3. Causes of refugee movements

This chapter examines the causes of refugee movements. The majority of mass movements today are caused by internal conflicts, and ethnic cleansing, genocide, and politicide; religious, cultural, and ethnic intolerance; socio-economic inequalities; and increasingly by conflict-induced famine, mass starvation, and climate change. As a consequence, there has been a proliferation of complex emergencies that combine internal conflicts with large-scale displacement of people. Until the international community is able to effectively address these root causes, forced displacement will remain a common feature of world affairs. It is thus critical to ensure that international responses to forced migration also lay the foundation for refugees to find a solution to their plight.

Famine As an Instrument of Nazi Occupation Policy in Ukraine, 1941-44

The article examines a range of questions tied to Nazi Germany’s socio-economic policies in occupied Ukraine during World War II. In line with implementing the General Plan “Ost,” the top leadership of the Third Reich intended to cleanse the “eastern territories” of its “superfluous” population for German colonization. As contained in the “Principles of Economic Policy in the East,” these directives provided for the physical extermination of tens of millions of people in various ways, as well as the deportation of part of the indigenous population to remote areas. Ukraine’s economic exploitation was built in such a way that it doomed the local urban and rural societies to a miserable, half-starved existence. The systematic seizure of food for the needs of the Wehrmacht, the Reich, and its allies made the death of the inhabitants of the occupied lands only a matter of time. The instrumentalization of terror by famine was manifested, on the one hand, by the creation of special structures that requisitioned food resources, and on the other by establishing norms of food supplies that were below the minimal needs for existence. As well, the strict regulation of trade set limits to the sources of food products that could be brought to the cities. This caused mass starvation. The deaths and the diseases that followed created hundreds of thousands of victims among Ukrainians.

Dying Hungry: Nazi Ideology and the Pragmatism behind Starvation in Implementing the Final Solution

German theories and policies regarding the relationship between food and Jewish citizens of eastern Europe served as an important foundation of the Nazis’ Judenpolitik during the Holocaust (1933-45). The mass starvation of Jews in German-dominated Europe was the result of a carefully calculated policy to make the Jews pay for a long list of misfortunes they had allegedly inflicted on the Germans. This policy evolved from a highly restrictive and discriminatory approach toward German Jews, which unfolded against a backdrop of harsh food policies applied to the local non-Jewish population.

Hunger Habitus: State, Society, and Starvation in Twentieth-Century Bengal

This article offers a brief summary of the complex factors leading to the famine in Bengal in the 1940s and discusses its longer-term impacts—the afterlife, so to speak—of famine. This episode of starvation claimed as many as five million lives in Bengal, and had long lasting social, political, and economic consequences. Several different paradigms emerged that impacted the socio-political landscape of Bengal in the midst of the famine. Famine studies often focus on causality and on peaks of starvation deaths. However, periods of mass starvation such as the famine in Bengal do not simply end when mass starvation ends. Rather, famine inscribes itself into a famine society in elaborate fashion, impacting post-famine societies in abiding ways for generations to come.

Tigray aid crisis may damage Ethiopia’s standing

Significance The agreement follows mounting criticism against Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government for allegedly hindering the free flow of assistance, risking potential mass starvation. Impacts The deal gives Abiy some progress to show visiting EU Envoy Pekka Haavisto, but the EU may wait before restoring budgetary support. The crisis may detract attention and resources from preparations for planned elections in June. Pressures arising from the humanitarian crisis could stress relations with Eritrea.

Mass Homelessness of Ukrainian Сhildren during the Holodomor-Genocide in 1932–1933s

The aim of the article. Based on a comprehensive analysis of archives, published documents, and materials, as well as current historical studies, the phenomenon of mass child homelessness in Ukraine during the Holodomor-Genocide which organized by the Russian communist regime in 1932–1933s is highlighted. The aim of the article is to analyze the activities of state authorities and their commissions in assisting homeless children in the process of overcoming this tragic social phenomenon. The research methodology is based on a combination of general scientific (analysis and synthesis), special and historical (problem-chronological, historical-systematic) methods and principles of scientificity and historicism. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that the author first attempted a systematic analysis of the mass child homelessness and death caused by the authorities for the first time in the history of Ukraine during the Holodomor-Genocide. Conclusions. We can state that almost all of the activities of state authorities to overcome mass starvation and homelessness of children and adolescents during the Holodomor-Genocide of 1932–1933s consisted in overcoming street homelessness as a social phenomenon by removing children from the streets, placing them in unsuitable premises due to a lack of residential care facilities, returning them to families or placing them under collective and individual foster care. Such measures only partially served to improve the situation of a tiny proportion of children, but could not address the issue fundamentally, since it was not a primary concern of the Stalin’s regime itself. After all, the main reason for the growth of homelessness was the mass starvation of the Ukrainian peasants caused by his anti-human policy of liquidating the Ukrainian peasantry through mass repression and terror and plundering food by the so-called “dekulakization”, which implied the physical destruction of the peasant and his descendants and further enslavement of those who remained, and driving them into collective farms.

