Holodomor - Famine-Genocide in Ukraine

The Holodomor stamp, issued on November 21, 2003, commemorates Ukraine's Great Famine of 1932 and 1933. The stamp shows a Kozak-style granite cross, with the ghostly face of a starving child against it. Some stalks of wheat to its left are supposed to symbolize that famine occurred in the midst of food. (See my page, Famous Monsters, for a historical footnote.) Also note the stylized sickle beneath the bells of the cache design: its cutting edge is against rows of crosses. This brings to mind the film "Harvest of Despair."

The simplicity of this stamp and the design of the first day cover run counter to the tempest that preceded its release. Another design had originally been chosen, but when its details had been leaked, Ukrainian Diaspora groups in the United States and Canada had objected strenuously enough to cause Ukraine's postal service to reconsider.

Only 100,000 copies of the Holodomor stamp have been printed, so expect this stamp to be in short supply