my webpage today ever heard of the Holodomor.
Evidence of the destruction of Stalin’s Communist policies is now available. Hidden for decades by the Soviets, it took many years for the truth to come out. One example is below and applies to what starvation can do to a human being:
“Survival was a moral as well as a physical struggle. A woman doctor wrote to a friend in June 1933 that she had not yet become a cannibal, but was “not sure that I shall not be one by the time my letter reaches you.” The good people died first. Those who refused to steal or to prostitute themselves died. Those who gave food to others died. Those who refused to eat corpses died. Those who refused to kill their fellow man died. Parents who resisted cannibalism died before their children did.” – Timothy Snyder in Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin, 2010.
If you are a leader, it is morally incumbent upon you to have an understanding of horrors like the Holodomor. Only by having this information can you resist the soft arguments of Marxism.
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This should come as no surprise for those who read and study even the most basics of 20th century history.
Marxism in action. I couldn’t find a better intro!
That’s why we keep coming back to Gen. Satterfield’s website, Xerxes. By the way, great moniker.
Your occasional articles that reach back into our past to pull forward important lessons is absolutely right. I would hope that these blog posts, when you do that, are not too boring. Many of us Americans think that history is just memorizing dates and places but ignore the reality from which we could learn valuable lessons. I think history professors are in the tank to discourage people from learning history.
I agree also that this is necessary and can be made to be interesting.
Excellent article on an important event that our culture not only does not teach about but ignores when brought up. Our politicians from the Democrat side would rather genuflect about plastic straws than debating the deadly history of their ideology.
Ouch, you got that right. Hit them between the eyes and they will still not see.
Marxism is a bust. It looks great on paper and in books but is quick to kill. It is inevitably corrupt morally. Nothing can prevent any ideology not based on religion and freedom from failing dramatically.
‘A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.’ Marcus Garvey
Good quote. We will repeat the mistakes of others if we do not learn from them.
“Never throughout history has a man who lived a life of ease left a name worth remembering. ” by US Pres Theodore Roosevelt. This is why the Progressives will go the way of the do-do bird and the dinosaur.
Kenny. That is an interesting take on President Roosevelt’s quote. Any ideology that encourages laziness in the intellect is doomed to extinction.
I would add that any ideology that is derived from Marxism is doomed to kill but to still exist.
Yes, thanks Kenny. ?
Great history lesson. Never forget the long list of evil events perpetrated by Marxists/socialist/communists.
These 7 to 10 million (or possibly more) who have died under the boot of spin-off ideologies of Marxism are only the tip of the iceberg. There are another 100 million who died outside of war by the evil of Marxism.
You got that right. Why do today’s millennials continue to ignore the history of the 20th century that is right in front of them?
Because they are brainwashed by their teachers and professors. So many of them are also brainwashed.
We are all guilty of ignoring the obvious at times but in this case, there is no excuse.
Good comment Greg.
Yes, and a great article today.
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