Description
Book SynopsisUsing multiple languages, numerous archives, press reports, oral histories, letters, and memoirs, Stalin’s Niños investigates the well-resourced boarding schools designed specifically for nearly 3,000 child refugees from the Spanish Civil War.
Trade Review"Besides telling an important story, the book raises a key theoretical question concerning the results of the double assimilation: How viable were its hybrid products and did they remain truly hybrid in the long-term perspective rather than eventually choosing just one part of their complex social identity?" -- Zukhra Kasimova *
Ab Imperio *
"This is a well-researched and insightful book that should find a broad readership among scholars of the Spanish Civil War, refugee movements, and Soviet history." -- Glennys Young, University of Washington *
Bulletin of Spanish Studies *
"This book is based on rich primary sources, including oral histories, memoirs, official documents from the Spanish archives in Madrid and Barcelona, and Russian archival holdings in Moscow. This broad range of sources creates a balanced, multifaceted narrative that sheds light on the professional dilemmas that children’s mentors and educators faced, as well as the lived experiences of Spanish niños as told in their own words." -- Zukhra Kasimova *
Ab Imperio *
"Qualls offers a unique perspective on the young Spanish Civil War refugees’ lives, while also shedding light on the connection between Soviet foreign and domestic policy on a larger scale." -- Mirjam Galley *
Kritika *
“In Stalin’s Niños, Qualls provides an exemplary model of how excellent scholarship can tell memorable stories about extraordinary lives.” -- E. Thomas Ewing Virginia Tech *
American Historical Review *
“The achievement of this excellent, highly readable, and meticulously researched book should not be understated.” -- Daniel Kowalsky, Queen’s University, Belfast *
Journal of Family History *
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations, Maps, and Tables Acknowledgments List of Abbreviations Introduction 1. “Like Reaching Paradise after Being in Hell": The Turbulent Transition from Spain to the USSR 2. “We, the Spanish, Were like an Island”: Boarding Schools and Personnel as Loci and Models of Care and Soviet Values 3. Obuchenie: Classroom Instruction, Patriotism, and the Instilling of Soviet Values 4. Vospitanie: Kul’turnost’ and Kruzhki as Techniques of Normative Behaviour Training 5. Becoming Soviet in Traumatic Times: Life in War, 1939–1944 6. No Longer Children: Transitioning to Adulthood during War and Reconstruction Conclusion: Life after Stalin Glossary Notes Bibliography Index
