„Nie doniosły na mężów – poniosły karę”, czyli kilka uwag o książce Bez winy i bez przyszłości. Losy członków rodzin „zdrajców ojczyzny” represjonowanych na mocy rozkazu NKWD nr 00486
‘They Didn’t Inform on Their Husbands – They Suffered the Punishment’, or Some Comments on the Book Bez winy i bez przyszłości. Losy członków rodzin „zdrajców ojczyzny” represjonowanych na mocy rozkazu NKWD nr 00486

Summary/Abstract: Th e article critically reviews the monograph Bez winy i bez przyszłości. Losy członków rodzin“zdrajców ojczyzny” represjonowanych na mocy rozkazu NKWD nr 00486 [Without Guilt andWithout Future. Th e Fate of Family Members of “Traitors to the Fatherland” Repressed underNKVD order No. 00486]. Published by the Institute of National Remembrance PublishingHouse in 2024, the book is based on archival materials from Ukraine. It highlights the plightof wives of “enemies of the people”, whose sole “guilt” was that they had not denounced theirhusbands to the state security organs. Olechowski recognises the work’s value in the contextof research on the Great Terror but also notes some substantive errors of the book’s Authors,such as incomplete analysis of Soviet criminal law and the lack of broader context regardingthe lives of Poles in the USSR.Th e reviewer praises the rich visual material and an appendix containing translated docu-ments but criticises the uneven distribution of work among the Authors and the limited num-ber of analysed cases. He expresses hope that this publication will initiate a series of studieson repressions against Poles while suggesting improvements for future editions. Despite itsshortcomings, the book is a valuable contribution to the historiography of political repressionsin the Soviet Union.

• Details
• Contents