Poetry for Students, Volume 29

Union. Communism had been the dominant
political party in the Soviet Union beginning in
1912 and had also dominated Russian politics
since its formation in 1917. During most of the
twentieth century, the Communist Party was the
only political group tolerated by the Soviet gov-
ernment. Communism was the antithesis of
Adolf Hitler’s belief in the superiority of all
things German. Communism promoted equal-
ity, especially the equal distribution of rewards

for all those who worked. In contrast, Hitler

promoted German superiority. For him, the

idea that non-Germans, whom he thought sub-

human, should be rewarded equally for equal

work was intolerable. Hitler simply did not

believe that non-Germans could accomplish as

much as Germans.

Karl Marx, who founded Communism, was

a Jew, which added to Hitler’s dislike of the ideol-

ogy. It did not matter to the Nazis that Marx had

COMPARE

&

CONTRAST

 1940s:The Einsatzgruppen begin systemati-

cally rounding up and killing the Jews of

eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. It is

estimated that the Einsatzgruppen squads

kill 1.3 million Jews, about one-quarter of

the total number of Jews killed during the

Holocaust.

1960s:In Nigeria, an estimated 3.1 million

people are killed during the uprisings of

1966. There are also reports of genocide
      taking place in Indonesia and Uganda in
      the early 1960s.
      Today:In Darfur, Sudan, it is estimated that
      more than 400,000 civilians have been killed
      and 2.5 million people have been displaced
      through genocidal acts.
       1940s:During Germany’s six-month occu-
      pation of Krasnodar, Russia, every member
      of the Jewish community in the city is mur-
      dered. After the Germans are driven out in
      February 1943, Soviet authorities convict
      eleven Russian collaborators for their
      involvement in the killings. Three are sen-
      tenced to twenty years’ imprisonment; eight
      of the eleven are executed in July 1943.
      1960s:From 1963 to 1964, a group of former
      officials at the Belzec extermination camp,
      near the Ukrainian border, are tried in West
      Germany. Only one of the seven officials is
      found guilty, to receive a sentence of less
      than five years.

Today:In 2005, ten former Nazis are con-

victed for taking part in the 1944 massacre

of more than 500 villagers at Sant’Anna di

Stazzema, Italy. The convicted men are not

present at their trial, which was held in Italy,

because Germany does not extradite its citi-

zens to stand trial in other countries.

 1940s:Anti-Semitism exists in the Soviet

Union, but it is not a significant aspect of

Soviet life through the early part of the

decade.

1960s:After the end of World War II, anti-

Semitism begins to increase, culminating in

the dismantling of the Jewish community

structure and the destruction of all Jewish

cultural institutions. By the early 1960s,

Jews have become the scapegoat for the eco-

nomic problems faced by the Soviet Union.

Nearly half of all executions from 1961 to

1964 are of Jewish citizens.

Today:State sponsored anti-Semitism no

longer exists in Russia, but anti-Semitism is

still a problem in Russian society. In the

twenty-first century, the number of attacks

against Jews has not increased, but they

have become more violent. Neo-Nazi skin-

heads have become a stronger presence in

Russia, and there are increasing reports of

vandalism of Jewish institutions and ceme-

teries as well as of Holocaust memorials.

Babii Yar