ABSTRACT
The shock of the sudden and wholly unexpected arrest completely unnerved Solzhenitsyn. He was stunned, mortified, and bewildered and felt, like so many before him, that there must have been some mistake. It was courageous because his very arrest proclaimed Solzhenitsyn “an enemy of the people” or, rather, “an enemy of the toiling masses,” as the formula ran in those days. Solzhenitsyn was driven to the brigade Smersh headquarters, where he was searched and the contents of his case were examined. The forty-sixth Army Smersh headquarters was situated in a former vicarage in the small Prussian town of Osterode. Solzhenitsyn’s clothing and suitcase were searched once more, his suitcase was sealed, and his cigarette-case was again confiscated by the major, who accused Solzhenitsyn of having concealed it from him.
