The Black Book of Communism: Crimes, Terror, Repression by Stephane Courtois et al shook the European intellectual scene like an earthquake registering a "9" on the Richter Scale because many of the compilers of this tome of Communist terror of crimes against humanity were disenchanted former Marxist intellectuals themselves.
In a tome the size of a telephone book for a large city - without the usual pictures one expects of such a book - some of the crimes of Communism were listed for the first time in the Western world since Germany's trail-blazing study on Bolshevism in the late 1930s, which appeared over half a century before this book. The "BB", as it is referred to below, should be read along with The World Hoax by Ernest F. Elmhurst and Behind Communism by Brittan to understand how such a monstrous ideology could conquer half the globe and keep over 1 1/2 billion people in serfdom for so long in Gulag states.
Where were the keepers of the "Weltgewissen", the world's conscience, while these horrendous crimes were committed? Why did the Western Allies make common cause with such a monstrous regime? When will the perpetrators of these horrendous crimes face their version of Nuremberg?
This book won't tell you - hopefully, follow-up volumes will, now that the topic has been raised.
Dr. Robert Countess, theologian, historian and Revisionist-at-large, asks some pointed questions of the authors of this compilation of the crimes without parallel - and notes some pages of special interest for those who already own or are reading the book.
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The Black Book of Communism. Crimes, Terror, Repression by Stephane Courtois et al. Cambridge: Harvard U. P., 1999. Centre díEtude díHistoire et de Sociologie du Communism, Paris.
Questions for the Centre:
Why no mention of "the Jewish Problem" in Russia? And Karl Marx's book A World Without Jews? And Nathaniel Weyl's Karl Marx: Racist?
Why have Communists and other Marxists supported suppression of open debate on the Holocaust?
Why no reference to Antonio Gramsci and his influence on Euro-Communism? [See p. 738 for Trotsky on dictatorship.] Why no mention that there was comparatively greater personal freedom in Nazi Germany than in the USSR? And that Germany was NOT totalitarian as was Bolshevist Soviet Union? [C. Quigley]
If the authors of the Black Book continue to justify Marxism but condemn Bolshevism-Stalinism, would they likewise support authors who justify National Socialism but condemn the excesses of the 1933-45 Nazi experiment? [P.738. Marxist-Leninist dichotomy as if were a REAL one. The authors write self-servingly here.]
[P. 738 on "meaning."]
[P. 745]
[P.747 and the hollow term "value of life"; on what basis can Marxist-Communism establish such value? In what Communist country has such a value been shown to be honored with any meaningful consistency?]
[P.747. Revisionists]
[P. 750 Bet Din and analogy to IMT as based upon Rache (Transl. "revenge") rather than Justice.]
[P. 752]
[P.855]
In the "Why?" conclusion, WHY is there NO attribution of blame accorded to Marx and Engels for their LOVE for violence and bloodshed and mayhem and destruction?
Also, WHY is there NO reference to Social Darwinism and the survival of the fittest concept THAT INEVITABLY LED/LEADS to inhumane treatment of people?
And, WHY is there NO focus on the inability of relativistic atheism to provide a sound basis for morality/ethics and values? In a World of absolute relativism, there is an open door for the Marxist concept of "the Communist Party" as THE ultimate value.
To what extent are you authors still committed to the "values" of Marxist-Engels-Leninist-Stalinist-Gorbachevan principles? And, to what extent are you still committed to the Gramscian program of exterminating [Ausrottung] of Christianity and its influence on society?
HOW do you conceive Historiography to be based? What is the weight to be given to so-called "eyewitness" testimony? Especially in the field of Holocaustology?
To what extent are you authors willing to confess the crucial role played by Jews in the 1917 Bol. Rev.? Why is there NO focus on this in the BB? Do you think it "anti-Semitic" for researchers to tell the Truth about the enormous Jewish role?
[P. 168] Werth seems to be a DENIER of the genocide of Ukrainians. Why?
[P. 172 and Jewish Sabbath; p. 173 and thousands of Christian churches destroyed; why NO evidence for ONE synagogue destroyed by the Bolshevists? Why were Jewish synagogues given special protection? See also pp. 200, 258.]
How is the Centre funded?
Why is the Fr. Communist newspaper called L'Humanite in view of the enormous Inhumanity of Communism wherever it has dominated?
If Gentiles from 1917-1945 had murdered, tortured, imprisoned, coerced into slave labor building projects as many Jews in the World as Judaeobolshevists and non-Jewish Bol., HOW MANY JEWS WOULD EXIST IN THE YEAR 2001?
