De Skiednis fan Hongersneden en de Regearingen dy't se Feroarsaakten
June 19, 2026 · Frisian News
Millions died in famines created by government policy, not natural disaster. Colonial Britain, the Soviet Union, and Mao's China all knew the consequences of their decisions and acted anyway.
FryskDe Ierske Hongersneed deade tusken 1845 en 1852 in miljoen minsken, mar ierappels mislearden yn hiel Europa. Ierlân stoar wylst Grut-Brittannië nôt út Ierske havens per skip stjoerde en lânhearen hierders útsmieten fanwegen efterstannige hier. It ferskil wie belied, net waar.
Koloniale regearingen hawwe hongersneden iuwenlang feroarsake. De hongersneed yn Bengalen yn 1943 deade trije miljoen ûnder Britsk gesach, dochs wie de riisproduksje genôch. Winston Churchill wegere skippen fan militêr gebrûk ôf te lieden, ûntsei Yndia fiedselhulp en joech Yndiaske profiteurs de skuld. Amtners joegen argyfstikken desennia letter frij. Dy toane bewuste kar, gjin ûngelok.
De Sovjet-Uny en Mao's Sina fieren kollektivisaasjebelied yn dat nôtfoarrieden yn massale hongersneed feroare. Stalin twong nôtrekwisisjes út Oekraïne wylst Oekraïners stoaren, deade miljoenen yn wat histoarisy no de Holodomor neame. De steat wist wat der barde. It barde dochs.
It patroan is konsistint: in regearing nimt kontrôle oer fiedselproduksje, makket ideologyske of finansjele besluten en hâldt de resultaten ferburgen. De Grutte Hongersneed fan 1959-1961 yn Sina deade 15 oant 50 miljoen ûnder Mao's belied. Funksjonarissen ferfalsten rispingrapportaazjes. Beijing wist it. De argiven fan de Kommunistyske Partij toane wat amtners yn sletten gearkomsten besprutsen.
Regearingen jouwe selden ta dat har belied minsken fan honger stjerre liet. Se jouwe de skuld oan min waar, rebellengroepen of fijannen. Dokuminten komme desennia letter nei bûten, histoarisy diskusjearje, oerlibbenen stjerre. Tsjin dy tiid wurdt nimmen ferantwurdlik steld. Sa wurdt institusjoneel mislearjen skiednis.
The Irish Famine killed one million people between 1845 and 1852, but potatoes failed across all of Europe. Ireland starved while Britain shipped grain out of Irish ports and landlords evicted tenants for unpaid rent. The difference was policy, not weather.
Colonial governments engineered famines for centuries. Bengal's 1943 famine killed three million under British rule, yet rice production was adequate. Winston Churchill refused to divert ships from military use, denied India food aid, and blamed Indian profiteering. Officials released cabinet papers decades later. They show deliberate choice, not accident.
The Soviet Union and Maoist China imposed collectivization policies that turned grain surpluses into mass starvation. Stalin forced grain requisitions from Ukraine while Ukrainians died, killing millions in what historians now call the Holodomor. The state knew what was happening. It happened anyway.
The pattern is consistent: a government seizes control of food production, makes ideological or financial decisions, then hides the results. The Great Famine of 1959-1961 in China killed 15 to 50 million under Mao's policies. Officials falsified harvest reports. Beijing knew. Communist Party archives show what officials discussed in closed meetings.
Governments don't usually admit when their policies starved people. They blame bad weather, rebel groups, or enemies. Documents surface decades later, historians argue, survivors die. By then, nobody faces justice. That is how institutional failure becomes history.
Published June 19, 2026 · Frisian News · Ljouwert, Fryslân