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The Rebbe farbrengs on Purim, 1953.

Video: The Downfall of a Modern-Day Haman

Joseph Stalin, the dictator of the Soviet Union, responsible for the murder of over twenty million human beings (with some estimates running as high as 40,000,000) was one of the most evil tyrants the world has ever known. In modern times, he was paralleled only by Hitler, may their names be erased.

In early 1953, according to many historians, Stalin began to orchestrate a plan which, he intended, would result in the deportation of millions of Jews of the Soviet Union to Siberia and Central Asia and, eventually, to their annihilation.

His ruse began with a blood libel: A group of Jewish doctors were “caught” conspiring to poison top Soviet officials, and thereby “destroy the motherland.” Stoked by the Russian propaganda machine, anti-Semitic hatred was riled against the Jews.

With Stalin poised to take the next step of his nefarious plot – the extent of which was unknown to the public at the time – at least one Jewish leader seems to have known of the scheme.

In his recent testimony given to the My Encounter with the Rebbe project, Reb Yoel Kahan, who participated in the Rebbe’s Farbrengen of Purim, 1953, shared the events of that day which, clearly, played a role in the story’s unexpected ending. As in the original Purim story, “It was turned upside down, and the Jews were victorious over their enemies.”

This special interview was dedicated in loving memory of: Tzvi Yechetzkel Ben Eliezer Gordon.

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4 Comments

    • awacs

      Not sure if you’re right. True, Mao killed more, but Hitler/Stalin killed people for who they were, while Mao basically killed them for convenience.

      And, didn’t Pol Pot kill a larger percentage of Cambodia than any of the three?

      Anyway, it’s hard to overestimate the climate of fear that Stalin had created.I recall reading about shows describing him in the USSR – the audience used to applaud for *hours* afterward – as no one wanted to be the first to stop!

    • Milhouse

      Dead is dead; what difference does it make why someone was killed? And yes, Pol Pot probably killed a bigger percentage of his population, but it was a relatively small population.