If Stalin Lived Longer, Would he Have Committed Another Holocaust?

[Bo]

I read that in 1952 and 1953 Stalin began a campaign to arrest prominent Jewish intellectuals and public figures. There was large evidence that this was just the first step and that Stalin was later planning to send all Soviet Jews to Siberia for them to die there. Do you think that Stalin would have genuinely wanted to and killed all Soviet Jews if he had lived longer?

[© tweed]

he began to lose it towards the end.

[Bo]

he began to lose it towards the end.

So that's a yes?

[Хahar 🤔]

No. Look at the doctors' plot. Stalin wouldn't be able to coordinate anything of that sort.

[minionofmidas]

He didn't even try to kill all the Chechens, so no.

[© tweed]

he began to lose it towards the end.

So that's a yes?

how on Earth would I know, what would have happened sixty years ago if a given set of variables were slightly different? 

[12th Doctor]

he began to lose it towards the end.

... "towards the end"?

[2952-0-0]

There was large evidence that this was just the first step and that Stalin was later planning to send all Soviet Jews to Siberia for them to die there. Do you think that Stalin would have genuinely wanted to and killed all Soviet Jews if he had lived longer?

Didn't he create a Jewish Autonomous Oblast in a forsaken corner of Siberia in order to isolate them from the Motherland, which would have accomplished the same thing?

[ag]

He wouldn't go for death chambers - that wasn't his style. But deportation of nearly the entire Jewish population, during which about about 25% of those resettled would die within weeks and, say, a third of the rest would die during the next few years was quite likely.

[Bo]

There was large evidence that this was just the first step and that Stalin was later planning to send all Soviet Jews to Siberia for them to die there. Do you think that Stalin would have genuinely wanted to and killed all Soviet Jews if he had lived longer?

Didn't he create a Jewish Autonomous Oblast in a forsaken corner of Siberia in order to isolate them from the Motherland, which would have accomplished the same thing?

Maybe he planned to deport them there and allow them to die.

[Хahar 🤔]

There was large evidence that this was just the first step and that Stalin was later planning to send all Soviet Jews to Siberia for them to die there. Do you think that Stalin would have genuinely wanted to and killed all Soviet Jews if he had lived longer?

Didn't he create a Jewish Autonomous Oblast in a forsaken corner of Siberia in order to isolate them from the Motherland, which would have accomplished the same thing?

Maybe he planned to deport them there and allow them to die.

Wrong.

[Bo]

There was large evidence that this was just the first step and that Stalin was later planning to send all Soviet Jews to Siberia for them to die there. Do you think that Stalin would have genuinely wanted to and killed all Soviet Jews if he had lived longer?

Didn't he create a Jewish Autonomous Oblast in a forsaken corner of Siberia in order to isolate them from the Motherland, which would have accomplished the same thing?

Maybe he planned to deport them there and allow them to die.

Wrong.

Then's what's the correct answer?

[Хahar 🤔]

There was large evidence that this was just the first step and that Stalin was later planning to send all Soviet Jews to Siberia for them to die there. Do you think that Stalin would have genuinely wanted to and killed all Soviet Jews if he had lived longer?

Didn't he create a Jewish Autonomous Oblast in a forsaken corner of Siberia in order to isolate them from the Motherland, which would have accomplished the same thing?

Maybe he planned to deport them there and allow them to die.

Wrong.

Then's what's the correct answer?

The Jewish Autonomous Oblast was set up as a socialist answer to Zionism, but Stalin soon got bored of it and ignored it for the rest of his life.

[Bunwahaha [still dunno why, but well, so be it]]

Hmm, isn't there a board for such heretic questions...?

I think it's just at the top of this one, look.

[ag]

There was large evidence that this was just the first step and that Stalin was later planning to send all Soviet Jews to Siberia for them to die there. Do you think that Stalin would have genuinely wanted to and killed all Soviet Jews if he had lived longer?

Didn't he create a Jewish Autonomous Oblast in a forsaken corner of Siberia in order to isolate them from the Motherland, which would have accomplished the same thing?

Maybe he planned to deport them there and allow them to die.

Wrong.

Then's what's the correct answer?

The Jewish Autonomous Oblast was set up as a socialist answer to Zionism, but Stalin soon got bored of it and ignored it for the rest of his life.

That is ALMOST true. However, shortly before he died he was again interested in it. Apparently they were already preparing the barracks for the new arrivals right around the time the old Joe expired (a few years later Khruschev concluded these were unfit for grain storage). The idea was that after the public show trials and consequent executions in the "doctor murderers" plot, the righteous wrath of the Russian people would be such that the "Jewish community leaders" would themselves "petition" for a resettlement. Of course, the humane Soviet government would accede to this request: though, of course, the attitude of the Russians would be all too natural and understandable here, it would be too cruel to let the Jews be murdered in the pogroms, wouldn't it?

Now, I haven't checked myself, but I believe this is a pretty well-documented plan (propaganda materials were already being prepared: never circulated, but enough survived). It all was stopped in the tracks right after the 1953 Purim celebrations though

It was a true Purim, in fact The day Yossi's death was announced a great-uncle of mine went out and bought a large carpet. He bought another carpet a month later, when the (surviving) doctors were let out. A year later both my parents were born (my mom was a very late second child - so late, in fact, I don't believe it was a mere coincidence). You know, there are still people who celebrate that day every year as their second birthday. There are pretty damn good reasons for this.

[Stranger in a strange land]

no, but there's a good chance he would have deported all or most of them to the Jewish Autonomous Oblast.

[GMantis]

no, but there's a good chance he would have deported all or most of them to the Jewish Autonomous Oblast.

Which could hardly handle them all, so as ag said, a large part of them would have died in any case.

[Deldem]

While he might have ended up killing a lot of people, he wouldn't be the guy to conduct a genocide. His goal was never the systematic elimination of a people/race, just the removal of elements that stood against him.

[ag]

While he might have ended up killing a lot of people, he wouldn't be the guy to conduct a genocide. His goal was never the systematic elimination of a people/race, just the removal of elements that stood against him.

As well as those whom he thought might stand against him. As well as those who could have been related to those whom he thought might stand against him.  As well as those who might have possibly known someone who could have been related to someone whom he thought might stand against him. As well as those who might have once spoken to someone who might have possibly known someone who might have been related to someone whom he thought might stand against him. The guy wasn't too methodical (by Western European standards) but he was paranoid, you know.

He did commit quite a few genocides, incidentally. True, he didn't exterminate any ethnic group completely, but some of his targets had mortality rates of over 25% of the total, I believe. Hay, even Hitler didn't really do in much more than 50% of the world's Jews.

[Bo]

While he might have ended up killing a lot of people, he wouldn't be the guy to conduct a genocide. His goal was never the systematic elimination of a people/race, just the removal of elements that stood against him.

As well as those whom he thought might stand against him. As well as those who could have been related to those whom he thought might stand against him.  As well as those who might have possibly known someone who could have been related to someone whom he thought might stand against him. As well as those who might have once spoken to someone who might have possibly known someone who might have been related to someone whom he thought might stand against him. The guy wasn't too methodical (by Western European standards) but he was paranoid, you know.

He did commit quite a few genocides, incidentally. True, he didn't exterminate any ethnic group completely, but some of his targets had mortality rates of over 25% of the total, I believe. Hay, even Hitler didn't really do in much more than 50% of the world's Jews.

25-50% of a particular ethic group is still a huge amount of people killed. And believe me, Hitler would have killed all the Jews in the world if he was able to. Thank God he wasn't, though, otherwise I and my family wouldn't exist today.