Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin
- Downloads：1681
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-05-16 03:41:48
- Update Date：2025-09-23
- Status：finish
- Author：Timothy Snyder
- ISBN：1541600061
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
From the author of the international bestseller On Tyranny， the definitive history of Hitler’s and Stalin’s politics of mass killing， explaining why Ukraine has been at the center of Western history for the last century。
Americans call the Second World War “the Good War。” But before it even began， America’s ally Stalin had killed millions of his own citizens—and kept killing them during and after the war。 Before Hitler was defeated， he had murdered six million Jews and nearly as many other Europeans。 At war’s end， German and Soviet killing sites fell behind the Iron Curtain， leaving the history of mass killing in darkness。
Assiduously researched， deeply humane， and utterly definitive， Bloodlands is a new kind of European history， presenting the mass murders committed by the Nazi and Stalinist regimes as two aspects of a single story。 With a new afterword addressing the relevance of these events to the contemporary decline of democracy， Bloodlands is required reading for anyone seeking to understand the central tragedy of modern history and its meaning today。
Americans call the Second World War “the Good War。” But before it even began， America’s ally Stalin had killed millions of his own citizens—and kept killing them during and after the war。 Before Hitler was defeated， he had murdered six million Jews and nearly as many other Europeans。 At war’s end， German and Soviet killing sites fell behind the Iron Curtain， leaving the history of mass killing in darkness。
Assiduously researched， deeply humane， and utterly definitive， Bloodlands is a new kind of European history， presenting the mass murders committed by the Nazi and Stalinist regimes as two aspects of a single story。 With a new afterword addressing the relevance of these events to the contemporary decline of democracy， Bloodlands is required reading for anyone seeking to understand the central tragedy of modern history and its meaning today。
Reviews
Simon
，
Captivating， horrifying and an absolute must read。 Don‘t get me wrong this book is difficult。 There are passages which are just soul crushing。 You can find many parallels to our time。 We humans are capable of the uttermost evil and everybody should be conscious about this。 What would you have done in the events of the Bloodlands？ What would your place have been？ This is difficult to answer， but we should confront ourselves with the fact that this could happen anytime in our present and how we as Captivating， horrifying and an absolute must read。 Don‘t get me wrong this book is difficult。 There are passages which are just soul crushing。 You can find many parallels to our time。 We humans are capable of the uttermost evil and everybody should be conscious about this。 What would you have done in the events of the Bloodlands？ What would your place have been？ This is difficult to answer， but we should confront ourselves with the fact that this could happen anytime in our present and how we as a collective react will determine our future。Lastly， this should be a required read in schools。 。。。more
Ivan
，
"Each of the living bore a name。"Living through Russo-Ukrainian war， anticipating death with every air raid siren， listening to this book hit a little too close to home。 Hearing the atrocities commited by both Stalin's and Hitler's regimes recreated almost one-to-one in my country again by russian invaders hit a little too close to home。 Hearing soviets claim the victimhood in WW2 feels like it was a morbid long play to use it as justification to their military agression now。 This is an extremel "Each of the living bore a name。"Living through Russo-Ukrainian war， anticipating death with every air raid siren， listening to this book hit a little too close to home。 Hearing the atrocities commited by both Stalin's and Hitler's regimes recreated almost one-to-one in my country again by russian invaders hit a little too close to home。 Hearing soviets claim the victimhood in WW2 feels like it was a morbid long play to use it as justification to their military agression now。 This is an extremely important book。 Not only it contextualises events happening now and demystifies Stalin's Soviet Union， showing it's true genocidal face， but also， at the very end， tries to tell us the most important thing。 Claim of victimhood does not absolve you from responsibility。 Millions dead are not the only way to learn a lesson。 And as we can see now， we did not learn from history。 。。。more
Erika Johansen
，
