Inauguration of the James Mace Memorial Hall

The Diplomatic Academy of Ukraine in Kyiv recently celebrated the inauguration of a hall dedicated to James Mace — an American and Ukrainian historian, political scientist, publicist, and a distinguished researcher of the Holodomor, who first revealed the truth about the genocide of Ukrainians during 1932–1933.
«This is a unique case where a person, who is not of Ukrainian descent, an Indian from the Cherokee tribe, became one of the most devoted defenders of the memory of the Ukrainian victims of the Holodomor. Ukraine became his second homeland, and through his work, he forever changed the global understanding of the Holodomor as a genocide,» noted the director of the Academy, Ihor Ostash.
He also emphasized the growing international recognition of the Holodomor, which has sharply increased since the onset of Russia's full-scale aggression against Ukraine.
From 1991 to 2022, 15 countries recognized the Holodomor as genocide. However, just after the beginning of the full-scale invasion — in just a year and a half — nearly as many countries made similar decisions. This demonstrates how the war has influenced world consciousness.
Ihor Ostash, Larysa Ivshyna (editor-in-chief of the newspaper «Den»), Lesia Gasyndzhak, director of the National Memorial Complex «Museum of Holodomor 1932-33», and Maryana Betza, deputy foreign minister of Ukraine, participated in the James Mace Auditorium.
The event also featured Deputy Foreign Minister Maryana Betza, Director of the National Museum of Holodomor-Genocide Lesia Gasyndzhak, editor-in-chief of the newspaper «Den» Larysa Ivshyna, employees of the Diplomatic Academy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
Deputy Minister Betza noted in her speech that the Holodomor-genocide is not an abstract tragedy but a crime with specific perpetrators and responsible parties.
❝Today, genocide is repeating itself. Russia is committing genocide against Ukrainians, erasing our identity in temporarily occupied territories, and erasing the identity of our children who have been abducted and deported. We must ensure the accountability of every war criminal,❞ emphasized Maryana Betza.
She stressed that conveying the truth about the Holodomors is one of the key tasks of the Ukrainian diplomatic service and an important priority for Minister Andrii Sybiga.
During the inauguration, a fragment of a documentary film about James Mace was screened, and attendees explored publications dedicated to the history of Holodomors in Ukraine.
The memory of James Mace — this is our candle in the window and our obligation to the millions of innocent victims.