Resources to teach about Communism?

[Halftime Hope]

Hi ladies! You have never failed me yet when I've asked for opinions and suggestions! Can I run another one by you?

 

I'm preparing to teach a Jr. High level Modern History class next year. (1700 - current)

 

I'm looking for two things: 1) a short book or article that was a primer on Communism, not just the theory, but the real world way it has played out. 2) Perhaps a short read, fiction or non-fiction, on someone's life under communism, which would give them a feel for the suffering, just like Diary of Anne Frank or the Hiding Place for Nazi totalitarianism.

 

I was thinking of having the kids read Animal Farm. I read it last year, and I don't think it is above their heads.

 

 

Thanks!!

[8filltheheart]

China under Communism is a young adult/juvenille book. It is not short, but it is the most accurate representation I could find when trying to find info. It is quite shocking when you look at books on communism b/c the vast majority embrace communist philosophy. I had to search for a book that discussed the realities of life under communism vs. saying things like the students at tiananmen square deserved what happened or were only arrested. This book tells the truth about the children's "army" and other atrocities.

 

http://www.amazon.com/China-Under-Communism-Michael-Kort/dp/1562944509

Edited April 9, 2009 by 8FillTheHeart

[Laura Corin]

If you Google Laura in China, you will find my Amazon lists. There is one for Chinese history; some of the later titles on the list might provide what you are looking for.

 

Laura

[Miss Marple]

It is probably longer than you want, but Clarence Carson's Basic Communism might be hlpful. Also, The Communist Manifesto by Marx and Engles is a small booklet used in Quine's WVWW Year 2 course (along with Animal Farm).

[Annabel Lee]

The Venola (sp? could be Venolba or Venoba?) Secrets are secrets of the KGB made public. Not all of them, of course, but some from a small slice of time between the fall of the USSR and when the KGB put it all back under wraps. It's not the name of a book, but a set of documents. I have no idea how hard or easy they'd be to look up.

 

Also, there are many Russian journalists who've been threatened and killed (some as recently as the last couple of years) for voicing their dissent against the Russian gov't. The underground former KGB has followed these people to England and to the U.S. and has attacked and killed them there. If you do a search on this you should find at least 2 stories, as I just saw them on TV (documentary-style stuff on History Channel or PBS) within the last year.

 

I know those aren't exact titles, sorry I can't provide any, but hopefully they'll be easy to find!

[Liza Q]

The Endless Steppe - Hautzig. Takes place in Siberia after WW2.

 

Red Scarf Girl - Jiang. Takes place in China during the Cultural Revolution.

 

They are true stories but written in an accessible, almost fictional style, if that makes sense. Both are fairly short and, I think, appropriate for Junior High ages.

[Mandy in TN]

10,000 Days of Thunder

 

Cobblestone Magazine has an issue titled Cold War. You can go to the link and see the teacher's guide for free. It will give you some idea of what all is covered.

 

Jackdaw carries two different packs that cover the Cold War.

 

HTH-

Mandy

[asta]

Wait - the link didn't work...

 

OK - Marxists.org/

Edited April 9, 2009 by asta

[Cathy in TX]

I was thinking of having the kids read Animal Farm. I read it last year, and I don't think it is above their heads.

 

 

Thanks!!

 

I just had my 7th grader read Animal Farm, and it was totally accessible to him. It helped that he had read Albert Marrin's "Stalin; Russia's Man of Steel" just before he started Animal Farm. The connections were leaping out at him. While doing his first day's reading, he came to me and asked if Napoleon was Stalin and Snowball was Trotsky. The only one that stumped him for a while was Benjamin, but he eventually figured him out on his own.

 

We used Sparknotes to aid the literary analysis, which worked well.

 

This was one of our favorite books this year. I hope you guys enjoy it as much as we did!

