Journey Into The Whirlwind Analysis
Journey Into the Whirlwind, a memoir written by Evgeniia Ginzburg, shines incredible light onto what took place during Stalin’s reign of terror. She takes the reader from before she was even arrested, through her entire trial, and then into the labor camp. Although it really opens eyes to what truly took place there is still room the question the validity of the story told by Mrs. Ginzburg.
Eugenia Ginzburg was officially prosecuted for acts of terrorism. She was told by officials that she was being charged with the murder of Kirov and when she told told them she was never in Leningrad they responded by saying to her, “it was your accomplices who killed him, and that makes you morally and criminally responsibly”. It’s clear that she truly had nothing to do with his murder, yet there was no getting out of it. For this Ginzburg was given “ten …show more content…
years’ imprisonment in solitary confinement with the loss of civil rights for five years”. There was no real reason for her to be persecuted except that to Stalin she posed a potential threat as she was a well educated party member who had the ability to influence others, whether through her teaching or her writing published in the Red Tartary magazine.
To be persecuted by Stalin is vastly different than being persecuted in other societies. When charged with a crime, the defendant had very little to no hope of not being convicted. There was no need to actually actually commit a crime to be arrested. For this, people were incredibly fearful. Once arrested, people were stripped of belongings, status, and humanity, many eventually struggled to maintain the will to live. People were tortured for doing absolutely nothing, standing up for yourself or even just the truth put you in a worse position. Ginzburg described her first night at Butyrki by saying that “a multitude of screams and groans from tortured human beings burst simultaneously through open windows” of their cells. This form of interrogation and extraction of information was just inhumane and should never have happened under any circumstances. No real evidence was ever needed, stories that weren’t even fathomable were accepted without question.
She crossed paths with countless people throughout this journey. Many of these people helped her to survive. She quickly discovered how valuable prison friendships are and just how quickly they can form. She also discovered just how quickly these people can be taken away forever. Thoughts of her children also helped. They were all young when she was arrested and she worried about them constantly, particularly after she found out her husband was arrested. There was one person in particular who encouraged her will to live. A friend of hers, by the surname, Pitkovskaya, had been a devout communist, but after falling under suspicion and her husband being arrested, she killed herself. Ginzburg saw this play out and promised herself she wouldn’t do that, wouldn’t leave her kids, she would fight When going through processing at Butyrki, Ginzburg met a woman and within a few hours “felt that life would be much more bearable if I were not parted from black-haired Zoya… about whom I had learned in those few hours as much as one usually learns in ten years of close friendship”
Poetry had a huge impact on Ginsburg’s ability to survive her ordeal. When she was left alone to her thoughts, poetry would cross through her mind. It also helped her to connect to people around her. She would recite poetry to her cellmates and tap it through walls to her neighbors. When she didn’t have the right words to express the emotions she was feeling, a poem would come to mind to help her convey them. An instance of this was when she had to say goodbye to her cell mates as she was being sent to the military tribunal she recited a poem written by Osip Mendelshtam, who himself had also disappeared during the purges, as a goodbye.
Despite the predicament she found herself in, Genia often had some optimism. When she was sentenced to ten years, she thought there was no way that this reign of terror could even last that long. Ginzburg said “Do you… really think you can go on robbing and murdering for another ten years?”. After receiving her sentence Genia said “I intended to stay alive. Just to spite them… Keep alive… Grit your teeth”.
Ginzburg’s memoir shines light on the reality faced by millions during Stalin’s purges. She discusses events and memories that people would not be likely to read about other wise. Many historical documents are more factual, so this helps people to see it from a more emotional point of view, which we don’t get to see very often.
A memoir can never be fully trusted by historians for a number of reasons.
To begin with, every single person experiences life differently. If there are a handful of people in a room when an event occurs and each is asked to describe what happened, most people will fixate on different things. It doesn’t mean any of these are not true, but historians can’t get the full story from just one individual. Another issue with a memoir, especially one as torturous as Journey Into the Whirlwind, is they are biased. What Eugenia Ginzburg went through was unfathomable, but at the same time her view is probably slightly skewed because of her position in this situation. It would be important to compare this memoir to one written by someone on the other side, such as a warden, interrogator or judge. Although it gives phenomenal insight into what the people subject to Stalin’s terror had to deal with for years, it can’t be trusted as a stand alone historic source. Even if it can’t be used to develop a final picture of what happened, memoirs can at least open doors or bring to light something new that can be looked for in other historical
works.
