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Frankly speaking, there is a lot of good in the idea of communism. What Stalin and his followers did to it is a different story. I felt it myself. Until I got to the Soviet Union I didn't know what was going on here. 1,500 or 1,600 camp inmates had been killed before I arrived at Moliak. So many people perished. And this was just one of many camps where all the inmates were exterminated in one day. I tied this to the name of Stalin, but at the same time I couldn't believe that the leader of such a huge country could be so cruel. Whatever there was to it, it's true that during World War II people fought in the name of Stalin. Millions believed him unconditionally. Of course, people were aware of some things, ignorant about many others or closed their eyes on some.
I remember well the Doctors' Plot [17] in January 1953. Many Jewish students were expelled and professors were fired from Lvov University. I was left in peace. I didn't know why, but I stayed. Later, when I talked with friends that were doctors in Mukachevo, they told me that many weren't just fired, but also sent to camps. They were released after Stalin's death in 1953.
Stalin's death on 5th March 1953 wasn't a big loss for me like it was for the majority of the Soviet people. I was an outsider, different from those who grew up during the Soviet regime. Besides, people that went through the camps were disillusioned. I understood that Stalin had to know what was happening in the country and nothing could happen without his blessing. I felt this and Khrushchev's [18] speech at the Twentieth Party Congress [19] confirmed my conviction about the criminality of the Stalin rule. After the cult of Stalin was denounced at the Twentieth Party Congress I was rehabilitated [20] in October 1962. The regional court of Lvov reviewed my case and determined that I was subject to oppression in fascist Hungary as a Jew and there was nothing criminal about my crossing the border to the USSR.
I remember well the Doctors' Plot [17] in January 1953. Many Jewish students were expelled and professors were fired from Lvov University. I was left in peace. I didn't know why, but I stayed. Later, when I talked with friends that were doctors in Mukachevo, they told me that many weren't just fired, but also sent to camps. They were released after Stalin's death in 1953.
Stalin's death on 5th March 1953 wasn't a big loss for me like it was for the majority of the Soviet people. I was an outsider, different from those who grew up during the Soviet regime. Besides, people that went through the camps were disillusioned. I understood that Stalin had to know what was happening in the country and nothing could happen without his blessing. I felt this and Khrushchev's [18] speech at the Twentieth Party Congress [19] confirmed my conviction about the criminality of the Stalin rule. After the cult of Stalin was denounced at the Twentieth Party Congress I was rehabilitated [20] in October 1962. The regional court of Lvov reviewed my case and determined that I was subject to oppression in fascist Hungary as a Jew and there was nothing criminal about my crossing the border to the USSR.
Location
Ukraine
Interview
zoltan shtern