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"Dovzhenko, a Marxist from early on, used his talent to create propaganda
first for Lenin and then for Stalin..." "And nowhere in the piece do we
learn about the horrors of the Ukrainian famine and Dovzhenko's moral
complicity in that crime."
By Michael Chapman
Letter to the Editor
The Washington Post, Washington, D.C.
Saturday, December 14, 2002; Page A23
I was disappointed to read the story by Philip Kennicott on Ukrainian
filmmaker Alexander Dovzhenko [Style, Dec. 3], whose films are being
shown at the National Gallery. As the history shows, Dovzhenko, a
Marxist from early on, used his talent to create propaganda first for Lenin
and then for Stalin, two of the most notorious dictators of the 20th
century, responsible for the deaths of more than 40 million people.
In Ukraine alone, the government-made famine by forced collectivization --
and outright execution of "class enemies" -- caused the deaths of an
estimated 7 million people, 3 million of whom were children. The situation
was so horrible that many people turned to cannibalism. All the while, the
communists claimed there was no famine and "artists" such as Dovzhenko
toed the party line.
Dovzhenko was no less a propagandist for totalitarianism than Leni
Reifensthal was a Nazi propagandist. Yet in Kennicott's story, we only learn
that Dovzhenko was a "Bolshevik" several paragraphs into the story. And
nowhere in the piece do we learn about the horrors of the Ukrainian famine
and Dovzhenko's moral complicity in that crime. He was an apologist for the
state -- and a man who lived off the favors of the state by continuing to
crank out pro-Stalinist propaganda in his later years.
-- Michael Chapman
The writer is editorial director at the Cato Institute, Washington, D.C.
The Cato Institute is a well known, influential public policy think-tank.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52957-2002Dec13.html
The Washington Post, Washington, D.C., For personal and academic use only.
Story the Michael Chapman Letter to the Editor Refers To:
UKRAINE'S DOVZHENKO, AUTEUR OF THE PROLETARIAT
The festival of Dovzhenko's films was organized with help from the
Ukrainian government, which has taken an active role in championing
Dovzhenko's work outside his native country.
By Philip Kennicott
Washington Post Staff Writer
The Washington Post, Washington, D.C.
Tuesday, December 3, 2002; Page C01
To read the story click on:
http://www.artukraine.com/filmart/dovzhenko.htm
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