Month: January 2020

In this week’s readings from The Black Book of Communism, the authors mainly discuss the tactics used during the reign of Mao to keep the prisoners in order. The authors reveal how Chinese camps would starve and emotionally disturb the prisoners until they beg to be placed in labor camps. By shining light onto these horrific crimes, the authors are able to effectively expose totalitarianism as the cruel and harsh regime that it is.

One of the most infamous camps during the Maoism period was the laogai. It was known for its prolific death rates, terrible living conditions, and intense forced labor. The most cruel part about the laogai in my opinion, however, is the fact that “until the 1960s, 95% of all prisoners in the laogai were kept in the juiye,” which was another prison camp, with slightly better conditions (pg 500). This highlights the never ending nightmare of totalitarianism, and how once it is implemented, it takes over everything surrounding it. Once you entered the laogai, there was no chance you could live life as a free man/woman ever again. Maoism is a very extreme case of totalitarianism, but it proves just how all-encompassing it is, and how it can destroy a nation.

The fear tactics used inside the Chinese camps were so brutal that it forced prisoners to plead guilty. Two of the main tactics cited were reverse-psychology and starvation. The first tactic was very intriguing to me because it proves just how deep the mentality of Maoism was instilled in everyone. By admitting he was also in the wrong, the guard showed his absolute loyalty to the cause, instead of just blindly following orders. We also see this devotion in witness by Alger Hiss. Whitaker Chambers asserts, “For I cannot hate even an enemy… who shares with me the conviction that that life is not worth living for which a man is not prepared to die at any moment.” This proves how devote each member of a totalitarian regime really is, and how they are truly willing to die for the cause. This conviction is terrifying because it shows how even the members are being abused and manipulated, exposing the terror the regime can instill.

The second tactic used is a bit more gruesome. The prison camps would withhold food from the prisoners. Jean Pasqualini recalls how the guards would give them enough food in order to survive, but not enough to not be hungry. Prisoners were weak, and abused, badly enough to beg to be placed in labor camps. This is not only physical abuse, but psychological. Pasqualini said it made all the prisoners crazy, how hungry they were. Although totalitarianism does not get discussed as often as the Holocaust does, this regime has been on going, and has caused pain to millions and The Black Book of Communism has effectively delivered this message.

Week 2

In sections 13 through 15 in Witness, Whitaker Chambers dives into the complicated case of Alger Hiss. From highlighting the corruption within the government to dissecting the web of lies that Hiss and his associates created, Chambers is able to effectively deliver a clear and controversial view of how the totalitarian ideology of Communism had become an epidemic that spread all throughout America during that time.

The Alger Hiss case was a huge controversy in the last 1940s. Mostly because this case exposed how Communism had infiltrated the government on such a wide scale. Many government officials were not happy with these accusations, and in turn attempted to demonize Chambers. On page 500, Chambers explains the situation in manner that suggests many people of high authority wanted to disprove his case against Hiss in order to keep the respect of the people. The fact that so many people were attempting to discredit Chamber’s testimony even further proves how rooted Communism was in society. The attempt to damage Chamber’s reputation and isolate him from the general public exposes the totalitarian views of the Communist party, and damages the parties reputation.

Also, along with the odds stacked against him, Chambers had to deal with all the lies being thrown at him during the trial. In The Origins of Totalitarianism, Hannah Arendt explains how a society must become atomized in order to be brought together with such a strong bond. Because the Communist party had brought together all these people who were initially isolated in their everyday lives, they were so strongly connected that they were willing to lie, even in a court room. Chambers quotes Daniel Hiss’ testimony (pg 502)as a complete lie, and how Hiss refused to acknowledge he knew Chambers at all. Committing perjury is a serious crime and when someone is able to do it so carelessly shows how strong the bond is between the members in the Communist party. This is not the only time the author illustrates the deep bonds of the Communist party. On page 23, Chambers describes how Miss Hutchins waited for hours to see Chamber’s brother in law for hours, because in some way, the Communist party had discovered that she was connected to the Chambers and may be able to find where he was hiding out. These scenarios are critical when digesting the whole picture of Communism, and how it completely ruled over the lives of people inside the party.

Week 1

For the first week of class, the reading that most struck me was the novel, The Black Book of Communism: Crimes, Terror, and Repression. Many different discussions points were debated in the first fifteen pages and some of them brought up individual questions of their own that made me think. One example of a question raised by the text is, What should be weighed first: natural laws or official institutions? On page three in the second paragraph, the author asserts that the crimes of Communism were carried out under the regimes official institutions. Therefore, one could argue that Communism did not commit any crimes. Although almost 100 million deaths occurred under the Communism’s regime, were they illegal? My opinion is that natural laws should always come first over official institutions because each person deserves their individual rights and should never have to live in fear. Of course, the argument could be made that without institutions, there would be anarchy and we would need institutions in order to have natural laws. There must be a perfect combination of both in order for there the be order and individual happiness, but too much of either one could be catastrophic.

Another example, on page one, in the last paragraph, the author lists out several different war crimes that have occurred throughout history. The last war crime he states is, “Even Switzerland has recently been embroiled in a scandal in its role in administering gold stolen by the Nazis from exterminated Jews,” but then the author adds, “although the country’s behavior is not on the same level as genocide.” This ending line made me question to what extent a country should be held accountable for the actions. While Switzerland did not carry out these horrific crimes, should being complicit with these actions make Switzerland just as responsible? The author seemed to say no, by the phrasing of the statement, but I’ve always believed that someone who sees a crime and doesn’t report it should be just as responsible. However, Switzerland did not commit any types of crimes against humanity that Germany did, so why should they be held just as accountable?

These conflicting questions have given me insight as to what topics will be discussed in class, and how it will challenge me and force me to understand both sides of an argument. I am looking forward to debating more in depth topics throughout the semester!