 

Cathy

[elizabeth]

 

http://www.amazon.com/Gates-November-Chaim-Potok/dp/044991240X The Gates of November by Chaim Potok is one of the best books on the subject of living in USSR under Stalin, Kruschev and Brezhnev. Furthermore it shows clearly the perils of being Jewish and trying to survive in a totalitarian ,communist regime. I cannot recommend it highly enough for the breadth and depth with which it is written. I also learned much from reading Red Scarf Girl . For a general overview ,I am using Richard Pipes's book , Communism but as others have pointed out it falls short in terms of being critical of the equal and opposite reaction to communism-horrific human rights abuses under new totalitarian regimes from the opposite side of the political spectrum. I have not found anything else to meet my standards so it remains the text around which our discussions will take place next spring when we cover the material.

[Mandy in TN]

oh, another one-

The Wall: Growing up behind the Iron Curtain by Peter Sis

[Lori D.]

And good old Wikipedia has an article on communism -- the basic tenets, the different forms it has taken, and then a history of how it has played out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communism

[moki4]

We just watched "Red's".

Highly recommended.

[Samuel]

I would second Animal Farm and the Manifesto.

 

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich is probably too hard for middle school, but would be a good "teacher read."

 

The Verona papers are the Soviet archives a poster was refering to earlier.

Also The Mitrokhin Archive has a lot of details leaked by a KGB defector. Neither of these would be accesable to middle school students.

 

A chapter of Fitzroy Maclean's Eastern Approaches has a good account of Stalin's show trials. Maclean was a British diplomat posted to Moscow in the 30s. That might be a chapter worth copying and distributing.

[Storm Bay]

The first think I thought of when I saw your title was to read The Communist Manifesto, and I see it's been recommended. Many people think they know what the theory is, but they don't because they've never read it.

 

Ayn Rand's first novel is about a woman who seeks to escape communist Russia in the early years, and I recommend it. It's far shorter than Atlas Shrugged or her other long novel (I only read the 2 I named.)

 

My grandparents had to flee communism due to religious persecution, and it was ugly. People were often shot with no questions asked during the revolutions.

[Karenciavo]

The first think I thought of when I saw your title was to read The Communist Manifesto, and I see it's been recommended. Many people think they know what the theory is, but they don't because they've never read it.

 

I agree, start with this.

[Halftime Hope]

I knew you would have some great ideas!!

 

Having grown up in Latin America, I remember hearing stories and even having some of the communist conflict hit *very painfully* close to home, but I needed to be able to detach from that and teach this as an overall "topic," rather than as an emotional rant.

 

Thank you for all your input!!

[lllll]

Tortured for His Faith: An Epic of Christian Courage and Heroism in Our Day by Popov, Haralan

 

http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?sts=t&tn=Tortured+For+His+Faith%3A+An+Epic+of+Christian+Courage+and+Heroism+in+Our+Day.&x=57&y=12

 

This was an excellent real-life autobio of a minister who survived a brutal imprisonment under communism. We read this aloud and discussed the many, many ways the communist system works to do what it does.

 

HTH.

 

Kathy

Edited April 10, 2009 by ksva

[Storm Bay]

Tortured for His Faith: An Epic of Christian Courage and Heroism in Our Day by Popov, Haralan

 

http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?sts=t&tn=Tortured+For+His+Faith%3A+An+Epic+of+Christian+Courage+and+Heroism+in+Our+Day.&x=57&y=12

 

This was an excellent real-life autobio of a minister who survived a brutal imprisonment under communism. We read this aloud and discussed the many, many ways the communist system works to do what it does.

 

HTH.

 

Kathy

 

One of my great uncles spent 20 years one step ahead of the communists as a lay preacher. When they arrested him he was sent away and never heard from again. Not the same person, of course.

[Mary in WA]

One that I enjoyed as an adult and had my older teens read is "Witness" by Whitaker Chambers. It is his autobiography and tells why he was a Communist, what happened to him that made him realize there IS a God, and how he became a Christian. Such a great, but long, book!

[nykatie]

The Venola (sp? could be Venolba or Venoba?) Secrets are secrets of the KGB made public.

