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> unlike Nazi Germany anybody could be arrested You are saying that like that's a bad thing.

• arethuza 16y ago
  What I meant was that the cultural impact of the policies of mass arrest, torture, murder and imprisonment probably had a much deeper social impact in the Soviet Union (and the areas they conquered) than in Nazi Germany (and their conquered areas) as the Nazis targeted specific racial and political groups and if you didn't belong to these groups then your chances of being arrested were pretty small. However, in the Soviet Union the arrests were being made primarily to feed the requirements for slave workers in the camps - not just for political/racial reasons so anyone could be arrested - often for trivial things (e.g. having a foreign stamp in his collection got one poor soul 10 years in the camps).
  • maayank 16y ago
    That is not correct. Even "Aryans" were tortured/arrested/harassed by government officials for anti-Nazi behavior (criticizing Hitler or the Nazi party [even indirectly], having relationships with POWs, suspicious political behavior, etc.). If you're ever in Berlin make a point of visiting the following museum/exhibition: http://www.topographie.de/en/topography-of-terror/exhibitions/topography-of-terror/ http://www.topographie.de/en/topography-of-terror/exhibition... edit: fixed some typos. Additionally, a poignant example: many laws/acts in Nazi Germany were passed by Ja/Nein referendums. Of course, if you voted unfavorably in those referendums you were harassed and publicly humiliated (i.e. marched through town with signs labeling you as the enemy of the people)
  • fedd 16y ago
    > arrested - often for trivial things (e.g. having a foreign stamp in his collection got one poor soul 10 years in the camps). i am terribly sorry, where do people take these stunning facts? like 'often for trivial things', 'mass torture' etc. there are a lot of documents revealed, online too. is there some real case where it is said 'sentenced to imprisonment for having a foreign stamp'? i want to see a link
    • arethuza 16y ago
      http://www.amazon.com/Gulag-History-Anne-Applebaum/dp/1400034094 http://www.amazon.com/Gulag-History-Anne-Applebaum/dp/140003... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gulag_Archipelago http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gulag_Archipelago http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stalin-Court-Simon-Sebag-Montefiore/dp/0753817667 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stalin-Court-Simon-Sebag-Montefiore/... http://www.amazon.co.uk/Whisperers-Private-Life-Stalins-Russia/dp/0141013516/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1303746113&sr=1-4 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Whisperers-Private-Life-Stalins-Russ...
      • fedd 16y ago
        really good answer, thanks.
    • deleted 16y ago
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