Eternal memory

In her work "In Eternal Memory: Monuments and Memorials of the Holodomor," Wiktoria Kudela-Świątek delves deeply into the "places of memory" associated with the devastating Great Famine of 1932–33 in Ukraine. The book features photographs from around the world, illustrating both the distinctiveness and shared characteristics of individual monuments. Kudela-Świątek explores the history, aesthetics, and symbolism of various commemorative spaces such as museums, memorial plaques, and sites like unmarked mass graves linked to Holodomor victims. Her analysis not only reveals the diverse meanings these sites hold for memory communities but also sheds light on how commemorative practices have developed and been exchanged between Ukraine and its diaspora. By drawing on the concept of "places of memory," she investigates how the Holodomor has been memorialized through monuments, a challenging task given that the Soviet authorities suppressed this memory for over fifty years, leaving recognition largely to the Ukrainian diaspora. The book is praised for comprehensively discussing the forms and interconnections of numerous monuments in Ukraine and beyond. According to Frank E. Sysyn and Serge Cipko from the University of Alberta, Canada, it provides crucial insights into the evolution of Holodomor remembrance, making it a valuable addition to scholarly literature. Wiktoria Kudela-Świątek, an assistant professor at the Institute of History and Archival Studies at the Pedagogical University of Cracow, Poland, is the author of "Miejsca (nie)pamięci" and "W labiryncie znaczeń," both shedding light on the commemoration of the Ukrainian Great Famine of 1932-1933.