 

I thought it was Venona. A book is available on the intercepts, although I forget the author's name. Anyway, some interesting 20th century history books I enjoyed recently (for adults) were Blacklisted by History by M. Stanton Evans, Modern Times by Paul Johnson, Liberal Fascism by Jonah Goldberg and The Cambridge Spies, can't remember the author. Also, 1968 by Mark Kurlansky was a great follow-up to the Goldberg and Johnson books because it continues the links between the earlier progressives and the '60s radicals, although with a perspective shift: Kurlansky is solidly on the side of the radicals!

 

Our Lady of Victory School (www.olvs.org), a Catholic supplier, sells a couple of books on the topic labeled for 11th grade. I haven't read them, but the titles are: Masters of Deceit and The Naked Communist. Another book, 1917 Red Banner--White Mantle looks like it covers some of the issues, but is mostly focused on the end of the Hapsburgs. They also sell a booklet called Atheistic Communism.

 

HTH

[Donna A.]

I'll put a plug in here for Brother Andrew's biography, God's Smuggler. Even if you're not a Christian, his story will give you insights into life behind the Iron Curtain and the persecution of those who are Christians. It's made us that much more thankful that *so far*, we still enjoy religious freedom in this country. I do, however, think that American Christian families ought to be preparing their/our children for the possibility of religious freedom (and conservative Christianity in particular) being taken away from us.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brother_Andrew

[Annabel Lee]

Larry Schwiekart's (sp?) books, particularly 48 Liberal Lies, shines some light on this but includes other topics as well. U.S. kids these days are not learning enough about communism, and when they do, they're not learning enough truth about it. I'll just say that I agree w/ Donna above about preparing for change.

[elizabeth]

For what it is worth , to even begin to compare life in the United States as a Christian to life under totalitarian communism is grossly disrespectful to those who suffered mightily under communism and those who continue to suffer human rights abuses that we cannot even imagine. Read the biography of Pope John Paul II by Carl Bernstein , The Gates of November by Chaim Potok about the refuseniks in the USSR , the unimaginable sufferings of the Jewish people trapped behind the Iron Curtain are in no way compared to whatever hardships you percieve you face as being conservative christians in the United States. As a side note I am a practicing Catholic and a moderate individual in all matters but this comparison of "what could happen in the US to freedom of religion "due to the new administration is a dubious and highly offensive comment . Communism by Richard Pipes would be a solid start to learning why the pov espoused on this thread is not in any way related to historical facts .

[Beth in SW WA]

I do, however, think that American Christian families ought to be preparing their/our children for the possibility of religious freedom (and conservative Christianity in particular) being taken away from us.

 

 

:iagree:

Nothing can be taken for granted anymore.

 

I will honor SWB's rules and not bring a political debate here.

[Halftime Hope]

I will honor SWB's rules and not bring a political debate here.

 

Thank you, Beth.

 

To anyone else who would like to post more to this thread:

 

As the OP of this thread, who is learning so much from it and would hate for it to be shut down, I'm going to ask that we consciously step away from going political with this and stick to the original topic.

 

Thank you ladies, each and every one, for your input. I *really* appreciate your generosity in posting to help me out!

 

Valerie

[Spy Car]

I know I read both Orwell's Animal Farm and 1984 in Junior High, as well as Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's short novella One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich . These all seem very do-able and meet your criteria (especially One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich ).

 

I might also recommend Marx for Beginners by Rius. This is an under-ground comic book style work, by an author much less critical of Marxism than the authors above (an understatement as Rius is left-wing), still it is a very engaging and well distilled introduction to Marxism that a bright middle-schooler could understand more easily than reading The Communist Manifesto or as a precursor to reading Marx.

