On February 26, a research seminar held by the International Centre for the History and Sociology of World War II and Its Consequences included a presentation by Alain Blum (France) called ‘The Long Echo of War: The Return of the Specially Resettled Peoples to the Baltic in the 1950s through the 1980s’
The presentation covered the long process of former deportees’ liberation, which the speaker stressed was the so-called “echo” of the war and Stalinism. The deportations, conducted from 1940 to 1952 from the western territories of the USSR, are closely associated with both the military logic and the totalitarian policies of Stalin. Interweaving through them are the battle against insurgencies that broke out in these areas, repressive measures against those who collaborated with the Germans, as well as the resumption of unfinished Sovietization of society and collectivization of agriculture.
The presentation covered the long process of former deportees’ liberation, which the speaker stressed was the so-called “echo” of the war and Stalinism. The deportations, conducted from 1940 to 1952 from the western territories of the USSR, are closely associated with both the military logic and the totalitarian policies of Stalin. Interweaving through them are the battle against insurgencies that broke out in these areas, repressive measures against those who collaborated with the Germans, as well as the resumption of unfinished Sovietization of society and collectivization of agriculture.
Blum noted that this combination of repressive and military practices persisted for a long time after Stalin’s death. People deported from the western regions were among the last to be freed, showing how much influence the mixture of Stalinist and military practices had on the Soviet regime. Blum noted that the issue of the specially resettled peoples persisted until the 1970s.
The presentation provided detailed quantitative data on the number of deportees and showed their changing status in Soviet society as demonstrated by important historical documents relating to the practice of deportations. An interesting discussion followed the presentation, which among other topics included questions on the social aspect of the deportation policy and how the everyday lives of deportees were affected.
Alain Blum specializes in the history of the Soviet population and policies of coercion applied to this population in the 20th century. He is currently working on a project dedicated to the deportations from the western territories of the Soviet Union between 1939 and 1953 and the return of the deportees after Stalin's death. He is the author of numerous works, including Déportés en URSS. Récits d'Européens au goulag, Paris, Autrement, 2012 (ed. with Marta Craveri, Valérie Nivelon).