[P. 215. Why does Werth see Operation Barbarossa as resulting ONLY from the German side? Is Werth ignorant of J. Hoffmann? E. Topitsch? V. Suvorov? How can the authors and Centre editors FAIL to include the latter scholars' research and conclusions in this large book?
[P. 265. Werth seems to depreciate REAL Semitism. Is he ignorant of who are the REAL Semites in the World? Does he not know of Arthur Koestler's book The Thirteenth Tribe and the well established story about the Khazars?
[Pp. 266-7. See my question for Werth.]
[P. 290. Note on A. Gramsci.]
Is there at the Centre any entry on the Lists for Dr. Paul Rassinier? NEWSWEEK (May 3, 1943; pp. 42,46) names four Jews who were the OGPU representatives in charge of the Katyn murders. Are the following names available for research in the Centre? Lev Rybak, Abraham Borisovich, Pavel Brodninsky, Chaim Feinberg??? Why are these names NOT mentioned in the BB?
What is the religious background of the BB authors?
Why did Joe Slovo of the SACParty admit in 199? to the BBC interviewer: "We did not want to know?"
Is this true of the Centre authors also? If so, why should these authors be given ANY financial support? ANY respect?
Do you believe that a Centre for the Study of Nazism would survive in Paris if its researchers and directors tried to JUSTIFY National Socialismís principles in ways similar to the BB authors?
Why were there no Leningrad-Moscow trials for Communist war criminals after 1990? Especially so that the World might be able to say: "Niemals Wieder! Niemals Vergessen! Niemals Vergeben!" ?
If the Haague today can look for ways to get S. Milosovich to trial, why is there no comparable effort to bring living Communists to trial for their murders etc.? Likewise for the Chinese Communists and for Castro and Nicaraguan leaders and Congolese and other African Communists [including Nelson Mandela and his ilk]?
Brainstorm activity: WHAT IF?
What if there had been NO German invasion "of the peace loving Soviet Union" on June 22, 1941? What if Stalin had launched his 350 divisions of offensive forces onto German territory by late Summer as planned?
What if Bolshevism had won? Then moved into France and the Low Countries and then into Britain as Lenin envisioned?
Question: What would be the experience of Europe and Britain IF Stalin had succeeded in his World Revolution goals? One answer is that there would have been NO BB published by your Centre since Stalin would have imprisoned and/or executed ALL of you as collaborators [remember the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact] as he often did to loyal Bolsheviks over several decades! Another answer is that there would be NO flourishing civilization for arts and science and technology and press freedoms in the West.
Why do you condemn the Stalinist show-trials but NEVER condemn the BRD show-trials of, for example, the Doktorand Germar Rudolf?
Why NO Centre or L'Humanite condemnation of these German trials? No Centre condemnation of the show-trials against the leftist Prof. R. Faurisson? No Centre condemnation of the Soc-Comm. Fabius-Gayssot Law of July 1990?
In view of the excellent treatment of the Stalinist invasion of Spain during 1936-9 for the purpose of bringing a Communist victory into Iberia, this Vorbild served Hitler well for his own invasion of Poland etc. Why is there NO indepth treatment of Vorbilder? E.g., the Gulag system as preceding the KL system? The Pilsudski proposal for KL for Jews [from the 1920s]?
Why is there NO treatment of "the Jewish Problem" per se? Why does the BB writing team make Jews APPEAR to be victims rather than perpetrators?
[Pp. 373-4. Since EVERY Army worthy of notice has its own sort of Einsatzgruppen - and Stalin certainly had his!!! - why did the BB authors choose to emphasize the real or alleged crimes of the German EG as if they enjoyed some kind of Einzigartigkeit?
Have not the BB authors shown themselves to be lacking in scholarly detachment in the writing of this, in many ways, excellent book?
Lastly, would S. Courtois be willing to speak at a USA sponsored conference on History [with his expenses paid, of course] on the BB and then answer questions as some of the Centre have done in German newspaper interviews?
IF YES, then would he do so for late September of this year? I can arrange an invitation. Also, I can arrange a second invitation for a California based conference with only a couple of months time.
If NO, why?
Robert H. Countess, Ph.D. Director: Loewe Belfort Projects, Inc. Theses & Dissertations Press Field of Speciality for Doctorate: Ancient Greek
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Thought for the Day:
"Modern superstition: If we forget the horrors of the Nazis they will rise again."
(The Iron Webmaster)