This is a continuation of my reading of Victor Herman’s book, Coming Out Of The Ice, An Unexpected Life, out of print for some time. Just a reminder of why I am doing this. I consider this book to be extremely important, because it is a glimpse into what we can expect if we do not resist the oncoming tyranny. Victor Herman, in discussing his experiences in the Soviet gulag emphasized: “Don’t think it can’t happen here.” And, it is now happening here.
The series begins here.
This chapter begins: “It was 1939, early September . . .”
For those of you who remember history, this is significant. September 1939 was the beginning of the Second World War, marked by a coordinated invasion of Poland by both Nazi Germany under Hitler and the Soviet Union under Stalin. Less than two years later Hitler would attack the Soviets in his quest for lebensraum. This assault was the beginning of the defeat of Nazi Germany, analogous to Napoleon’s disastrous campaign against Russia over 100 years earlier.
Of course, Victor Herman, at that time, had absolutely no knowledge of what was happening outside of the tiny bubble in which he existed.
Victor, along with other prisoners, was transported from Gorky to his new location, Burepolom, in what was called a “Stolypin wagon”.
These were rail cars outfitted with cells specifically for prisoner transport. They were named for Pyotr Stolypin (1862 - 1911), a prominent aristocrat in the Czar’s government with a controversial legacy, which we will not examine here. The cars were more than uncomfortable; more than a few men would die in them just from being packed in so tightly. Of course, that consequence did not concern the Soviets.
The reading is here. As always, I hope you appreciate Victor’s words.