(Novel about the Ukrainian Holodomor in the English language)
(UE). At their National Convention several years ago, the Women’s Association for the Defense of Four Freedoms for Ukraine (WADFFU) voted to undertake a project in memory of the millions who perished in the Holodomor — Soviet-induced Famine-Genocide of Ukraine in 1932-1933. Several of the members had lost their families during this genocide and they themselves had barely survived. This winter the project came to fruition with the publication of Olha Mak’s historical novel Stones Under the Scythe in the English language. The book was originally published in Ukrainian in Canada in 1973 and later in Ukraine in 1994 and 2004 as Kaminnia pid kosoyu.
The book has been professionally translated by Vera Kaczmarskyj, MA, with a foreword by Dr. Ihor Mirchuk. The book is enhanced with illustrations by the Kyiv artist Olena Raspopova and maps by Stefan Slutsky. Leo Iwaskiw, MBA, did the initial editorial work. WADFFU would like to acknowledge Myroslawa Hec, the daughter of Olha Mak, for granting us publication rights and for her continuous support throughout the project.
The story of 15-year-old Andriy recreates the fate of millions of Ukrainian children who either perished or barely escaped death in the years of Ukraine’s greatest national tragedy. The characters in the novel are composites of individuals and the narrative is based on real events that Olha Mak witnessed as a university student living in Kharkiv (Eastern Ukraine) during that horrible time.
It is hoped that this book will be read by many people and — together with all the other projects undertaken by the Ukrainian Diaspora and Ukraine — will help to shatter the conspiracy of silence and denial about one of the greatest tragedies of the 20th century.
The project was financed by the Ulana and Larysa Celewycz Foundation of the WADFFU. The Foundation was set up by Andriy Steciuk in memory of his wife and daughter. Ulana Celewych was the founder and first President of the WADFFU.
