What They Said: Nadezhda Mandelstam

Widow Of Osip

“When I used to read about the French Revolution as a child, I often wondered whether it was possible to survive during a reign of terror. I now know behind doubt that it is impossible. Anybody who breathes the air of terror is doomed, even if nominally he manages to save his life. Everybody is a victim—not only those who died, but also all the killers, ideologists, accomplices and sycophants who close their eyes or wash their hands—even if they are secretly consumed with remorse at night. Every section of the population has been through the terrible sickness caused by terror, and none has so far recovered, or become fit again for normal civic life. It is an illness that is passed on to the next generation, so that the sons pay for the sins of the fathers and perhaps only the grandchildren begin to get over it—or at least it takes on a different form with them.”

Hope Against Hope: A Memoir

Nadezhda Mandelstam