This is a good book of history， but hard to get through。 In these countries trapped between two madmen， the violence was so continuous and horrendous that I found it a bit mind-numbing to read even a clearly-told account。 It's a lot like watching even the best films about WWI; after a while， it all begins to seem unreal because the violence is endless and ultimately meaningless。 I struggled， in this book， to remember what had happened ten pages before， because it just felt like such an endless c This is a good book of history， but hard to get through。 In these countries trapped between two madmen， the violence was so continuous and horrendous that I found it a bit mind-numbing to read even a clearly-told account。 It's a lot like watching even the best films about WWI; after a while， it all begins to seem unreal because the violence is endless and ultimately meaningless。 I struggled， in this book， to remember what had happened ten pages before， because it just felt like such an endless chronicle of murder and suffering。 That said， these things did happen， and Snyder is a gifted historian。 More power to him for writing it all down and showing this terrible time and place for humanity。 。。。more
Neal
，
Devastating
Shawn
，
Although I read this four years ago， I decided to listen to this audio version now in light of current events。 My review of this version would be basically the same as the earlier one， with the addition of a note regarding the excellent narration。Of course， "really liked it" hardly applies to something like this， as it's certainly among the most depressing books I've ever read or listened to。 If， like me， you tend to feel forced to conclude that homo sapiens is basically monkeys with machine gun Although I read this four years ago， I decided to listen to this audio version now in light of current events。 My review of this version would be basically the same as the earlier one， with the addition of a note regarding the excellent narration。Of course， "really liked it" hardly applies to something like this， as it's certainly among the most depressing books I've ever read or listened to。 If， like me， you tend to feel forced to conclude that homo sapiens is basically monkeys with machine guns and nuclear weapons， I'm afraid this book will only reinforce your feelings。 。。。more
Jakub Karda
，
Ambice vyučovat moderní dějiny je naivní， ale pokud by alespoň učitelé dějepisu investovali svůj čas do četby této knihy， tak by to nepřímo obohatilo i naše děti… skvělá a náročná kniha
Sherry Sidwell
，
This the most exhausting book I've ever read。 It's meticulously researched and sourced but mind numbing， exhausting， and just at times almost too much to bear。 It begins with the wrap up of World War I that left multiple countries and remnants of empires chafing at newly drawn boundaries， with Germany and the emerging Soviet Union eventually experimenting with new systems of government that would demand an unending river of blood from the lands caught in between。 I'll concede here that probably This the most exhausting book I've ever read。 It's meticulously researched and sourced but mind numbing， exhausting， and just at times almost too much to bear。 It begins with the wrap up of World War I that left multiple countries and remnants of empires chafing at newly drawn boundaries， with Germany and the emerging Soviet Union eventually experimenting with new systems of government that would demand an unending river of blood from the lands caught in between。 I'll concede here that probably like a lot of Westerners or at least Americans with a passing interest in history， my knowledge of World War II mostly stops when victory was declared。 I knew about the concentration camps， Germany and the Soviets parceling up Poland， and a whole basketful of horribles that occurred along the way。 But Timothy Snyder， again in that utterly exhausting detail， lays out how there was so much more to it than that。 In the run up to the second world war the Soviets had killed so many of their own citizens and ethnic minorities within their ever evolving borders through mismanagement， deliberate famine， and political terror that Ukrainians， some Belarussians， and ethnic Balkans could be forgiven for hedging their bets that maybe the Nazis would be the less awful option。 There are a number of sobering realities here。 Between the Soviets， then the Germans， then the Soviets again， Belarus lost more than half of its entire population。 Ukrainians were deliberately starved to death in such numbers under the Soviets' mismanaged collectivization efforts that they begged the rising Nazis to come liberate them。 The Soviets had been disproportionately killing ethnic Poles within their own borders for years and when they decided to divide the country itself up with Germany， both sides zealously lopped the top classes of professionals and intelligentsia off to better prepare a population they saw as only fit for slave labor to be worked to death。 Germany's original Final Solution not only included getting rid of all the Jews， even if they were short on specifics， but an official Hunger Plan to starve millions of Eastern Europe and the western Soviet Union to death to make way for German settlers to take over the land in a much hoped for new German empire。