Stalins Gulag at War: Forced Labour, Mass Death, and Soviet Victory in the Second World War

by Wilson T. Bell

Stalin's Gulag at War places the Gulag within the story of the regional wartime mobilization of Western Siberia during the Second World War. Far from Moscow, Western Siberia was a key area for evacuated factories and for production in support of the war effort. Wilson T. Bell explores a diverse array of issues, including mass death, informal practices such as black markets, and the responses of prisoners and personnel to the war. The region's camps were never prioritized, and faced a constant struggle to mobilize for the war. Prisoners in these camps, however, engaged in such activities as sewing Red Army uniforms, manufacturing artillery shells, and constructing and working in major defense factories. The myriad responses of prisoners and personnel to the war reveal the Gulag as a complex system, but one that was closely tied to the local, regional, and national war effort, to the point where prisoners and non-prisoners frequently interacted. At non-priority camps, moreover, the area's many forced labour camps and colonies saw catastrophic death rates, often far exceeding official Gulag averages. Ultimately, prisoners played a tangible role in Soviet victory, but the cost was incredibly high, both in terms of the health and lives of the prisoners themselves, and in terms of Stalin's commitment to total, often violent, mobilization to achieve the goals of the Soviet state.

Genres: Russia, Nonfiction, World War II

276 pages, Paperback

First published October 5, 2018

Reviews

[Zeb Kantrowitz]

This was a free book from NetGalley

A Review of “Stalin’s Gulag” by Wilson T Bell

This is very much the standard book about the “Gulag” except that it focuses on one area (near Tomsk) and a short time period (1938-1946). It’s full of the same stories that you’ve read over the years since “One day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich” and the “The Gulag Archipelago”.

Bell has tried to take a different tack in his book by focusing on the effect of the war on the guards and the inmates (though they are not necessarily distinct groups). As you would expect, there is the plight of those evacuated from eastern Poland, the Baltic States, and groups like the Chechens and Volga Germans, who Stalin had exiled enmasse to Eastern Siberia. They suffered from the journey, lack of housing, food and fuel, clothing, etc.

Of the inmates who were in the Gulag prior to April 22, 1941 when the Germans attacked all along the borders of the USSR, large percentages of guards and inmates volunteered to fight for “Mother Russia”. Those who had been deported to ‘internal exile’ (enemies of the state) in Siberia were either allowed to volunteer for ‘punishment brigades’ or were volunteered by zealous camp guards and commanders. The survivability of these units was under 10%, as many went into battle without weapons (they were to take them from dead Germans or their dead comrades).

Bell also takes time to review how the Camps changed during the war, but it was really up to whoever was in charge of the Camps and how criminal they were. Many of the guards ended up as prisoners for stealing food and equipment as well as abusing the inmates (imagine what that might have been like).

So all in all it’s an interesting read but nothing new here.

Zeb Kantrowitz zebsblog@gmail.com zworstblog@blogspot.com

[Mandy]

For anyone who is already familiar with the Gulags, there’s little new to be discovered her about what life was like in them, or about their geographical scope. What is instead explored in this well-written and well-researched book is how integral the Gulag infrastructure was to the Soviet Union in the war years and what contribution the output of the camps made to the war effort. Worthwhile and interesting reading.

[Mircea Valcea]

Competently documented, but very limited in scope, dry and boring.

[Cristie Underwood]

The author did a great job of writing about a period in our history that many do not know too much about. I found myself wanting to learn more after reading this book and spent time researching online. Definitely recommend this one!