Letter to International Spy Museum About Inaccuracies Scott Manning September 5, 2006

This is a letter I sent to the International Spy Museum in DC to address some inaccuracies I saw while visiting.

I had the pleasure of visiting the International Spy Museum in DC on the 3rd of September, 2006. The admission price of $15 was well worth it in the end. While the beginning of the museum was cheesy, I was ultimately fascinated walking room to room learning about the history of spying, espionage, and counter-intelligence.

Which is why I am writing this letter to address a few inaccuracies that stuck out to me. Please understand that I have no ax to grind and only wish to see others enjoy the museum as I did, but hopefully these issues can be addressed.

Stalin's 10 million dead

The room dedicated to the USSR captured the feel of Communist Russia perfectly - Dark, red, and deadly. At least, this is what the movies portray. The key figures each had a blurb: Lenin, Trotsky, and Stalin.

However, the blurb on Stalin gave an estimate of 10 million being killed by this ruler between 1924 and 1953. This number is grossly underestimated and I'm baffled as to its origin.

The most common estimate for Soviet citizens killed by Stalin is 20 million. This originated from a 1968 book by Robert Conquest called The Great Terror: Stalin's Purge of the Thirties. However, this number only covered specific types of deaths during certain years. Conquest even said of this number that it is "almost certainly too low and might require an increase of 50 percent or so".

A more complete mid-estimate for those killed by Stalin is 43 million*. This was determined by R. J. Rummel who has researched 100's of estimates for deaths in the Soviet Union. By attributing only 10 million dead Soviets to Stalin, you are painting a picture that only shows one fourth of the real terror.

* Rummel, R. J. (1996). Lethal politics: Soviet genocide and mass murder since 1917 (1st paperback ed.). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers. (See it on Amazon)

Joe McCarthy and the HUAC

When trying to give perspective to the Red Scare and McCarthyism, it has been common place to lump the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) and Joe McCarthy together. The problem is that most people confuse the purpose and results of each. This is misleading.

For one, the HUAC took place in the House where McCarthy was in the Senate. Also, the HUAC was doing all its questioning before McCarthy was even elected.

The video being played repeatedly shows McCarthy questioning an unknown person. The next clips are of an actor, a writer, and Walt Disney testifying in front of the HUAC. By splicing these clips in this manner you have given the appearance that McCarthy targeted people in Hollywood, but the reality is that not a single person in Hollywood sat in front of McCarthy.

To confuse the situation even more, the text on the wall concerning the HUAC starts off by saying "Often associated with Joe McCarthy, the HUAC was responsible for..."

The text doesn't bother to clarify that there was no association between McCarthy and HUAC.

Closing

I spent several hours in the International Spy Museum and will probably go again, but I hope that you will review these inaccuracies and address them.

Thank you for your time.

Scott Manning
Philadelphia, PA

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