Concentration camps as they exist in the popular imagination were until fairly late the fate for Western European Jews as the vast majority of Jews murdered didn't survive long enough to see the camps and were instead killed by bullets over mass pits in Eastern Europe， the Baltics， and the western Soviet territories。 This "Holocaust by bullets" goes some way in explaining recent discussion over Western/Israeli vs。 Eastern European perceptions of the Holocaust and how Ukrainian leadership talks about it。 Under the former Soviet system， the Holocaust was not a separate atrocity to be remembered but part of the larger narrative of the federation's tremendous losses in the "Great Patriotic War。" The mass death didn't end with the defeat of Germany/declaration of victory either。 Between them the Germans and Soviets had mass deported and moved so many people around that hundreds of thousands more would die as they were forcibly moved again to fit within new post WWII borders and the Soviets took all of Eastern Europe as a buffer zone against feared encroachment from American and British influence。 It feels like important reading to understand the current conflict in Ukraine， from Ukrainian resolve against Russia to Belarus's role in it to even Russian attitudes and propaganda， but that doesn't make it any more fun to read。 Sometimes the numbers of one massacre or atrocity after another just become overwhelming。 。。。more
Matt Bennett
，
When I asked my father， a historian who taught about WWII for six decades， what he thought of Bloodlands， he affirmed my own （less well-informed） impression: it's the best book on the Holocaust ever written。With fluid prose and in stunning detail， Snyder lays out the cascading catastrophes that befell the people who had the immense misfortune to live between Russia and Germany in the 1930s and 40s。 From Stalin's forced migrations， intentional starvation， mass deportations， and Great Terror， to t When I asked my father， a historian who taught about WWII for six decades， what he thought of Bloodlands， he affirmed my own （less well-informed） impression: it's the best book on the Holocaust ever written。With fluid prose and in stunning detail， Snyder lays out the cascading catastrophes that befell the people who had the immense misfortune to live between Russia and Germany in the 1930s and 40s。 From Stalin's forced migrations， intentional starvation， mass deportations， and Great Terror， to the Nazi's special form of barbarism， and back again to Soviet wartime and post-war despotism， the people of the Bloodlands suffered murder， torture， hardship， and loss on a truly world-historic scale。 Snyder understands Stalin's maxim that "one death is a tragedy and a million is a statistic。" So he renders the mind-bending losses with precision， never simplifying the data on murder， never taking the humanity of the victims by consigning them to enormous round numbers。 And he tells some of their stories in aching detail， like messages to their mothers written in blood by children on the walls of the building in which they were massacred。 This book is enormously important。 Snyder seeks to recast the Holocaust in the popular imagination。 As he points out， the stories we know are those of the survivors and the camps。 And as horrible as they were， they were just a small part of the immense suffering。 The world should take notice and remember what happened in the Bloodlands。 And reading it during Russia's barbaric war of choice in Ukraine has truly brought that lesson home for me。 。。。more
Maggie
，
Good history， a bit much on numbers
Andrew Kondraske
，
"If people died in such large numbers， it is tempting to think， they must have died for something of transcendent value， which can be revealed， developed， and preserved in the right sort of political remembrance。。。。The dead are remembered， but the dead do not remember。 Someone else had the power， and someone else decided how they died。 Later on， someone else still decides why。 When meaning is drawn from killing， the risk is that more killing would bring more meaning。"This work does a phenomenal "If people died in such large numbers， it is tempting to think， they must have died for something of transcendent value， which can be revealed， developed， and preserved in the right sort of political remembrance。。。。The dead are remembered， but the dead do not remember。 Someone else had the power， and someone else decided how they died。 Later on， someone else still decides why。 When meaning is drawn from killing， the risk is that more killing would bring more meaning。"This work does a phenomenal job of thoroughly cataloging the human tragedy that took place in a particular geographic region over a specific period of time at the hands of 20th century Europe's two great authoritarian regimes。 It manages to be humane without sentimentalizing， to tell the complete story of who perished， why， and how， without diminishing the suffering of any particular group or individual。 。。。more
