Mass terror (Not Included) Flashcards
What is Order 00447?
It allowed for the arrest of Kulaks and other ‘anti-soviet elements’,
The NKVD is not being controlled by the state
There was a quota system that outlined the number of those who were to be sent to the Gulags or executed
The NKVD could arrest without trial
What happened in the first month after Order 00447?
100, 000 were arrested
14,000 were sent to the Gulags
When was Order 00447 released?
mid - 1937
How many were executed by the beginning of 1938?
575, 000 were sentenced
248,000 were executed
Who did the NKVD target?
Anyone who was thought to be dangerous to the regime:
Former members of other political parties
Sometimes they targeted types of people because the numbers were too high, such as writers, musicians, bakers
What were citizens encouraged to do?
They were encouraged to out any ‘hidden enemies’ to the NKVD, such as family members, coworkers, bosses to try and save themselves
Who was Pavlik Morozov?
A child that denounced his father as a Kulak and was rewarded for it, and then 1 week later his grandfather killed him out of revenge
It was as cautionary tale of state over family
His story was used as propaganda for Stalinx
How did the function of Gulags change during Stalins era?
Before Stalin it was mostly for political prisoners and kulaks, it was meant to reeducate the people into socialist ideology, and provided slave labour for the prestige projects like the Muscov - Volga canal, but under Stalin it was for anyone that was anti - soviet and no longer for reeducation, but for forced labour to death
How many people were in Gulags in 1935?
800,000 people
How many people were in Gulags in 1738?
9.5 million people
What was the mortality in the Gulags compared to the rest of the USSR?
4 - 6 times higher
What were conditions like in the Gulags?
Meagre rations Harsh conditions Long hours Disease was rampant Crowded spaces
What did Stalin think of minorities in the period?
He was suspicious of them, such as moving the Germans in the Volga region and Koreans in the Far East
What did Stalin do with Koreans in 1937 and why?
When Japan was becoming a threat in 1937, Koreans were moved to Central Asia
What did Stalin do with Germans in 1941 and why?
When Germany was becoming a threat in 1942, 400,000 Germans were moved to Siberia and Central Asia
What did Stalin do with Jews in 1939 - 40 and why?
2 million jews went from Germany to Russia, and Stalin killed the rabbis and religious leaders
When did the Purges end?
1938
Who did Stalin blame for the Red Terror?
The NKVD leader Yezhov
Why did the Purges end?
Stalin had caused fear and taken out all of his rivals
How did Trotsky die?
He was assassinated in his home in Mexico in 1940 by a Stalinist agent
What happened to Yezhov?
He was tried and executed secretly in 1940
How does Stalin take responsibility of the Terror and purges?
- Personally responsible for promoting the purges
- Set quotas for how many he wanted killed
- He was paranoid of potential threats from others in the Party, such as Old Bolsheviks and Trotskys speeches against him outside of Russia
- He didn’t try to slow the Purges down or stop it earlier
How can local Party members take responsibility of the Terror and purges?
- Many officials went over their quota and acted on their own agendas
- Some promoted the terror, but were scared of being taken away themselves if they didn’t seem loyal to Stalin and agreeing with the Purges
How can Bolshevik leaders take responsibility of the Terror and purges?
- Bolsheviks always have used fear as a part of their policy
- There was a terror in 1917 with the removal of 25% of the Party
- There was a terror in Civil War of the bourgoiuse
- Stalin encouraged it and just escalated it to a more ruthless and larger scale
