Violence in East European History
Torture, Cannibalism, Abuse, and Murder Were Common in E. Europe
Violence played a large role in the shaping of historical events in Eastern Europe. Domestic abuse, torture, forced labor, and other atrocities occured on a broad basis.
Eastern European history was, often, violent. The actions of violent leaders, the rules that defined violent domestic structures, accounts of violent events, and even records of violence for survival mark the pages of every Eastern European history book. Violence has long been used with the intention of solving problems – problems real, imagined, or invented.
Violence in Eastern European History – Torture in Eastern European History
Torture was a means of punishing fellow citizens for breaking laws or for appearing to be politically deviant. Victims of Stalin's purges and of Cheka interrogations also suffered extreme torture – usually until they died.
Violence in Eastern European History – Cannibalism in the Soviet Union
During times of severe famine – famine which was either instrumented or ignored by the state – individuals resorted to the cannibalization of those who had died. Some parents fed their children the meat off of dead human bodies in order to keep them alive. In other cases, cannibalism was used as a means of murder or punishment. Cannibalism was illegal in the Soviet Union, but was still practiced out of necessity or revenge.
Violence in Eastern European History – Victims of Concentration Camps
Concentration camps were the locations of hundreds of thousands of murders in Eastern Europe, and no individual was really safe, though targeted deportations did occur to members of certain groups. Starvation, torture, rape, and other atrocities occurred at concentration camps.
Violence in Eastern European History – Dekulakization and the Gulag
Like concentration camps, the Gulag system killed hundreds of thousands of individuals. Poor living conditions, abusive officials, hard and dangerous labor, and severe punishment for those who tried to escape were all part and parcel to the Gulag. Dekulakization, the process of eliminating the peasant class, and the internment of political prisoners saw that Gulags were always full of the miserable and oppressed.
Violence in Eastern European History – Peasant Domestic Violence
Domestic violence in peasant Eastern Europe was a common, accepted fact of life. Rules stated that husbands could not beat their wives to death, but little restraint was shown when a drunk peasant husband took fists, belt, whip, or other object to his wife. Children were also beaten by their mothers, and animals were beaten by their masters. A woman was considered lucky if she was not beaten by her husband.
Wars and political events also lead to violence. And, of course, Eastern Europe had its fair share of leaders that thrived on the violence and fear that they could deal out to those under them.
