The Three Million Forgotten People: deportations from Eastern Europe to the Soviet Union, 1939-1953.
One of the biggest crimes of the 20th century is barely mentioned in textbooks about the Cold War. Why? Maybe it is because little information came out of Eastern Europe until 1990. And by then, the textbooks were written. But this was a massive event that reveals a lot about Stalin’s Soviet Union. And instead of always thinking about the Cold War, let’s remember those people were caught in the middle of it. We are fortunate to have obtained first-hand testimony of two of the women who were deported. Remember that these were the lucky ones – the ones who survived. But their lives were nevertheless scarred by suffering, tragedy and rejection. For what purpose? So Stalin and his communist regime could more easily dominate their countries.
Konstantin Kisin: what the communists did to his family and why does communism always end in terror?
Konstantin Kisin was born in the Soviet Union. He describes the horrific experiences of his family any then answers the question, why does communism always end in terror?
How communism was enforced in Bulgaria
In a remote part of Bulgaria on the border with Romania is an island with a dark history.
Innocent people about to be executed – The Great Terror in the Soviet Union
Photographs taken by the NKVD, the Soviet secret police during the Great Terror of 1937-38.
What do you think of Lenin?
We asked people what they think of Lenin and then got the views of his biographer, Victor Sebestyen.
Escape from North Korea: event with a defector – Ji Hyun Park.
Ji Hyun Park escaped twice from North Korea. James Bartholomew gives an introduction about North Korea and then interviews Ji Hyun about life in North Korea and how she escaped to China.
Jung Chang and the Cultural Revolution
Interview with Jung Chang, author of ‘Wild Swans’, about her own and her family’s experience of communist rule in China.
The extraordinary experiences of Amei Li in the Cultural Revolution
Interview with the author of “Pink Flower – Growing Up in Mao’s China” by Zoom, 27th July 2022.
How the uprising against Nicolae Ceaușescu began – Zoom event with Zsolt Szilagyi
Interview with Zsolt Szilagyi, a witness and participant in the events that led to the downfall of Ceaușescu in Romania.
Beatings and torture: the Securitate response to the beginning of the revolt against Communist rule
This short excerpt from a longer video features Árpád Gazda, a peaceful dissident. He was arrested by the Securitate, the secret police, and beaten up.