They
did it in a way that puzzled jurists and psychologists the world over. At each
of the trials the defendants took upon themselves, without the slightest hesitation,
the most horrible crimes. They called themselves traitors to socialism and accomplices
of fascism. They helped the prosecutor to find the most biting and humiliating
epithets to use against them. They vied with one another in self-flagellation,
each claiming for himself the most active part in the conspiracy and a larger
share of responsibility before the law, and with a zeal that was incomprehensible,
the defendants played the part of their own prosecutors.
- The Secret History of Stalin’s Crimes
by Alexander Orlov
