Doctors' plot: Encyclopedia II - Doctors' plot - Background

Doctors' plot - Background

In the course of the Cold War and the State of Israel allying with the West, the Soviet regime eliminated the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee in 1948 and launched an anti-Semitic campaign against so-called "rootless cosmopolitans".

In a November 1952 public conference regarding the Prague Trials, the President of Czechoslovakia Klement Gottwald announced: "During the investigation, we discovered how treason and espionage infiltrate the ranks of the Communist Party. This channel is Zionism" (Pravda 1952, November 21). One of the charges brought against Rudolf Slánský was "taking active steps to cut short" Gottwald's life with the help of "hand-picked doctors from the enemy camp." On December 3, former Communist leaders of Czechoslovakia (11 out of 13 were Jews) were executed.

In a December 1, 1952, Politburo session, Stalin announced: "Every Jew is a nationalist and potential agent of the American intelligence" (Recorded by Vice-Chair of the Sovmin V.A. Malyshev)[1]. One of the agenda items of December 4 meeting of the Presidium of the CPSU was "The situation in MGB and sabotage in the ranks of medical workers". It was brought by Stalin and vice-minister of MGB (Ministry of State Security) S.A. Goglidze. "Without me", Stalin claimed, "the country would be destroyed because you are unable to recognize enemies." An outcome of this session was a decision to consolidate all intelligence and counter-intelligence services under the GRU, headed by S.I. Ogoltsov (later accused of organizing the killing of Solomon Mikhoels in 1948).

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Background", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki