Stalin’s Last Crime — The Plot Against the Jewish Doctors, 1948-1953 by Jonathan Brent and Vladimir P. Naumov is an in-depth study in psychological survival in a nightmarish police state — Stalin’s Russia, circa 1948-1953. The untangling of this Gordian knot of conspiracies and plots is the convincing achievement of the authors of this suspenseful, historical drama. They accomplished an almost inscrutable task, the successful unraveling of Joseph Stalin’s (photo, left) byzantine, evil plot against the Jewish doctors.
The problem for the protagonists and antagonists in this Stalinist nightmare is that of survival. The moral conundrum is how to survive without denouncing other innocent persons, as this Kafkaesque drama unfolds. And yet, perceived survival, or at least the delaying as long as possible of the loss of life or limb by the avoidance of physical torture, could only be attained at the expense of denouncing and putting in jeopardy the lives of others. And, what is one to confess to without divining what was being formulated in Stalin’s monstrous mind?
Thankfully for some, there was the critical issue of timing, the clock was ticking rapidly, and time was running out. Some of the victims beat the clock and survived; others did not and perished.
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