This memoir gives an inside look at Stalin’s Russia from a point of view not often accessible. It helps people to understand the complexities and strangeness of being persecuted during this time as well. It also tells a story about the will to live, encouraged by poetry, optimism and unlikely human kindness. Although it has many good elements, this book must be looked at with slight skepticism as Eugenia Ginzburg will naturally be biased, and rightly so.
Eugenia Ginzburg was officially prosecuted for acts of terrorism. She was told by officials that she was being charged with the murder of Kirov and when she told told them she was never in Leningrad they responded by saying to her, “it was your accomplices who killed him, and that makes you morally and criminally responsibly”. It’s clear that she truly had nothing to do with his murder, yet there was no getting out of it. For this Ginzburg was given “ten …show more content…
years’ imprisonment in solitary confinement with the loss of civil rights for five years”. There was no real reason for her to be persecuted except that to Stalin she posed a potential threat as she was a well educated party member who had the ability to influence others, whether through her teaching or her writing published in the Red Tartary magazine.
To be persecuted by Stalin is vastly different than being persecuted in other societies. When charged with a crime, the defendant had very little to no hope of not being convicted. There was no need to actually actually commit a crime to be arrested. For this, people were incredibly fearful. Once arrested, people were stripped of belongings, status, and humanity, many eventually struggled to maintain the will to live. People were tortured for doing absolutely nothing, standing up for yourself or even just the truth put you in a worse position. Ginzburg described her first night at Butyrki by saying that “a multitude of screams and groans from tortured human beings burst simultaneously through open windows” of their cells. This form of interrogation and extraction of information was just inhumane and should never have happened under any circumstances. No real evidence was ever needed, stories that weren’t even fathomable were accepted without question.
She crossed paths with countless people throughout this journey. Many of these people helped her to survive. She quickly discovered how valuable prison friendships are and just how quickly they can form. She also discovered just how quickly these people can be taken away forever. Thoughts of her children also helped. They were all young when she was arrested and she worried about them constantly, particularly after she found out her husband was arrested. There was one person in particular who encouraged her will to live. A friend of hers, by the surname, Pitkovskaya, had been a devout communist, but after falling under suspicion and her husband being arrested, she killed herself. Ginzburg saw this play out and promised herself she wouldn’t do that, wouldn’t leave her kids, she would fight When going through processing at Butyrki, Ginzburg met a woman and within a few hours “felt that life would be much more bearable if I were not parted from black-haired Zoya… about whom I had learned in those few hours as much as one usually learns in ten years of close friendship”
Poetry had a huge impact on Ginsburg’s ability to survive her ordeal. When she was left alone to her thoughts, poetry would cross through her mind. It also helped her to connect to people around her. She would recite poetry to her cellmates and tap it through walls to her neighbors. When she didn’t have the right words to express the emotions she was feeling, a poem would come to mind to help her convey them. An instance of this was when she had to say goodbye to her cell mates as she was being sent to the military tribunal she recited a poem written by Osip Mendelshtam, who himself had also disappeared during the purges, as a goodbye.
Despite the predicament she found herself in, Genia often had some optimism. When she was sentenced to ten years, she thought there was no way that this reign of terror could even last that long. Ginzburg said “Do you… really think you can go on robbing and murdering for another ten years?”. After receiving her sentence Genia said “I intended to stay alive. Just to spite them… Keep alive… Grit your teeth”.
Ginzburg’s memoir shines light on the reality faced by millions during Stalin’s purges. She discusses events and memories that people would not be likely to read about other wise. Many historical documents are more factual, so this helps people to see it from a more emotional point of view, which we don’t get to see very often.
A memoir can never be fully trusted by historians for a number of reasons.
To begin with, every single person experiences life differently. If there are a handful of people in a room when an event occurs and each is asked to describe what happened, most people will fixate on different things. It doesn’t mean any of these are not true, but historians can’t get the full story from just one individual. Another issue with a memoir, especially one as torturous as Journey Into the Whirlwind, is they are biased. What Eugenia Ginzburg went through was unfathomable, but at the same time her view is probably slightly skewed because of her position in this situation. It would be important to compare this memoir to one written by someone on the other side, such as a warden, interrogator or judge. Although it gives phenomenal insight into what the people subject to Stalin’s terror had to deal with for years, it can’t be trusted as a stand alone historic source. Even if it can’t be used to develop a final picture of what happened, memoirs can at least open doors or bring to light something new that can be looked for in other historical
works.
This memoir gives an inside look at Stalin’s Russia from a point of view not often accessible. It helps people to understand the complexities and strangeness of being persecuted during this time as well. It also tells a story about the will to live, encouraged by poetry, optimism and unlikely human kindness. Although it has many good elements, this book must be looked at with slight skepticism as Eugenia Ginzburg will naturally be biased, and rightly so.