Crucibles of Power: Smolensk Under Stalinist and Nazi Rule

The Smolensk Archive papers were essential and became the basis for understanding the Communist Party in the Soviet Union. Historian David-Fox (director, Ctr. for Eurasian, Russian, and East European Studies, Georgetown Univ.; editor, The Soviet Gulag) supplies the backstory of how a portion of the archive came into the hands of Americans and how the rest, despite being caught up in the back-and-forth of war between the Nazis and the Soviets, remained intact. In nine chapters, David-Fox’s book describes how ordinary people worked with whoever held power amidst the shifting sands of war. That included a Russian librarian who worked with the Nazis, members of the Communist Youth League, and other Russian citizens who collaborated with the Nazis for reasons that ranged from hatred of the Communist Party to self-interest. This work also explores history in Western Russia and examines Stalinism, the Holocaust, Nazism, and more.