Lesson 19 The Soviet Union Under Stalin Part 2 April 26th

JR
by Jerald Risner0 views·Updated Apr 25, 2021
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  1. Hello students and welcome back uh to less than 19,
  2. the Soviet Union under Stalin.
  3. Today, we're gonna talk about how Stalin uh used terror
  4. to control uh the people of the Soviet Union um
  5. and kind of forced them into the belief of communism
  6. uh and things like that.
  7. So let's begin.
  8. Yeah. Mhm.
  9. In addition to tactics like the terror, famine, Stalin's totalitarian
  10. state, use secret police torture and violent charges to ensure
  11. obedience, Stalin tightened his grasp on every aspect of soviet
  12. life, stamping out any sign of distant, even within the
  13. communist elite terror as weapon, Stalin ruthlessly used terror as
  14. a weapon against his own people.
  15. He perpetrated crimes against humanity, carried out politically motivated mass
  16. murders and systematically violated his peoples individuals rights.
  17. Police spies did not hesitate to open private letters or
  18. plant listening devices.
  19. The vast network of internal spies reported on groups of
  20. individuals, nothing appeared in print without official approval.
  21. There was no free press and no safe method of
  22. voicing protest grumblers or critics were rounded up and sent
  23. to gulen, a system of brutal labor camps where many
  24. died, Stalin's greatest purge.
  25. Even though Stalin's power was absolutely, he had observed obsessive
  26. fears that rival party leaders were plotting against him.
  27. In 1934 he launched a great purge during this reign
  28. of terror Stalin and his secret police crackdown, especially on
  29. old bolsheviks or party activists from early days of the
  30. revolution, his net soon widened to target army heroes, industrial
  31. managers, writers, and ordinary citizens.
  32. They were charged with a ride wide range of crimes
  33. from counter revolutionary applies to failure to meet production quotas.
  34. Between 1936 and 1938, Stalin staged a series of spectacular
  35. public show trials in Moscow.
  36. Former communist leaders confessed to all kinds of crimes after
  37. official tortured them and threatened their families or friends.
  38. Many of the purge, party members were never tried but
  39. were sent straight to the gulag.
  40. Secret police files revealed that at least four million people
  41. were purged during the Stalin years.
  42. Some historians estimate the toll to be much greater.
  43. The impact of the great purge.
  44. The purge increased Stalin's power.
  45. The purge destroyed the older generations of revolutionaries, replacing them
  46. with younger party members who owed absolute loyalty to Stalin.
  47. Okay, the program of terry increased Stalin's power by impressing
  48. on the soviet people the dangers of disloyalty.
  49. However, the soviet union paid a heavy price.
  50. Among the victims of the purge were experts and industry,
  51. economics and engineering and many of the Soviets most talented
  52. writers and thinkers.
  53. The purge also included most of the nation's military leaders
  54. and about half of its military officers.
  55. The loss of so many military leaders would come back
  56. to haunt Stalin in 1941, when Germany invaded the Soviet
  57. Union control through terror.
  58. In what ways did Stalin's terror tactics harm the soviet
  59. union a the country lost many intellectual and military leaders.
  60. B industrial production slowed dramatically.
  61. See lawlessness and violent plague the entire nation d the
  62. civil war threatens Stalin's government.
  63. Alright, students.
  64. So there you have it um Stalin used a wide
  65. range of methods and tactics uh to force the soviet
  66. people uh into compliance.
  67. Um If you spoke out or whispered out against joseph
  68. Stalin, uh you can expect a knock at the door
  69. in the middle of the night, being drug out by
  70. the secret police or the black shirts um and taken
  71. away from your family and friends, oftentimes never to be
  72. heard from again.
  73. Um This type of tactic was used throughout Stalin's and
  74. Hitler's reign.
  75. Uh and it was somewhat effective.
  76. People uh followed along and kept their thoughts and opinions
  77. to their self.
  78. Because anything as far as uh this bread is stale,
  79. Stalin should provide fresh bread, uh could get you imprisoned
  80. or facing trial for anti uhh uh huh Stalin thoughts
  81. or protests.
  82. So stay tuned as we continue this discussion.
  83. Thank you guys.