The Great Terror: 1936-38 Learning Objective: - To consider how the Moscow show trials consolidated the power of Stalin - To understand how the Great Terror escalated Starter (5 mins): Read through pages 73-77. Any questions, just ask.
Your task Read p.73-75 (Bunce) and take notes on Trial of the Sixteen (1936) Trial of the Seventeen (1937) Trial of the Twenty-One (1938) Focus on the key individuals, charges & outcome Were there any similarities between the trials?
Key individuals: Zinoviev & Kamenev Trial of the Sixteen (1936) Key individuals: Zinoviev & Kamenev Charges: murder of Kirov; plotting to disrupt FYP; conspiracy to overthrow State Outcome: ‘Shoot the mad dogs, every last one of them!’ (Judge Vyshinsky)
Trial of the Seventeen (1937) Individuals: Trotsky’s former allies Charges: plotting with foreign powers, terrorism, sabotage, contact with Trotsky Outcome: 13 out 0f 17 executed, remainder sent to gulags Soviet labour camp
Trial of the Twenty-One (1938) Individuals: Bukharin, Rykov & ‘accomplices’ Charges: overthrow of socialism; murder of Kirov; attempted assassination of Lenin Outcome: described as ‘a foul-smelling heap of human garbage’ (Vyshinsky) & executed
Changes to NKVD Changes in leadership: Yagoda replaced by Yezhov & executed (Trial of 21) Recruitment: less restrained agents employed Targets: for arrests, executions & exiles Purges within NKVD: removed ‘old fashioned’ communists Yezhov – now you see him, now you don’t!
Impact of purges Impact on Party: 1934-8, 330,000 Party members convicted as ‘enemies of the people’ Army: senior generals tortured & executed; 34,000 soldiers ‘purged’ from Red Army Society: NKVD Order no. 00447, targeted 250,000 ‘anti-Soviet elements’ Lavrenti Beria replaced Yezhov and his agents tracked down Trotsky in Mexico, killing him with a pick axe
Bunce Chapter 11 – Consequences of the Terror
Social impact Scale of suffering: 1935-36 (Yagoda), ½ million people convicted – 2,300 shot, 405,0000 labour camps, or ‘disappeared’ Certain social groups: urban & educated, aged 30-45, managers & professionals Ethnic groups: Poles, Romanians & Latvians esp. targeted Children: expelled from uni or publicly humiliated by teachers & Komsomol
Social impact Factory managers ‘purged’: Yaroslavl trials, workers from rubber factory staged show trials of managers & handed them over to NKVD Purge of party membership: 1937, massive purges of Party leadership Emergence of ‘former people’: priests, NEPmen, Kulaks etc. invented new identities, e.g. Valdimir Gromov
Economic impact Problems with statistics: targets & plans distorted due to exaggerated statistics Lack of leadership: many members of Gosplan & factory managers ‘purged’ Case study: Donbas region – coal production fell during Great Terror
Political impact Consolidated Stalin’s position: removal of opponents & Trotskyites Deflected criticism from Stalin: diverted public attention from shortages & enabled people to settle personal scores or blame scapegoats, e.g. Kazan party officials Estimated death toll of Great Terror (1937-8): 500,000 – 1,500,0000 Numbers sent to gulags: 2,0000,000
What was the most significant impact of the Great Terror? Group task On a sheet of paper draw a chart similar to the one below. Position the words ‘social’, ‘economic’ and ‘political’ accordingly. Find 3 pieces of evidence explaining your points. Write a ‘REAL’ paragraph explaining your judgement. Level of impact Number of people affected
Essay Practice How far does Stalin’s paranoia account for the extent of terror in the USSR between 1936-39? What are the key issues?
Homework Read p.83-85 and complete a table similar to the one shown on p.83