This paperback book (see above), published in 2008, can be ordered from any Barnes and Noble, or any Borders, bookstore, even if they do not have it. It can also be ordered on line, for example, at

www.amazon.com or www.wastelandpress.com

Tell that the ISBN number for the book is 978-1-60047-232-9

A short editorial review of the book can be seen after clicking on the book icon at www.amazon.com (from the back cover of the book). It consists of three short paragraphs; one about the person to whom the book is dedicated, one about the author of the book (the son of that person) and one about why the book was written.

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Item #1: Thanks for reading my book. We also have a forum to discuss book-related topics

After reading the book, some readers may want to comment on what is in it, provide additional information, or otherwise contribute to our understanding of brutality and violence under Stalinism. A Google-based discussion list, also named "stalinism", was created to make this possible. Feel free to join, even if you are interested only in what others have to say. But keep in mind that the list is open to the public. Anyone can subscribe, read our messages, and share them with others. Please respect different points of view and be polite in your contributions. Please avoid discussing topics unrelated to "brutality and violence under the Stalinist regime."

The ways to subscribe, unsubscribe and participate are described below. Participation (receiving messages posted under different topics, replying to them, or starting new topics) is expected to be via email. In that way anyone with an e-mail account can become a subscriber.

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Item #2: How to subscribe, unsubscribe and contribute?

a) Create a Google account before subscribing
Our group is restricted. It means that only subscribers (group members) are able to participate (read, reply or post messages). But everyone can subscribe or unsubscribe at any time. It is my understanding that, to become a member of a restricted group, one must have a Google account. Such account is not connected with a specific google group. It allows a person to use many additional services offered by Google. A person with a google mailer, for example, already has a google account. I would not be able to create a group, and to manage it, without having a Google account. Fortunately, opening a free Google account is simple. Suppose namex@bignet.com wants to create a Google account. I would say:

a) Go to http://www.google.com/accounts/login
b) In the window that appears click on the “create new account.”
c) In the next window do the following:
   *) enter namex@bignet.com (this stands for your own email address)
   *) enter the desired password (minimum 8 characters)
   *) confirm this password
   *) specify location, such as Canada, Russia, or United States
   *) type the wiggly characters displayed on the screen.
   *) click on I accept (to create the account).

b) To subscribe:
*) Send an empty message to stalinism-subscribe@googlegroups.com
*) Wait for the email confirmation from Google (usually less than an hour)
*) Compose the reply, as instructed, and send it to google.
*) That will make you a subscriber.

c) To unsubscribe:
*) Send an empty message to stalinism-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
*) Wait for the email confirmation from google (usually less than an hour)
*) Compose the reply, as instructed, and send it to google.
*) That will unsubscribe you.
*) You can subscribe later, if you wish.

d) Participating (reading messages, replying to messages under existing topics, or starting new topics):
*) Google recognizes subscribers by their email addresses. Your address must always be the same as that under which you subscribed. This reminder is important for people with several email accounts.
*) You will be receiving posted messages by email.
*) Messages are organized into threads (also called topics). A subscriber can read messages, start new topics (threads) or make contributions to ongoing topics.
*) To continue discussing a topic simply press the "reply" button, type your message and "send" it.
*) Do not press the "reply" to start a new topic. Start it as "new" and enter the address ( stalinism@googlegroups.com ) into the blank box. Then compose the appropriate subject line, type what you want and press "send."

Please forward this message to friends who might be interested in discussing brutality and violence under proletarian dictatorship in Soviet Union. I believe that to prevent repetition of Stalinism people must know and understand what happened in the Soviet Union, and in other Marxist countries.

P.S. Do you know a manager of a library or bookstore? If so then please inform that person about my easy-to-read book. Perhaps they will order it (ISBN 978-1-60047-232-9). I am not doing this for money. What follows are three extracts from the book. Will the questions asked be discussed on our list? I hope so.

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from page 16:

Are mass killings avoidable? Hitler's holocaust was based on racism; Stalin's slaughter was based on the concept of class struggle. Can we say that these two ideologies of intolerance are responsible for mass killings? Or should the tragedies be attributed to the evil nature of leaders? The two tyrants were not alone; it is impossible to kill millions without favorable social conditions. Can such conditions be identified? Can they be eliminated? How can this be done?

from page 31

Is moral sensitivity of people sufficient to protect world societies from mass murderers? Probably not. What else is essential? Elimination of extreme poverty and injustice. How can this be accomplished? Many sociologists have asked this question. Karl Marx was one of them. He believed that the "proletarian dictatorship" was the answer. I suspect that the 20th century will be named after this kind of dictatorship. The idea was tried in many countries and failed. It did not create justice; it replaced old tyrants with more brutal tyrants. Lenin, Stalin and Mao are well known examples.

So where is the answer? I do not know. Is man's inhumanity to man avoidable? Perhaps not, perhaps it should be accepted as part of human nature. If this is accepted then episodes of mass murder can be compared with other calamities, like epidemics, earthquakes and wars. (The black death epidemic did kill about one third of Europe's population in the Middle Ages; the Aids epidemic is rampant today; disasters caused by global warming are predicted, etc.) But scientifc understanding of epidemics has often resulted in great improvements. Likewise, constructing less vulnerable buildings, or avoiding certain locations, can minimize consequences of earthquakes. What happened in the Soviet Union should not be attributed only to Stalin's despotic inclinations; it should also be attributed to the ideology he inherited from Lenin.

We do not accept natural disasters passively; we do everything possible to prevent them, or at least to reduce their undesirable consequences. Why should man`s inhumanity to man be accepted as unavoidable? Humanity is also part of nature. Most people want justice and deplore suffering. Shouldn't this be the basis for working toward elimination of man-made calamities?

from page 44

Cleverness was not enough to become a supreme ruler of a large country. To succeed, Stalin also needed loyal secret police with practically unlimited resources and access to all branches of government, including the military. In addition, a new kind of morality was needed to inhibit traditional defenses against evil. According to Lenin and Stalin, morality should be subordinated to the ideology of proletarian revolution. Denying the validity of religion-based morality, they wrote: what is useful to us is moral, what is harmful to us is immoral. Morality is a weapon in class struggle. Party and Komsomol members were drilled to accept that position, and to act accordingly.

The justification was simple. The world is full of injustice and immorality. We want to replace it by a much better "scientifically designed" social structure--communism. That is why what we do is right, by deffnition. Here is a good illustration. An act of torture committed by our enemy should be exposed as unspeakable barbarism. We do this to gain sympathy and support of naive people believing in "bourgeois morality." But an act of torture committed by us to punish an enemy of revolution is not immoral. It is a historical necessity. Likewise, Auschwitz elimination was considered immoral while Kolyma elimination was considered moral.

What distinguishes these two cases? It is not the methodology of killing, gas versus cold; it is the ideology which is being served. Comrade Dzerzhinsky, the first director of punitive Soviet organs, was referred to as a highly moral communist. This honor was a reward for extremely brutal handling of declared class enemies, as ordered by the party of Lenin and Stalin. Other bolsheviks, including those who were later eliminated by Stalin, were also extremely brutal; they were leaders of Red Terror, Civil War, War Communism and Collectivization campaigns. Immorality is probably older than civilizations but Hitler and Stalin elevated it to new heights (29). How long will it take to repair social structures affected by twelve years of open brutality and cynicism in Germany, and by at least fifty years in the Soviet Union? Who should be in charge of organized efforts 'of caging and taming monsters inside us'?

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Thanks in advance.

Ludwik Kowalski