ABSTRACT
Osip Mandelstam and Pinchas Kahanovitch were only two victims of the Soviet labor-camp system. Similar files still exist for millions of others. Further study of these files can help bring a better understanding of the working of this system. For instance, a researcher could trace the formalization of bureaucratic routine from the relatively crude records kept in the late 1930s to the much more sophisticated records kept in the 1940s. Most importantly, publication of more information on the labor-camp system can prevent future generations from denying its existence or minimizing its scale. Further study might also help identify numerous villains and a few heroes. Most of those involved in processing these prisoners appeared to have been concerned only with carrying out orders and producing bureaucratically acceptable paperwork. Only the physicians who took a real interest in Der Nister are an exception. An understanding of the camp records system may help others find their way through the records to learn the fate of friends and loved ones.
