Part 2, Chapter 8: Prison—Summary

In some ways, the prison system prepared prisoners for the Gulag. By 1942, prisoners were required to take a daily walk of at least an hour so that they would be physically fit and prepared to help the wartime effort in the camps. Except for prisoners under direct interrogation, prisoners were given eight hours of sleep, and those that were sick received better food and vitamins. Like the camps, prisons also differed from one to another, and across various time periods.

Prison officials tried in various ways to break prisoner solidarity. By 1935, prisoners were forbidden to talk, sing, or shout to one another; to stand by the windows; or in any way try to communicate with individuals, inside or outside the prison. Prisoners were sometimes referred to by a letter rather than their name, so that prisoners could not...