Stalin's Witnesses - Hardcover

Wachtel, Julius

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1908483385 ISBN 13: 9781908483386

Publisher: Knox Robinson Pub, 2012

Synopsis

Vilna, the Russian Empire, 1905. En route to deliver a secret pamphlet entrusted to him by his older brothers, a young boy falls into the clutches of the Czars secret police. Another decade will pass before the Crown gives way, not to liberally minded revolutionaries like Vladimir Romm, but to the pitiless disciples of an embittered lawyer named Lenin. For the next three-quarters of a century, Marxism in its cruelest form will rule Russia. Returning to Vilna during the winter of 1918 for the first time since his youth, Romm finds it occupied by Polish troops. As World War I yields to an uneasy peace, Romm joins Soviet intelligence. In 1934 Romm becomes the USSR's inaugural correspondent to Washington and strives to bring key Americans to the Soviet side. But as his career reaches its zenith, Romm is suddenly recalled, arrested, and forced to testify with four other "witnesses" at the notorious 1937 Moscow show trial.

About this title

About the Author

Julius (Jay) Wachtel was born in Italy. A decade later he and his parents, both Holocaust survivors, moved to the United States and settled in Los Angeles. After serving in Vietnam, he embarked on a career in federal law enforcement. He holds a PhD in criminal justice from the State University of New York at Albany and now lectures in criminal justice at California State University Fullerton.

Review

“Jay Wachtel’s Stalin’s Witnesses is historical fiction at its best—a gripping story that sheds light on one of the most shocking and egregious travesties of justice in modern times. With verve and brilliantly constructed dialogue to fill gaps in the historical record and to bring the historical characters to life, Wachtel chronicles the story of five individuals who were forced to testify against their fellow Communists and in so doing condemned not only the defendants but also implicated themselves in farfetched crimes. He shows what happens when ideology enslaves human beings, hollows out their dignity, and changes their dreams into nightmares. Along the way, he showcases the duplicity and hypocrisy of fellow travellers and others who for various reasons stood by, even lent credibility to the sham proceedings. Above all, he conjures up the spirit of Stalinism—a frightening reality that stills impacts the Russian people.”
--Dennis J. Dunn, Professor of History and Director of the Centre for International Studies, Texas State University—Author of Caught Between Roosevelt and Stalin: America’s Ambassadors to Moscow

“Wachtel’s lively fictional account offers a fresh look at the cruelty of Stalin’s repression from the vantage point of one of its victims, an honest communist official and spy cast in the role of witness to sabotage at one of the three show trials of the Great Terror. The fascinating life story of Vladimir Romm encapsulates much of the Soviet experience, and the reader’s natural sympathy with this attractive figure gives his cruel fate added poignancy. A powerful indictment of Stalinism and a great read besides!”
--Peter H. Solomon, Jr., Professor of Political Science and Criminology, University of Toronto, author of "Soviet Criminal Justice under Stalin (Cambridge Russian, Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies Series)" and "Courts And Transition In Russia: The Challenge Of Judicial Reform"

About this edition

• Publisher: Knox Robinson Pub
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1908483385
• ISBN 13: 9781908483386
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 414