create a Europe free of Jews than to obey ordinary human decency, which includes the notion that people have a right to live and groups have a right to exist

In the Soviet case, likewise, one of the most important themes in the history of die Ukrainian Famine is, precisely this type of dehumanization, which is able to mobilize even idealists because ‘good’ is defined by Marxist-Leninist ideology and interpreted by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union as the destruction of class enemies. Thus, farmers ceased to be people; they became class enemies whom it became ‘good’ to murder.

Dr. KUROPAS: Jim, if I could suggest, I understand that we have this room until one o’clock, and since time is moving very rapidly, Td like to suggest, if at all possible, that you summarize the Oral History Project and the documentary research, and we go on through curriculum issues, and I think I’d like to pursue for the remaining time, and I’d like to devote as much time to it as possible, to promulgating the famine, how to get it to the attention of the American public, and equally as important, how to get it into the American school system and into American textbooks, as I think that would be a major role for this Commission during the next year of our existence.
Dr. MACE: All right
Ambassador DOUGLAS: Gentlemen, excuse me. If the gentlemen will yield just a moment, I do have to leave now, but I would say that in my absence, you certainly have my strong support for that I think the Oral History Project, which is important, needs to be adjusted a bit in the staff priorities and the work of the Commission. That, if we do not take the short time left to us as a collegial group to move to institu¬tionalize these issues in the curricula of schools, we are going to lose one of the most important opportunities that we have, and one of the most important objectives of the Congress and the community in putting this distinguished panel and staff together.

And, I would certainly vote for that as a reprioritization of our tasks, and to begin either through telephone conversations of a more intensive correspondence and regional get-togethers how we are going to relate the lessons of the famine to what we are doing.

And, maybe if we get enough press, that we can stimulate an interest or, perhaps, prick the conscience of the electronic media to begin to ask Mr. Gorbachev exactly what he thinks about all of this, since he seems to be so willing under glasnost to talk about the shortcomings of the regime in the last 40,50 years.
Dr. MACE: It should be noted parenthetically that Gorbachev comes from a region that was devastated by the famine, from the North Caucasus.
Ambassador DOUGLAS: I’m aware of that
Dr. MACE: It was true at the time, and he grew up surrounded by the evidence of it I mean, there is no way he could have avoided it
Ambassador DOUGLAS: Well, we should give him repeated opportunities to make his views known on that subject
Dr. MACE: Certainly. If I may very briefly summarize, that Oral History Projects collected 178 accounts. We were going for 200 as a working goal. They are being transcribed. Well probably collect about another 20 oral histories, and that’s it That’s about all we’re going to have time to transcribe, which we do privately through contract workers, so it doesn’t take the time of our limited staff.