Tag #142581 - Interview #91884 (Leonid Aptekar)

Later, after the Twentieth Party Congress [40], when Khrushchev spoke about Stalin’s crime, we understood what a monster he was in reality. I knew that he had ordered to remove the high-ranked Jews from the army before and during the Great Patriotic War. They were arrested and executed. Since there were many Jewish commanders in the army, Stalin actually beheaded the army. We knew that the wives of many members of the government were taken to the GULAG. I think that Beriya [41] removed Stalin from his way. He did not have to kill Stalin. It was enough to not call a doctor to his attendance, when Stalin had another attack of his disease. Beriya was executed. Of course, I did not believe what Khrushchev said at once. I was thinking and comparing. However, I knew that what Khrushchev said was true, while many people did not believe it then and do not believe it now.