Miron Dolot's book, EXECUTION BY HUNGER, is a detailed account as seen through the eyes of a true survivor during the reign of Stalin

The collectivization began with the infiltration of about ten men per village from the communist party and the soviet government known as Twenty Five Thousanders. They were an elite group with unlimited power and weapons. They gradually arrested dignitaries and influential villagers such as Priest Bondar. The villages were becoming defenseless and had no leaders to look up to. Propagandists took over homes and left families with nothing but the clothes they had on. This was the pattern throughout the entire region in all of the villages. It set neighbor against neighbor, brother against brother all in the name of survival. Once someone you knew joined the collective farm, he was no longer your friend.

The infiltration expanded into the exploitation of the farmers. They were held captives of their own free will on their own lands. Overwhelmed by the Party, resistance was fruitless since they were persuaded by sleep deprivation, humiliation, and degradation. The people became broken spirits in appearance. It was a silent war between the communists and the collective farmers. Dolot exhibits a hidden pride in the farmers by writing of their subtle resistances, sabotages, and stubborn survival. They may have been beaten but they really were not broken. Some lived on.

There is little known about this famine or starvation during this time period because it has not been highly publicized and rarely written about or studied within educational institutions. It is only made known from actual heroic survivors such as Miron Dolot. Miron and others who bravely escaped the collective farm are the few who can testify to this era and enlighten future generations. Dolot, in particular, made it his goal to become a teacher and educate others so future generations can learn and decide for themselves what he was an actual witness to.

This is a very interesting book for an advanced reader. Dolot writes very graphic details to help the reader almost picture what is going on; however, this book is hard to follow because of the ethnic words and forms of government he tries to describe in his book. Excerpts from this book should be used and studied in high schools and colleges because of the examples of atrocities committed in that time period are supporting evidence that collectivization was a failure. Additionally, no society is perfect. Every corner of the world has its sins that we have gradually learned about. Today's society has

learned about black slavery, women's oppression, the Jewish and Polish holocaust, and even the near extermination of the Native Americans just to name a few. Little is known or publicized about the starvation of the Ukrainian people but Dolot's book can open the door to understanding this tragedy and suffering that affected millions of the Ukrainian people.