Establishment of the Bolshevik Totalitarian Regime in Podillia at the End of the 1920s – at the Beginning of the 1930s: Causes, Technologies And Consequences (on the Example of the Melnykivtsi Village in the Vinnytsia Region)

The purpose of the article, based on the analysis of sources, taking into account the microhistorical approach, to trace the process of final establishment of the Bolshevik totalitarian regime in the Podillia at the and of 1920s – at the beginning of the 1930s through analysis of causes, technologies and consequences. The methodology of the research is based on a combination of general scientific, special-historical and interdisciplinary methods of microhistorical research, taking into account the principles of historicism, systematics, scientificity and verification. The scientific novelty lies in the author's attempt, based on the analysis of a wide representative source base, from the standpoint of a specific microhistorical study, to analyze the process of planting the Bolshevik totalitarian regime in Podillia in the second military-communist assault. Conclusions. An analysis of various sources reflecting the process of planting the Bolshevik totalitarian regime in the village of Melnykivtsi in the Vinnytsia region suggests that the intensification of local authorities to socialize peasant farms in Podillya began in the spring of 1928. If at the beginning of the unification of peasants voluntarily, then with the party taking a course for continuous collectivization, in November 1929, forceful methods of involvement in collectives prevailed. Suppression of the resistance of wealthy peasants was proposed through the expropriation of their property and deportation outside their permanent residence. The response of the Podillia peasantry to the atrocities of the authorities was the intensification of open resistance, as a result of which in the spring of 1930th the Soviet authorities were even overthrown for a short time in some settlements of Podillya. The appearance of J. Stalin's article "Dizziness from Success" was perceived by some peasants as an outspoken criticism by the leader of the violent methods of the local authorities, so as a result of the so-called "bagpipes", by May 1930 almost 1/3 of all members of collective farms left the collectives. . During the second stage of continuous collectivization, which began in September 1930th, the main "argument" that was to persuade the peasants to join the collectives was tax pressure. Influence on the peasantry was carried out through the system of grain procurement. By setting unbearable norms for the delivery of bread for individual farms, the authorities thus forced them to join the collective farms. Forced collectivization, accompanied by the expropriation of wealthy peasants, unbearable grain procurement plans and the forced seizure of food supplies led to mass starvation of part of the Podolsk peasantry in the spring of 1932. As a result of the artificially planned Holodomor of 1932-1933th decreased by more than 1 million people. According to the authorities' plan, the genocide was to finally subdue the Ukrainian peasantry by starvation. By destroying the peasant owners, the Bolshevik government also deliberately and purposefully destroyed the social base of Ukrainian nationalism.

The Age of Pearl Barley

This chapter presents a hidden history of how food and hunger shaped the politics of everyday life in Terezín. It offers a social and cultural history of food, eating, and hunger, and of how food defined social structures and kinship. The German authorities consigned Jews to Terezín and restricted the supply of food. Shortages led to maldistribution, caused by the food categories introduced by the Jewish self-administration and corruption, which vastly increased rates of hunger and death. Maldistribution was a consequence of inmate society. The social hierarchy in Theresienstadt resulted in stark differences in access to food, with younger prisoners enjoying relatively good access while the underfed elderly population was deprived and had an extremely high mortality rate. Mass starvation in Theresienstadt was caused more by maldistribution than by lack of food.

The effect of acute and chronic food shortage on human population equilibrium in a subsistence setting

Background World population is projected to reach 9–11 billion by 2050, raising concerns about food system security and sustainability. Modeling food systems are often a way to understand current and future dynamics. The most common model, first articulated by Malthus (Malthusian), shows population growth as an exponential function and food production as a linear function, concluding that human carrying capacity will be reached leading to mass starvation. Another prominent model was introduced by Boserup (Boserupian), which explains increases in food production as a function of population growth. Methodology Here, we explore which food systems dynamics exist at equilibrium and after perturbation. The model introduced explores food availability in an isolated village and then in a line of villages. The isolated village model includes three key parameters: maximum calorie production (a), food production resilience (b), and minimum calorie requirement per person (c). The multiple village model adds an additional parameter for trade. Results Isolated village populations are more resilient to famine than Malthusian theory predicts, suggesting that Malthus’ premise may be inaccurate. Predictably, across multiple villages increasing access and production reduce famine. However, under certain conditions large amounts of transport can lead to antagonist relationships leading to rapid changes in population. Conclusion Food systems under both production and access scenarios proved to be resilient to small perturbations, requiring a large catastrophe to induce mortality; this appeared to discount the Malthusian model. This model can create dynamics where different modes of famine relief apply, but here we see that a balanced approach of both access and production appears to be the most resilient to famine.