Thread by @OlenaWave

"Your dead chose me," said JAMES MACE, the #American historian who revealed to the world the truth about the #Holodomor of 1932-1933. in #Ukraine. He was the author of the report of the commission of the US Congress on the study of the Holodomor of 1932-1933, which

initiated the coverage of this topic and its further research, and in the end - the recognition of the genocide of the Ukrainian people. Today is the day of his memory.

At the age of 18, James Mace studied at the history department of the University of Michigan. He was interested in history, and during a lecture on the Holocaust, he heard a thesis from the teacher: "On the territory of Europe, there was another large-scale, disastrous,

commensurate with the Holocaust..."

James Mace was a man with democracy in his blood, a native American, he did not believe the teacher and began to argue. He said: "I will prove to you that this is impossible," because he had very big illusions about European democracy.

He took the history of the national revolution by the author Khrystiuk in Ukrainian and began to translate from Ukrainian to English, not knowing, not even hearing how the Ukrainian language sounds, not knowing where Ukraine is. James

Mace learned the Ukrainian language only in written form.
The subject of the Holodomor touched James Mace, because he was a native of the Cherokee tribe, and it was through the prism of the tragedy of the indigenous peoples of America that he approached the subject of the

Holodomor in Ukraine.

James Mace compiled a list of questions for the witnesses of the Holodomor, because many Ukrainian peasants settled in Argentina, America, and Australia. And it was in these regions that eyewitness accounts were collected. James Mace defended his doctoral

thesis on Ukrainian history and was invited to work with Robert Conquest on the book "Harvest of Sorrows" because the Ukrainians were not believed.

Ukrainians were perceived as collaborators, Soviet propaganda exerted pressure on the West: both in the United States and in other countries. That is why they did not invite Ukrainian scientists, not Ukrainian emigrants, but decided to turn to scientists who do not have a single

drop of Ukrainian blood in them.

The researcher led the work of the American Commission for the Study of the Holodomor. When James published his research that said the Holodomor was an act of genocide, it caused a very mixed response in scientific circles, and so James said,

"I'll prove it to you." He came to Ukraine, where he met his future wife Natalia, and so his new stage began, here in #Ukraine.

In 1993 J.Mace moved to Ukraine - a country that he perceived as his own. Here he married Natalya Dzyubenko, and lived in Kyiv.

In 1995-2004 was a professor at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in 2001-2002. - a professor at the International Christian University in Kyiv.

He taught ethnopolitics, US and Canadian politics, and Central and Eastern European politics. He was also a columnist and editor of the Den newspaper for eight years (1997-2004). All who had the good fortune to communicate and work with him, first of all note his sincerity,

friendliness, dedication to his work, which he perceived as a mission, and love for Ukraine.

His heart stopped at the age of 53 on May 3, 2004 under tragic circumstances. He is buried at Baikovo cemetery in Kyiv.

November 26, 2005 President of Ukraine V. Yushchenko awarded James Mace with the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise II degree. Streets in Kyiv and Brovary are named after him.

Picture: James Mace's wife Natalia and his granddaughter, the little heiress of the free Cherokee tribe!