Patrick Wikstrom
，
My wife highly recommended this book because of her love of history， particularly Russian history and because it is so timely with a Stalin like Putin invading and devastating Ukraine just as in the past。 The Bloodlands are the territories of Poland， Ukraine， Belarus， and the Baltic states in between Germany and Russia。 The book deals with the time span between 1933 till about 1949。 In 1933 Stalin deliberately starves millions of Soviet Ukranians with his failed collective strategy。 Then he shot My wife highly recommended this book because of her love of history， particularly Russian history and because it is so timely with a Stalin like Putin invading and devastating Ukraine just as in the past。 The Bloodlands are the territories of Poland， Ukraine， Belarus， and the Baltic states in between Germany and Russia。 The book deals with the time span between 1933 till about 1949。 In 1933 Stalin deliberately starves millions of Soviet Ukranians with his failed collective strategy。 Then he shot over 700，000 between 1937 and 1938 in the Great Terror。 Then in the beginning of the second world war the Germans and Russians made a non aggression pact and carved up Poland and they both started killing more poor folks there。 The Germans put all their labor， prisoner， and death camps in their area of control in the bloodlands and all of Poland and Ukraine was eventually brought into the Soviet sphere after Russia pushed Germany out and eventually took Berlin helping to end the war。 This book is meticulously researched and may be the definitive source detailing the motives and methods of both Hitler and Stalin as they steadily killed millions and millions of people， many of them who were their own people。 I’d never before both listened to an audio-book and read the hardcopy but it was so deep that this may have been the best way to immerse myself in this terrible tragedy of modern history。 4**** 。。。more
Andy Dale
，
This a heavy book to read about the history of eastern europe from world war I to modern times。 It's sad & disappointing， but important to read。 This a heavy book to read about the history of eastern europe from world war I to modern times。 It's sad & disappointing， but important to read。 。。。more
Seann Haver
，
Overwhelming I read to page 200 and I have had enough！ The atrocities on all sides were overwhelming。 I cannot believe how inhuman human beings can be to one another。Truly sad！
Miriam Murcutt
，
This is a work of scholarship， thoroughly documented and well written。 The subject matter makes for overwhelmingly dismal reading in its unrelenting examination of the mass murders committed by under the Stalin and Hitler regimes in the Bloodlands - the countries sandwiched between Germany and Russia。 I appreciated the author's insights and analysis of the motivations that drove Stalin and Hitler， but I floundered some of the time under the weight of too much detail。 This is a work of scholarship， thoroughly documented and well written。 The subject matter makes for overwhelmingly dismal reading in its unrelenting examination of the mass murders committed by under the Stalin and Hitler regimes in the Bloodlands - the countries sandwiched between Germany and Russia。 I appreciated the author's insights and analysis of the motivations that drove Stalin and Hitler， but I floundered some of the time under the weight of too much detail。 。。。more
Ryan
，
First off， surreal to read this as the Ukraine crisis unfolds in real time。 You may think you know about the brutal treatment of the people caught between Nazi Germany and Stalin’s Soviet Union…until you read this meticulously researched work。 Yes， the numbers and discussion of murder is overwhelming， nauseating， and even dry at times。 Reading this type of book is our duty as members of the human race。 We must never forget this history so that we don’t repeat it。
Michael
，
This book describes the killing of 14 million people as a result of mass killing policies enacted by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union between 1933 and 1945。 The vast majority of people murdered were within a zone that extends from central Poland to western Russia。 Included within this zone are Estonia， Latvia， Lithuania， Belarus and Ukraine。 Broadly， the killing occurred in five forms: /modernization/ of the Soviet Union （collectivization of agriculture）; a /retreat/ into terror （the Great Terr This book describes the killing of 14 million people as a result of mass killing policies enacted by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union between 1933 and 1945。 The vast majority of people murdered were within a zone that extends from central Poland to western Russia。 Included within this zone are Estonia， Latvia， Lithuania， Belarus and Ukraine。 