Communism's moral record

Death, destruction, despair

According to The Black Book of Communism, written by a number of academics and published in the US by Harvard University Press in 1997, the number of people (civilians, not soldiers) murdered by seven Communist regimes in the 20th century is as follows:

These are widely thought to be CONSERVATIVE numbers. Added to these MURDERS, many, many poor people starved to death thanks to the implementation of Marxist economic policies.

Then there were the people who weren’t killed, but had their freedoms severely curtailed:

They could not speak freely.

They could not worship freely.

In some cases could not even start a business freely.

In many cases could not travel without permission from “the party”.

In my novel Redemptio, there is a scene where the protagonist’s best friend, Buczek, has a confrontation with some students. Buczek takes umbrage with one of them for wearing a T-shirt with the classic Communist hammer and sickle emblem emblazoned on it. He threatens the student with his cigarette lighter, warning her to be careful as her T-shirt could easily “catch fire”. He is truly incensed that she should be wearing the hammer and sickle and wants her to know it.

One of the student’s (male) friends tells him to back off, which triggers Buczek. He attacks the student and Prez (the protagonist) has to drag him away.

It’s never mentioned in the novel, but I like to think that Buczek was told about Communist atrocities by members of his own close family, who were terribly afflicted by the totalitarian system and experienced persecution first-hand.

In a way, it’s bizarre and hypocritical that a criminal such as Buczek should take such offence at the student for wearing a symbol — even if it does represent so many historical (and current) atrocities — that it spurs him to challenge her for wearing it. After all, he’s not exactly modelling his own life on St. Francis of Assisi.

But who else would do what he does?

These days, most people who disapprove of someone wearing the hammer and sickle would probably either stay quiet, shake their heads, or make a quiet remark to a companion about how wrong it is and how the youth of today have lost their way, or something. They wouldn’t go further than that. It takes Buczek’s sort of gall, audacity, daring, whatever you want to call it, to confront the woman and her friends.

I like to think that the scene paints him as an unlikely hero.

Someone who actually stands up for the memory of all those who have been murdered and have suffered at the hands of a truly evil system of governance.

This is a headline and subhead from the Wall Street Journal back in 2017:

Says it all really.

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Progress report:

Through Open Doors has had its first edit. There’s not much needed to do it, but proofread it a couple of times and then get it out there.

The Man Who Wore Hats (still a working title) is at 32,001 words. Close to half-way through in my current estimation.

I will start a new novella before too long. It’s about a guitar teacher who gets kidnapped. His ransom is to teach his kidnapper to play the guitar to a decent level. Am I going bonkers? Probably.

Take it easy. And thanks for reading.

Marek