Aus dem Franz. von Irmela Arnsperger ... Sonderausgabe 1999 987, [32] S. : Ill. ; 23 cm gebundene Ausgabe, Hardcover, Lesebändchen, ohne OSU Buch sehr gut u. sauber, themenbezogener Zeitungsartikel beiliegend
When first published in France in 1997, this work ignited a significant controversy that persists today. Even some contributors hesitated at chief editor Stéphane Courtois's assertion that Communism, in all its forms, was morally equivalent to Nazism; he argued that both totalitarian regimes excelled at killing rather than governing. Courtois and his fellow historians illustrate that Communism was responsible for mass deaths: 25 million in Russia during the Bolshevik and Stalinist periods, possibly 65 million in China under Mao Zedong, 2 million in Cambodia, and millions more across Africa, Eastern Europe, and Latin America—an astonishing toll. This propensity for violence, Courtois argues, is not coincidental but a fundamental aspect of a philosophy aimed at erasing class distinctions by eliminating the classes themselves. The authors meticulously document Communism's atrocities, providing figures that will likely spark debate among scholars and ideologues alike. Courtois also posits that those who view Lenin, Trotsky, and Ho Chi Minh favorably are unwittingly endorsing a brutal ideology. This thought-provoking work of history and social criticism deserves a wide readership and discussion.
Książka autorstwa Stephana Courtois, znanego z monumentalnych dzieł o komunizmie, to biografia Lenina wydana z okazji stulecia rewolucji bolszewickiej. Jest efektem wieloletnich badań nad komunizmem oraz jego przywódcami. Publikacja odpowiada na tendencje wybielania Lenina, kontrastując go z jego następcą Stalinem. Courtois pisze żywym językiem, łącząc pasję badacza z osobistymi emocjami, jako były uczestnik ruchu komunistycznego. Książka jest szczegółowym studium postaci, ideologii oraz systemu politycznego, wyróżniającym się oryginalnym punktem widzenia i precyzyjną narracją. Jej wartość podkreśla kontekst historyczny, gdyż ukazała się w rocznicę rewolucji, stanowiąc odpowiedź na współczesne fascynacje komunizmem. Courtois nie bagatelizuje zagrożeń związanych z nieprzepracowanym doświadczeniem komunizmu, ukazując jego zbrodniczość i totalitarne zagrożenie. Jego refleksje, osadzone w historii, są istotne dla zrozumienia przeszłości i monitorowania współczesności. Nowa biografia Lenina jest rzadkością w polskim dyskursie, gdzie nowe prace na ten temat nie były priorytetem. Warto przypomnieć, że prekursorską biografię Lenina napisał Antoni Ossendowski niemal sto lat temu.
Crimini, terrore, repressione
When it was first published in France in 1997, <i>Le livre noir du Communisme</i> touched off a storm of controversy that continues to rage today. Even some of his contributors shied away from chief editor Stéphane Courtois's conclusion that Communism, in all its many forms, was morally no better than Nazism; the two totalitarian systems, Courtois argued, were far better at killing than at governing, as the world learned to its sorrow.<p> Communism did kill, Courtois and his fellow historians demonstrate, with ruthless efficiency: 25 million in Russia during the Bolshevik and Stalinist eras, perhaps 65 million in China under the eyes of Mao Zedong, 2 million in Cambodia, millions more Africa, Eastern Europe, and Latin America--an astonishingly high toll of victims. This freely expressed penchant for homicide, Courtois maintains, was no accident, but an integral trait of a philosophy, and a practical politics, that promised to erase class distinctions by erasing classes and the living humans that populated them. Courtois and his contributors document Communism's crimes in numbing detail, moving from country to country, revolution to revolution. The figures they offer will likely provoke argument, if not among cliometricians then among the ideologically inclined. So, too, will Courtois's suggestion that those who hold Lenin, Trotsky, and Ho Chi Minh in anything other than contempt are dupes, witting or not, of a murderous school of thought--one that, while in retreat around the world, still has many adherents. A thought-provoking work of history and social criticism, <i>The Black Book of Communism</i> fully merits the broadest possible readership and discussion. <i>--Gregory McNamee</i></p>