Enemies within the Gates?: The Comintern and the Stalinist Repression, 1934-1939 - Hardcover

William J. Chase

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0300082428 ISBN 13: 9780300082425

Publisher: YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2001

Synopsis

This compelling work of documentary history tells a story of idealism betrayed a story of how the Comintern (Communist International) an organization established by Lenin in 1919 to direct and assist revolutionary movements throughout the world participated in and was ultimately destroyed by the Stalinist repression in the late 1930s. Presenting and drawing on recently declassified archival documents William J. Chase analyzes the Comintern's roles as agent instrument and victim of terror.

In both principle and practice the Comintern was an international organization with a staff that consisted primarily of Communist émigrés who had fled dictatorial regimes in Europe and Asia. It was however headquartered in Moscow and controlled by Soviet leaders. This book examines the rise of suspicions and xenophobia among Soviet and Comintern leaders and cadres for whom many foreigners were no longer the heroes of the class struggle but rather possible enemy agents. Some Comintern members internalized and acted on Stalin's theories about the infiltration of foreign spies into Soviet society supplying the Soviet police with information that led to the exile or execution of imigris. Thousands of other imigris also became victims of the purges. Together the text and documents of this book convey graphically the essential roles played by the Comintern providing a unique perspective on the era of Stalinist repression and terror.

About this title

About the Author

William J. Chase is professor of history at the University of Pittsburgh.

Reviews

The extended title says it all. Part of Yale's "Annals of Communism" series, this volume reproduces translations of original documents from the Communist International, formerly maintained in the Central Party Archive in Moscow, none of which was previously published. A detailed commentary by the author and his extensive notes accompany the documents. It was not unknown that the Comintern, like all Soviet institutions, suffered at Stalin's hands. But the details provided by this volume, produced by Chase (history, Univ. of Pittsburgh) in cooperation with Russian scholars, amplify the grim tale of "idealism twisted into carnage, of comradeship betrayed," as Stalin's NKVD furiously hunted for spies, wreckers, and other largely imaginary enemies. No real foe could have done greater damage. This compilation should be acquired by every academic library and specialized collections on totalitarianism or the former USSR. Robert H. Johnston, McMaster Univ., Hamilton, Ont.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0300082428
• ISBN 13: 9780300082425
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 592