 

Bill

[Annabel Lee]

For what it is worth , to even begin to compare life in the United States as a Christian to life under totalitarian communism is grossly disrespectful to those who suffered mightily under communism and those who continue to suffer human rights abuses that we cannot even imagine. Read the biography of Pope John Paul II by Carl Bernstein , The Gates of November by Chaim Potok about the refuseniks in the USSR , the unimaginable sufferings of the Jewish people trapped behind the Iron Curtain are in no way compared to whatever hardships you percieve you face as being conservative christians in the United States. As a side note I am a practicing Catholic and a moderate individual in all matters but this comparison of "what could happen in the US to freedom of religion "due to the new administration is a dubious and highly offensive comment . Communism by Richard Pipes would be a solid start to learning why the pov espoused on this thread is not in any way related to historical facts .

 

Maybe I need to go back and read through the posts again, but just to clear it up, I don't think anyone here specified the current administration. Fwiw, I agree with you that life *right now* in the US as a conservative Christian is not even comparable to the atrocities of communsim, which I am well aware of. I don't want to get into anything about politics here, since that's not allowed, but I didn't want you left feeling so highly offended. I hope I was able to clarify w/o continuing the part of the conversation that needed to be dropped.

[Donna A.]

Maybe I need to go back and read through the posts again, but just to clear it up, I don't think anyone here specified the current administration. Fwiw, I agree with you that life *right now* in the US as a conservative Christian is not even comparable to the atrocities of communsim, which I am well aware of. I don't want to get into anything about politics here, since that's not allowed, but I didn't want you left feeling so highly offended. I hope I was able to clarify w/o continuing the part of the conversation that needed to be dropped.

 

Agree. My post was simply another book suggestion to add to the list that the op was requesting. No one said that our life here and now is just like life behind Iron Curtain 50-60 years ago. I was, however, suggesting a book/biography about someone who WAS there and witnessed it with his own eyes. Isn't that our goal as educators... to teach history from the *various* perspectives of those who witnessed the events, and to prepare our children for the future? Isn't this exactly what the public schools have failed at doing?

 

I'm sorry you were offended, Elizabeth, but my post was in NO WAY intended to make the comparison that you suggested.

[elizabeth]

I appreciate the clarification and response to my post. This is a very important topic and I look forward to hearing from others regarding resources both textual and visual. Thank you once again for listening to me and clarifying your thoughts.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

nt

Edited April 17, 2009 by Sebastian (a lady)
duplicate

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Hi ladies! You have never failed me yet when I've asked for opinions and suggestions! Can I run another one by you?

 

I'm preparing to teach a Jr. High level Modern History class next year. (1700 - current)

 

I'm looking for two things: 1) a short book or article that was a primer on Communism, not just the theory, but the real world way it has played out. 2) Perhaps a short read, fiction or non-fiction, on someone's life under communism, which would give them a feel for the suffering, just like Diary of Anne Frank or the Hiding Place for Nazi totalitarianism.

 

I was thinking of having the kids read Animal Farm. I read it last year, and I don't think it is above their heads.

 

 

Thanks!!

 

DH wrote a Cold War unit study for my kids last year. He has read a lot of Russian, and Chinese history over the years. Here are some of the books that were on his list.

Red Scarf Girl

The Endless Steppe

Lenin for Beginners

Marx for Beginners

Mao for Beginners

Escape to West Berlin (We lived in Berlin for three years. I really like this book, which I think is not well known enough)

MiG Pilot

 

I also like One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, Grey is the Color of Hope and In The Beginning (sadly these seem to be out of print)

 

DH read parts of Stalin: Russia's Man of Steel and thought it was well done.

 

Not strictly a book on Communism, but dh is also a big fan of the book Failsafe as an illustration of the tensions of cold war mutually assured destruction. There is an older movie version of this book as well. It helps to communicate some of what was held to be at stake during the cold war.

[jellogirl]

Red Scarf Girl - Jiang. Takes place in China during the Cultural Revolution.

.

 

This is a great story and a good look at life under Communism. Definitely go for Animal Farm. Another interesting read is God's Smuggler by Brother Andrew, which chronicles his adventures smuggling Bibles into Communist countries during the Cold War.