“He had never killed a child; he had never arrested anyone. But he had broken the fragile dyke that protected the purity of his soul from the seething darkness around him. The blood of the camps and the ghettos had… — Vasily Grossman Copy Share Image
“To Polyakov it was as though a fierce wind from downstream was sweeping up the Volga. Several times he was knocked off his feet; he fell to the ground no longer knowing what world he lived in, whether he was… — Vasily Grossman Copy Share Image
“When a person dies, they cross over from the realm of freedom to the realm of slavery. Life is freedom, and dying is a… — Vasily Grossman Copy Share Image
“Life was terrible. It was as though they could understand, as though they could read in one another’s eyes, that the power which had… — Vasily Grossman Copy Share Image
“She's got legs like a stork, no arse worth speaking of, and great cow-like eyes. call that a woman?' 'You just like big tits',… — Vasily Grossman Copy Share Image
“The true champions of a nation's freedom are those who reject the limitations of stereotypes and affirm the rich diversity of human nature to… — Vasily Grossman Copy Share Image
I don't want you to be young and beautiful. I only want one thing. I want you to be kind-hearted - and not just… — Vasily Grossman Copy Share Image
“My faith has been tempered in Hell. My faith has emerged from the flames of the crematoria, from the concrete of the gas chamber.… — Vasily Grossman Copy Share Image
“Another fact that allowed Fascism to gain power over men was their blindness. A man cannot believe that he is about to be destroyed.… — Vasily Grossman Copy Share Image
Chekhov said: let's put God - and all these grand progressive ideas - to one side. Let's begin with man; let's be kind and… — Vasily Grossman Copy Share Image
“Before the war Sofya Levinton had once said to Yevgenia Nikolaevna Shaposhnikova, 'If one man is fated to be killed by another, it would… — Vasily Grossman Copy Share Image
“Freedom is the direct opposite of necessity; freedom is necessity overcome.” — Vasily Grossman Copy Share Image
There's nothing more difficult than saying goodbye to a house where you've suffered. — Vasily Grossman Copy Share Image
“The travelers emerged into a spacious square. In the middle of this square were several dozen people on a wooden bandstand like in a… — Vasily Grossman Copy Share Image
