The “breadbasket of Europe” refers to the fertile lands of Ukraine. The chornozem (black earth) of the Ukrainian steppes, combined with the climate of the region, is uniquely suited to the growth of agricultural crops and grain in particular. In Soviet times, the Ukrainian SSR produced 25% of the Soviet Union’s agricultural output, despite the fact that its territory was about 2% of the area of the USSR. In the 20th century, the battle for control over the fertile lands of Ukraine saw the country and its people ravaged by WWI, the Civil War, the Holodomor, and finally, Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union in WWII.