Broadly， the killing occurred in five forms: /modernization/ of the Soviet Union （collectivization of agriculture）; a /retreat/ into terror （the Great Terror of the late 1930s）; the /de-Enlightenment/ of Poland in which the Soviets and Germans eliminated potential resistance by killing and deporting the Polish elite after their joint invasion of the country; a pattern of /belligerent complicity/ demonstrated after the breakdown of the German-Soviet alliance by their co-opting civilian populations to participate in the new conflict and thereby suffer reprisals， particularly by the Germans; finally a failed /colonial demodernization/ scheme that Germany envisioned and partially enacted for the Soviet Union and Poland that entailed the depopulation and deindustrial clearing of those lands via the lighting victory， Hunger Plan， the Final Solution， and Generalplan Ost all for the eventual assimilation by German people for living space and subjugation of the agricultural and natural resources。 What follows are sections from the book that stood out to me along with observations and comments。 Regarding the famine in Ukraine， Stalin’s response is a frightening example of confirmation bias at its worst:“ Stalin had developed an interesting new theory: that resistance to socialism increases as its success amount， because it’s foes resist with greater desperation as they contemplate their final defeat。 Thus any problem in the Soviet Union could be defined as an example of enemy action， and enemy action could be defined as evidence of progress。” p 41Of the many examples of Stalin’s shocking actions， this one stood out to me。 In August of 1941 he enacted a policy of treating Soviet prisoners of war as deserters and also arresting their families。 “When Stalin‘s son was taking prisoner by the Germans， he had his own daughter-in-law arrested。” He perceived enemies as always around him so did he， despite the difficulty of persecuting one’s own family， did he think he was making a sort of selfless sacrifice to protect the nation by doing this？ p176A stunning fact that reveals how awful the conditions were in the German-run POW is that prisoners requested， in writing， to be shot to escape the misery。 p 179Throughout the book， Snyder emphasizes the distinction between concentration camps and death camps/factories that is often missed in history because of the grim and sobering fact that some people survived concentration camps while nobody survived the death factories:“ A sentence to the concentration camp Belsen was one thing， a transport to the death factory Bełżec something else。 The first meant hunger and labor， but also the likelihood of survival; the second meant immediate and certain death by asphyxiation。 This， ironically， is why people remember Belsen and forget Bełżec…the vast majority of Jews killed in the Holocaust never saw a concentration camp…The concentration camps did kill hundreds of thousands of people at the end of the war， but they were not （in contrast to the death facilities） designed for mass killing。” p 381-382 This description of “presentism” gave me pause。 How easy it is to look at those who committed evil in the past without realistically considering how we would have behaved in similar circumstances。 “Ideologies also tempt those who reject them。 Ideology， when stripped by time or partisanship of its political and economic connections， becomes a moralizing form of explanation for mass killing， one that comfortably separates the people who explain from the people who kill。 It is convenient to see the perpetrator just as someone who holds the wrong idea and is therefore different for that reason。 It is reassuring to ignore the importance of economics and the complications of politics， factors that might in fact be common to historical perpetrators and those who later contemplate their actions。 It is far more inviting， at least today in the west， to identify with the victims than to understand the historical setting that they shared with perpetrators and bystanders in the bloodlands。 The identification with the victim affirms a radical separation from the perpetrator。 The Treblinka guard who starts the engine or the NKVD officer who pulls the trigger is not me， he is the person who kills someone like myself。 Yet it is unclear whether this identification with victims brings much knowledge， or whether this kind of alienation from the murder is an ethical stance。 It is not at all obvious that reducing history to morality plays makes anyone moral。 Unfortunately， claiming victim status does not itself bring sound ethical choices。 Stalin and Hitler both claimed throughout their political careers to be victims。 They persuaded millions of other people that they， too， or victims: of an international capitalist or Jewish conspiracy… it is easy to sanctify policies or identities by the deaths of the victims。 It is less appealing， but morally more urgent， to understand the actions of the perpetrators。 *The moral danger， after all， is never that one may become a victim but that one might be a perpetrator or bystander。 It is tempting to say that a Nazi murderer is beyond the pale of understanding*… yet to deny a human being his human character is to render ethics impossible。 To yield to this temptation， to find other people to be inhuman， is to take a step toward， not away from， but Nazi position。 To find other people incomprehensible is to abandon the search for understanding， and thus to abandon history。 To dismiss the Nazis or the Soviets as beyond human concern or historical understanding is to fall into their moral trap。 The safer route is to realize that their motives for mass killing， however revolting to us， made sense to them。” p 399-400 。。。more
Matthew Petti
，
I started reading this book because reading Maus sparked an interest in learning more about the Holocaust and World War II atrocities。 I continued as the war in Ukraine made that history tragically relevant。I had some quibbles with Snyder's treatment of a few issues， but overall it's an essential read rooted in humanistic values。 Snyder's innovation is not so much digging up new sources as it is putting lots of different information in context。 The reader learns how the same people lived under S I started reading this book because reading Maus sparked an interest in learning more about the Holocaust and World War II atrocities。 I continued as the war in Ukraine made that history tragically relevant。I had some quibbles with Snyder's treatment of a few issues， but overall it's an essential read rooted in humanistic values。 Snyder's innovation is not so much digging up new sources as it is putting lots of different information in context。 The reader learns how the same people lived under Soviet then German then Soviet rule again， and how Stalin's purges were the peak of brutality against civilians in Europe before being surpassed many times over by Hitler's war。I already knew the outlines of the Holodomor （the artificial famine in Ukraine） but was shocked by how vindictive and wide-ranging Stalin's shooting purges were。 I knew that Stalin purged some Jews after the war on antisemitic grounds， but I was shocked at how throughly the Soviet government tried to control and minimize the memory of Holocaust。 I was also shocked by how much Poland was brutalized during the war， even in comparison to other Eastern European countries。Above all， I was shocked by the Nazi master-plan for Europe。 Under something called "Generalplan Ost" or the "Hunger Plan，" the regime wanted to starve off 25 million Eastern Europeans to death in order to feed the same number of Western Europeans。 A predetermined percentage of each nation — including all large city dwellers and Jews — would have been killed off and the survivors enslaved。 The region's major cities would be destroyed and replaced by idyllic German settlements。Perhaps Snyder's most controversial point is that the Holocaust was not the culmination of Hitler's schemes but the result of their failure。 Because the German armies could not conquer enough fertile land or confiscate enough food to implement the Hunger Plan， the Nazi regime instead focused its energy on brutalizing the ethnic group it hated the most， the Jews。 Eliminating the Jewish people from Europe had always been part of the Nazi vision， but antisemitic mass murder became a single-minded end in itself once Germany started to lose the war。Snyder is sometimes criticized for whataboutism， putting Stalinist and Nazi atrocities on the same plane。 I didn't find Bloodlands to be guilty of that。 It discussed the historical context that gave birth to both regimes， their common aspirations to dominate Eastern Europe， and the ways that both their cooperation and conflict maximized human suffering。 But for the most part， the book made it clear that the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany had different goals， different visions for humanity， and ultimately different outcomes for the people living under them。However， I was a little uneasy with how Snyder treated partisan warfare。 He wrote that Stalin encouraged armed resistance to German rule "knowing that it would bring down massive reprisals against his own citizens。" But the Nazi regime was planning to massacre Eastern Europeans anyways。 Brutal guerrilla warfare was the only way to stop a much bloodier genocide from being completed。 It would have been far worse for Stalin to tell his citizens to lay down their arms out of fear of German reprisals。In a similar vein， Snyder seemed to talk the most about Nazi collaborators in Eastern Europe when it highlighted Stalinist guilt。 Lithuanians and Latvians collaborated in the mass killing of Jews at the beginning of the Nazi invasion; Snyder dedicates a lot of space to how Soviet atrocities had primed them to do it。 He also discussed in detail how Stalin sought to control the memory of the Holocaust， in part because Eastern European collaboration "undermined the myth of a united Soviet population defending the honor of the fatherland。"Yet there's very little space dedicated to Ukrainian nationalist movement's relationship with the Nazi regime， which is still a live historical issue today。 In the later stages of the war， a Ukrainian nationalist force called the OUN-Bandera accepted Nazi encouragement and training to murder tens of thousands of Polish civilians， a topic that Snyder has written extensively about elsewhere。 Yet Bloodlands only mentions the OUN-Bandera once， in the context of later *Communist* atrocities; Polish Communists expelled Ukrainians from postwar Poland because of "the ethnic conflict that [the Banderists] had started，" Synder wrote， which "only strengthened Stalin's empire。" Given how present-day Russia has weaponized this issue to justify almost a decade of aggression in Ukraine， it's important to give the topic a thorough treatment。Overall， Bloodlands does a good job keeping sight of the fact that everyone involved — perpetrators and victims — was a human being。 Snyder is quite skeptical of attempts to draw meaning from killing， from the victims who are "unable to defend themselves from the use that others make of their deaths。" Not only do attempts to "sanctify" martyrs take away from their humanity， but they also distract from the greater "moral danger。。。that one might be a perpetrator or bystander。"Perhaps the most important takeaway from Snyder's work is this line: "The human capacity for subjective victimhood is apparently limitless， and people who believe that that they are victims can be motivated to perform acts of great violence。" 。。。more
Alex Pazuchanics
，
Extremely dark but significant。
Steve
，
A well done history that shifts the focus from the fighting and clashing armies （though there's plenty of that）， to the Soviet and Nazi policies behind the killing。 It's a hard and depressing read。 It's made even harder when you hear on tv about mass graves and razed towns in Ukraine。 I set the a book aside of times because I found it too excruciating to read。 There's nothing new in what Putin's doing in this particular part of the world。 He's channeling his inner Stalin。 As I indicated above，"B A well done history that shifts the focus from the fighting and clashing armies （though there's plenty of that）， to the Soviet and Nazi policies behind the killing。 It's a hard and depressing read。 It's made even harder when you hear on tv about mass graves and razed towns in Ukraine。 I set the a book aside of times because I found it too excruciating to read。 There's nothing new in what Putin's doing in this particular part of the world。 He's channeling his inner Stalin。 As I indicated above，"Bloodlands" focuses on the murderous policies of both Hitler and Stalin， ranging from the early 30s with Stalin's engineered famines in the Ukraine， to the Nazi Final Solution， and then up through the post-war period with its massive relocations of populations into the new Cold War geography。 I don't think I've encountered so much Death in a book before （and I've read a lot of histories on WW-2）。 But despite the thousands and millions of deaths， Snyder is always sensitive to the plight of the individual。 He often punctuates many of the massacres with heartbreaking anecdotes that stay with you。 The movie "Come and See" （which takes place in Belorussia） captures the madness of the "Bloodlands" perfectly。 。。。more
Melissa
，
This should be an essential read for not only students of history， but everyone。
César
，
Termino el libro con la escandalosa toma de conciencia de mi escaso conocimiento de hechos históricos sobre los que suponía poseer un conocimiento mayor y mejor。 Con ello quiero decir que el libro cumple su función didáctica。 Después de la lectura obtienes una visión amplia y novedosa -al menos para mí- de la indescriptible realidad asesina que instauraron los alemanes y los soviéticos en el Este de Europa， en la zona de relleno entre dos rebanadas de horror y furor exterminador。 Desde los paíse Termino el libro con la escandalosa toma de conciencia de mi escaso conocimiento de hechos históricos sobre los que suponía poseer un conocimiento mayor y mejor。 Con ello quiero decir que el libro cumple su función didáctica。 Después de la lectura obtienes una visión amplia y novedosa -al menos para mí- de la indescriptible realidad asesina que instauraron los alemanes y los soviéticos en el Este de Europa， en la zona de relleno entre dos rebanadas de horror y furor exterminador。 Desde los países bálticos， pasando por el este de Polonia， Bielorrusia y Ucrania， desde 1933 hasta 1945， la presencia， interacción y solapamiento de la Alemania nazi y la Unión Soviética provocó una cifra estimada de 14 millones de individuos asesinados。 El libro se centra sobre todo en civiles y en víctimas ajenas al campo de batalla。 14 millones de vidas e historias puestas fin deliberadamente。 14 millones de nombres， de mujeres y hombres， niños y niñas， jóvenes， ancianos， adolescentes， padres， madres， abuelos， hijos y nietos， exterminados de forma brutal: gas， balas y hambre。 ¿Cómo fue posible algo así？ ¿Cómo personas iguales a ti y a mí segaban vidas de otras personas igual a ti y a mí a escala industrial？ ¿Cómo pensar y comprender tamaña atrocidad？ ¿A qué insondable profundidad en el abismo del Mal se sumergieron y， con ellos， el corazón del hombre？ 。。。more
