Silence Was Salvation: Child Survivors of Stalin's Terror and World War II in the Soviet Union

Roughly ten million children were victims of political repression in the Soviet Union during the Stalinist era, the sons and daughters of peasants, workers, scientists, physicians, and political leaders considered by the regime to be dangerous to the political order. Ten grown victims, who as children suffered banishment, starvation, disease, anti-Semitism, and trauma resulting from their parents’ condemnation and arrest, now freely share their stories. The result is a powerful and moving oral history that will profoundly deepen the reader’s understanding of life in the U.S.S.R. under the despotic reign of Joseph Stalin.

About the Author

Cathy A. Frierson is professor of history at the University of New Hampshire and the author or co-author of several books, including Children of the Gulag .