Silence was salvation : child survivors of Stalin's terror and World War II in the Soviet Union /

Historian Frierson (Univ. of New Hemisphere) has written a moving, insightful, dramatic, and heart-wrenching history of the Soviet children who survived Stalin's terror and WW II. Most of them were innocent victims of parents whom Stalin designated as class enemies or enemies of the state and who, although mostly innocent, were nonetheless executed or sent to the Gulag. The children sometimes had to accompany their parents to the labor camps but often were left behind, now orphans who somehow managed to survive to tell their stories in riveting and emotional detail to Frierson. With care, respect, and brilliant interviewing technique, the author draws out from the adult survivors their childhood memories. The key to their survival was to stay silent, suffer egregious injustice, accept a life of frustrated hopes and dashed dreams, and wait patiently until time improved their lot. In most cases, justice never arrived. The survivors have been told that everyone suffered, which is not true. This book provides yet another perspective on Stalin's insane, brutal, and criminal behavior. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. --Dennis J. Dunn, Texas State University