Stalin's murders and the West

[jporter]

> From: Dave Monroe <monroe at mpm.edu>

> 
>it's surprising that more wasn't done, if
> only for propaganda purposes, to document the atrocities of Stalin's regime.
> Point of coldwar diplomacy?  The problem of the US's own skeletons in the
> closet?  At any rate, there seems to be no end of documentation ongoing these
> days, for example, not that I've done much more than flip through it, Stephane
> Courtois, et al., The Black Book of Communism ...
> 

This seems like an interesting resource, and I know you mentioned it
earlier. I'd heard  a discussion of it (somewhere) that also included the
possibility that a fear of being labeled a "McCarthy-ite" etc., along with
an effort to protect the USSR by idealogues among the left, particularly in
France, could have contributed to a less vigorous attempt to uncover and
publicize atrocities in Stalin's regime. It's a complicated area. I do agree
with davemarc that "the facts" as they continue to emerge regarding the
fascist versions of crimes against humanity, in general, and The Holocaust,
in particular, are due to alot of hard work and determination, to the credit
of those involved, as well as, to the good fortune of being carried out in a
more media rich and open society.

If there is a link between the atrocities committed by the fascists and the
communists, it would seem to involve a dangerous combination of
anti-democratic forces fueled by some flawed vision or ideal, amenable to
oversimplification.

jody