This short collection of documents from the Vatican archives seeks to illuminate what the Holy See knew about the famine in the Soviet Union in 1932–3 and how it responded. The famine was a direct result of government policy and claimed millions of lives in Ukraine and other parts of the Soviet Union. These documents show that, through letters and various diplomatic channels, the Vatican had received credible reports about the horrors of the famine by March 1933. Michael d'Herbigny, a French Jesuit who was head of the Vatican's Pro Russia Commission, tried to push the Holy See to intervene directly, particularly through humanitarian effort. In the end, however, the Vatican did not take direct action, partly under the influence of Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli (the future Pius xii), for a multitude of reasons: such an effort would involve other faith groups; the Vatican itself was in financial crisis; their efforts would be rebuffed by Soviet authorities, who denied the existence of the famine, and any assistance delivered would likely not end up in the hands of those who needed it; the Vatican's exposure of the famine would likely result in increased Soviet persecution of Catholics; and their efforts would play into the hands of Nazi anti-Soviet propaganda. The Vatican was not entirely inactive, however, and did try to draw public awareness through its newspaper. This volume will be of interest to scholars of Ukraine and of the Vatican.