Olga Vyacheslavovna Filippenko,
PhD (Dr. Phil.), Novosibirsk State University of Economics and Management (NSUEM), Novosibirsk, Russia, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Review: Zimmerman D. Ensnared between Hitler and Stalin: Refugee Scientists in the USSR. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2023. VII, 360 pp.
DOI: 10.31518/2618-9100-2025-5-20
David Zimmerman’s new book focuses on the analysis of the fates of 36 German-speaking scholars who fled persecution from Nazi Germany to the Soviet Union. The author examines the lives of these migrants at each stage of their journey. Based on an analysis of events leading up to 1933, Zimmerman demonstrates the heterogeneity of the group of scholars studied and shows how this diversity influenced their subsequent fates and chances of survival. He then proceeds to identify the motives that drove these persecuted intellectuals to seek refuge specifically in the Soviet Union. Ultimately, he concludes that, for the most part, this decision was forced rather than ideologically motivated. Zimmerman assesses the early years of German-speaking scholars in the USSR as relatively successful. They took advantage of the benefits offered by their host country to varying degrees. As a result, they were able to make a significant contribution to the development of Soviet science. However, this did not protect them from further persecution. During the Great Terror, scholars were either arrested or killed by the NKVD, or they were expelled or fled the country. Those who left the Soviet Union faced new challenges. Not all of them survived the Holocaust. However, those who did were forced to flee again. Their new destinations included France, England, Sweden, or, in the case of great fortune, the United States. In addition, Zimmerman evaluates the role of organizations whose activities were intended to support scholars persecuted by the Nazis. Despite attempts by these funds to provide assistance, in practice, researchers often had to fend for themselves. The reviewed book concludes with an analysis of the lives of the descendants of the studied families, which helps to clarify the long-term consequences of the crimes committed by the Nazis.
Publishing: 28/10/2025
The article has been received by the editor on 27/06/2025
How to cite: Filippenko O.V. Review: Zimmerman D. Ensnared between Hitler and Stalin: Refugee Scientists in the USSR. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2023. VII, 360 pp. // Historical Courier, 2025, No. 5 (43), pp. 234−241. [Available online: http://istkurier.ru/data/2025/ISTKURIER-2025-5-20.pdf]
Links: Issue 5 2025
Keywords: history of science; forced migration; cultural adaptation; Stalinism; Nazism; USSR