To contrast the readings from the novel Stalin’s War to the readings from the novel Witness is quite easy as they capture different aspects of totalitarian ideals. Witness for speaks on the emotional and mental struggle of those affected by Communism and totalitarianism. For example, in Chapter 11 of Witness where Chambers goes into minute detail about the Hiss Case and specifically about how Hiss could did not testify that he knew Chambers as Chambers but then later admitted that he did recognize him but as George Crosley. Later on in the chapter Hiss asks to provide 10 questions to be asked to Chambers about his personal endeavors. Hiss requests to have these questions asked to Chambers after he realized he had lost his credibility. In this sense Chambers was acting out of disparity to get Chambers to look like a criminal for the acts he had performed while he was affiliated with the Communist Party. Chambers states about the questions Hiss asked be added to the record:
“They were of the kind against which every ex-Communist, as Hiss well knew, is almost completely defenseless, because every Communist has, in the name of Communism, committed some of the sins and crimes involved. The only possible answer is the unmitigated truth; and there is always a strong probability that, faced with such a public exposure, most men will retreat, make peace at any price or kill themselves.”
Excerpt From: Whittaker Chambers. “Witness.”
I felt this was a very clear picture as to who Alger Hiss was and what he was willing to do to keep his cover from being blown that he actually was a Communist.
On the other hand, the introduction and prologue for Stalin’s War spoke mostly on the physical and military aspect of the totalitarian Soviet Union. It provided much insight into the true instigator of World War II, Stalin. Many people believe Hitler and the Nazi’s were the evil powers of the time but McMeekin writes this piece to shed light on the actual evil doers during the war. He writes that it was actually Stalin’s idea, not Hitler’s, to partition Poland and the fight over Manchuria between Russia and Japan stemmed from a long struggle between the two countries during Tsarist times even. This novel provides some background to the World War that many Americans do not know because we are constantly told that Fascism is bad and Communism is not so bad compared to Fascism, which is simply not the case.
Overall, the two novels give a different perspective when it comes to totalitarian rule of the Soviet Union. One is a memoir or personal account of the horrific trials and tribulations one must overcome in order to reveal the true evils to the public. The other is a historical piece written to reveal the dreadful things that were wrongfully pinned on the Germans, when in reality it was the Soviets leading the pack.