Authors

Discussion

This paper examines representations of guilt in rare memoirs written by the descendants of Stalinist perpetrators, as well as in works of fiction that address the “haunting legacy” (Gabriele Schwab) of state violence from the perspective of the perpetrators’ offspring. The analysis contrasts texts that emphasize a radical ethical rupture between generations — such as My Father Murdered Mikhoels (1978) by Vladimir Gusarov and I Am the Son of an Executioner (2008) by Valery Rodos — with memoirs that seek to justify or downplay the crimes of their ancestors, including those by Svetlana Alliluyeva, Lavrentiy Beria, and others. The study investigates how guilt is constructed on both thematic and narrative levels, exploring its multiple dimensions — psychological, ethical, religious, historical, and political. It further considers how descendants perceive and narrate both personal and collective guilt associated with their forebears.  The paper draws comparative parallels with the German autobiographical tradition of Väterliteratur (“literature about fathers”) of the 1970s–1980s, which articulates intergenerational conflict with the fathers’ generation responsible for the crimes of National Socialism.