Fascinating topic. If the walls could talk, they'd know to keep their mouths shut.

Isn't it pretty well established that Stalin had the Mrs knocked off, or did the deed himself?

Is it just me or do the bathrooms look eerily like the filthy public toilets at Pike Market in Seattle?

Was Stalin a great tactician or did he just have waves of humans to throw at the enemy? If nothing else, he had the population by the short hairs. Eyes were literally everywhere. He was happy to make the sacrifices, as was said earlier. Made no effort to get his kid released when he was picked up by the Germans. It was amazing the kind of fear he could generate in what, the 15 years from Lenin's death to when Hitler did a heel turn on him? He had to break assloads of eggs to make that kind of omlette.

I've always thought both Hitler and Stalin were less brilliant military leaders than they were simply bully boys. They basically got by on bluff and posturing, right up until they went head to head. By then both thought they were 8 feet tall and bulletproof. Add to that they were both big on symbolic victories. Stalingrad being a perfect example. Two punch drunk boxers with nothing left just flailing at each for a year over a scrap of land with an unfortunately symbolic name.

As Americans, we don't know shit about true tyranny. We wet our shorts over the gov knowing what books we check out at the library, or knowing our financial statements. It was by the grace of God that your granddad was able to prosper to the point he was, because a lot didn't. For no reason other than ending up on a list to fill a quota.