Purges (part 2) 1934-38

Purges (part 2) 1934-38

1. The NKVD

   • Yezhov
     • Highly regarded and powerful
       • Stalin's 'right-hand man'
     • Shot for treason- knew too much about Stalin and too powerful
   • Secret State Police
   • Killed millions of people
     • Most in Ezhovschina- great purge
   • Tortured and threatened accused for fake confessions in show trials

2. The Gulags

   • 1937: 18 million in labour camps
   • Stayed there before being shot
   • Important source of labour: gold, timber, new railways, new cities
     • Worked in 5-year plans
   • Very low life expectancy

3. End of the terror

   • April 1939: Ezhov (mastermind of purges) was arrested for treason
     • 1940: shot
   • Waves of arrests and executions soon stopped
   • Quotas for arrests abandoned
   • Thousands released from Gulags
   • Had to focus more on WW2 now

4. Impacts of the purges

   • Stalin gained total control over USSR
   • Stalin's opponents were removed
   • Terror and fear were common (NKVD tortured people)
   • Weakened army- bad for WW2
   • Less population

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