H。
，
“Violence is not confidence， and terror is not mastery。” "Without a history built and defended upon an entirely different foundation， we will find that Hitler and Stalin continue to define their own works for us。"“When meaning is drawn from killing， the risk is that more killing would bring more meaning。” “No major war or act of mass killing in the twentieth century began without the aggressors or perpetrators first claiming innocence and victimhood。” “The Nazi and Soviet regimes turned people i “Violence is not confidence， and terror is not mastery。” "Without a history built and defended upon an entirely different foundation， we will find that Hitler and Stalin continue to define their own works for us。"“When meaning is drawn from killing， the risk is that more killing would bring more meaning。” “No major war or act of mass killing in the twentieth century began without the aggressors or perpetrators first claiming innocence and victimhood。” “The Nazi and Soviet regimes turned people into numbers， some of which we can only estimate， some of which we can reconstruct with fair precision。 It is for us as scholars to seek those numbers and to put them into perspective。 It is for us as humanists to turn the numbers back into people。 If we cannot do that， then Hitler and Stalin have shaped not only our world， but our humanity。” Also want to remember that what I thought was a 21st century American liberal paradigm is actually an antisemitic framing that came from Stalin in the early 1950s: That Israel is like Nazi Germany， and Jews now like Nazis。 Congrats to all the folks who keep the antisemitic Stalinist propaganda going strong。 Stalin's ghost smiles on。 。。。more
Lynn Kondryszyn
，
I gave this book 3 stars because it is hard to read in terms of the horrific treatment of people。 It truly is shocking to read of the evil and length leaders go to as they convince themselves it is good for a society。 The research and thoroughness is impressive。 The scope of the bloodlands was eye opening。 It is definitely helpful in light of current events。
David Bjelland
，
Each record of death suggests， but cannot supply， a unique life。 We must be able not only to reckon the number of deaths but to reckon with each victim as an individual。 [。。。] The Nazi and Soviet regimes turned people into numbers， some of which we can only estimate， some of which we can reconstruct with fair precision。 It is for us as scholars to seek these numbers and to put them into perspective。 It is for us as humanists to turn the numbers back into people。
Sam
，
The most horrific and depressing thing I’ve ever read， but an important education in the full extent of the tragedies and loss of the holocaust and reign of terror。
Keith Yocum
，
For those wishing to understand the war in Ukraine， you can't miss by reading this chilling， depressing history of how two tyrants killed 14 million people。。。and it's happening again。 For those wishing to understand the war in Ukraine， you can't miss by reading this chilling， depressing history of how two tyrants killed 14 million people。。。and it's happening again。 。。。more
Alise
，
Vēsture ir jāzina。 Grāmata， kas parāda cik nežēlīgi bija Hitlera Vācijas un Staļina Padomju savienības režīmi。 Abi režīmi atainoti kā vienlīdz noziedzīgi，un komunisma noziegumi netiek parādīti gaišākās krāsās tikai tāpēc， ka tas piedalījies nacisma sagrāvē。
julie
，
It is easy to sanctify policies or identities by the deaths of victims。 It is less appealing， but morally more urgent， to understand the actions of the perpetrators。 The moral danger， after all， is never that one might become a victim but that one might be a perpetrator or a bystander。
relja
，
Staljinizam je istočnoeuropske Židove uklonio s njihovog povijesnog položaja žrtava nacizma i optužio ih za imperijalističku zavjeru protiv komunizma。 Odatle pa do tvrdnje da je židovstvo samo po sebi zavjera， nedostajao je samo mali korak。 Tako je komunističko prešućivanje najvećeg Hitlerovog zločina s vremenom postalo svojevrsna afirmacija Hitlerovog svjetonazora。"Sad ćemo živjeti。" （Józef Sobolewski） Staljinizam je istočnoeuropske Židove uklonio s njihovog povijesnog položaja žrtava nacizma i optužio ih za imperijalističku zavjeru protiv komunizma。 Odatle pa do tvrdnje da je židovstvo samo po sebi zavjera， nedostajao je samo mali korak。 Tako je komunističko prešućivanje najvećeg Hitlerovog zločina s vremenom postalo svojevrsna afirmacija Hitlerovog svjetonazora。"Sad ćemo živjeti。" （Józef Sobolewski） 。。。more
Nicki
，