A review by piratequeen
Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin by Timothy Snyder

5.0

An absolutely stunning read. Stunning in good and bad ways; positively stunning in that the research and writing were superb, and the narrative absorbing, but negatively stunning, because Snyder pulls no punches in his description of the utter horror wrought by the Soviets and the Nazis in eastern Europe during the 1930s and 1940s. I was literally stunned as I made my way through this book; several times I set it down for a few moments so I could stare into the ether, trying to absorb what I'd read. I opened this expecting a general overview of the eastern front, which it was to a point; the focus, however, was on the massive death visited upon Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic, and Poland, through deliberate starvation, mass shootings, bombings, and gassing at extermination camps.

I thought I knew about the Holocaust. I thought I had a general understanding of the destruction. I was wrong. Places and events of which I had a surface-level knowledge were described in a detail I never could have imagined. The section about the death camp at Treblinka was so horrific, I had to set the book down and ask my brother for a hug.

This should be essential reading in every history class, especially in the US, and especially now. As we witness the resurgence of ethno-nationlism, anti-Semitism, and political oppression and violence, this book is a dark reminder of just how bad things can get when the monsters take over.