Children of monsters : an inquiry into the sons and daughters of dictators

262 Pages·2015·2.57 MB·English

by  Nordlinger

From the Same Author
Peace, They Say: A History of the Nobel Peace Prize, the Most Famous and
Controversial Prize in the World (Encounter Books)
Here, There & Everywhere: Collected Writings of Jay Nordlinger (National
Review Books)

© 2015 by Jay Nordlinger
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior written permission of Encounter Books, 900 Broadway, Suite 601, New York, New York,
10003.
First American edition published in 2015 by Encounter Books, an activity of Encounter for Culture and
Education, Inc., a nonprofit, tax exempt corporation.
Encounter Books website address: www.encounterbooks.com
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48–1992 (R 1997)
(Permanence of Paper).
FIRST AMERICAN EDITION
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Nordlinger, Jay, 1963– Children
of monsters : an inquiry into the sons and daughters of dictators / Jay Nordlinger.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-59403-816-7 (ebook)
1. Children of criminals. 2. Dictators—Family relationships. 3. Parent and child. 4. Totalitarianism—Social
aspects. I. Title.
HV6251.N67 2015
321.9092′2—dc23
2015005297
PHOTO CREDITS
HITLER: German Federal Archive via Wikimedia Commons, Creative
Commons: Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-S33882/CC-BY-SA JEAN-MARIE
LORET: Paris Match
MUSSOLINI: Wikimedia Commons
EDDA CIANO: © Massimo & Sonia Cirulli Archive, New York FRANCO:
Government of Spain via Wikimedia Commons
CARMEN FRANCO: José Demaría Vázquez in La Vanguardia via
CampuaFotografo.es
STALIN: Wikimedia Commons
YAKOV DZHUGASHVILI: Wikimedia Commons
VASILY & SVETLANA WITH STALIN: Wikimedia Commons SVETLANA
& FATHER: Wikimedia Commons
TOJO: Rekidai Shusho tou Shashin via Wikimedia Commons KIMIE TOJO &
MOTHER: © Bettmann / Corbis MAO: Zhang Zhenshi via Wikimedia
Commons
LI NA & LI MIN WITH MAO: Wikimedia Commons KIM: Gilad Rom via
Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons
KIM JONG-IL: Presidential Press and Information Office via Wikimedia
Commons, Creative Commons KIM JONG-UN: Peter Stevens via Flickr,
Creative Commons HOXHA: Forrásjelölés Hasonló via Wikimedia
Commons, Creative Commons ILIR HOXHA: Bota Sot
CEAUŞESCU: © Gianni Ferrari / Contributor / Getty Images
NICU CEAUŞESCU: Communism in Romania Photo Collection via Wikimedia
Commons VALENTIN CEAUŞESCU: Cristian Otopeanu via Wikimedia
Commons, Creative Commons DUVALIER: © Hulton Archive / Stringer /
Getty Images
PAPA DOC & BABY DOC DUVALIER: BlackPast.org
CASTRO: Antonio Milena via Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons
ANTONIO CASTRO: © Adalberto Roque / Staff / Getty Images ALINA
FERNÁNDEZ: Wikimedia Commons
QADDAFI: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class
Jesse B. Awalt via Wikimedia Commons SAIF AL-ISLAM QADDAFI: ©
John Schults / Reuters / Corbis ASSAD: Government Photographer via
Wikimedia Commons
BASSEL ASSAD: Wikimedia Commons
BASHAR ASSAD: Fabio Rodrigues Pozzebom via Wikimedia Commons,
Creative Commons SADDAM HUSSEIN: Wikimedia Commons
UDAY & QUSAY WITH SADDAM: © Associated Press KHOMEINI:
Wikimedia Commons
AHMAD KHOMEINI: Wikimedia Commons
MOBUTU: Frank Hall via Wikimedia Commons
NZANGA MOBUTU: Radio Okapi via Wikimedia Commons BOKASSA:
Romanian Communism Online Photo Collection via Wikimedia Commons,
Creative Commons JEAN-BÉDEL BOKASSA JR.: © Keystone / Stinger /
Getty Images AMIN: BlackPast.org
JAFFAR AMIN: Courtesy of Jaffar Amin
MENGISTU: Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons: at Hebrew
Wikipedia MENGISTU WITH CHILDREN: Durame
POL POT: Lazer Horse
SAR PATCHATA: Heng Chivoan via Phnom Penh Post
To David Pryce-Jones, an exemplary thinker, writer, and friend
CONTENTS
Foreword
1. HITLER
2. MUSSOLINI
3. FRANCO
4. STALIN
5. TOJO
6. MAO
7. KIM
8. HOXHA
9. CEAUŞESCU
10. DUVALIER
11. CASTRO
12. QADDAFI
13. ASSAD
14. SADDAM
15. KHOMEINI
16. MOBUTU
17. BOKASSA
18. AMIN
19. MENGISTU
20. POL POT
Afterword
A Note on Sources
Acknowledgements
Index
FOREWORD
T
his peculiar book came about in a peculiar way: In 2002, I was visiting
Albania for the first time, speaking under State Department auspices. The
country was ten years beyond the collapse of Communism. Many of the old
structures were in place, however; democracy was not quite flourishing (nor is it
today). For some 40 years, Albania had been ruled by a dictator outstanding in
his cruelty: Enver Hoxha. Hoxha achieved an almost perfect tyranny. No one
could breathe. One of his few rivals was Kim Il-sung, in North Korea. Hoxha
was known as “Sole Force.” In Albania, that was pretty much true.
Toward the end of my visit, a young intellectual from a government ministry
was assigned to show me around. In the course of our tour, I thought about
Hoxha and his complete domination of the country. He was gone now—dead.
But I had a question for my guide: “Did Hoxha have children?” Yes, he did:
three of them, two sons and a daughter. “Are they still in Albania?” Oh, yes.
“And what are they doing?” Well, the daughter was an architect, and she had
helped design the shrine to her father. As for the sons, they were dabbling in
politics or business—it was a little unclear.
I wondered what it must be like to be the son or daughter of Hoxha. To bear
a name synonymous with oppression, murder, terror, and evil. I thought it might
make a good subject for a magazine article: the Hoxha children. I also thought a
broader study of sons and daughters of dictators might make a good book. I
tucked the idea away, mentally. Eventually, there came a time to act on it.
This book will present 20 dictators and their offspring. Twenty is a nice
round number, and you might think I aimed for it—or added or subtracted a
couple of brutes to arrive at it. In point of fact, I drew up a list of dictators I
thought I should survey, and it came to 20. They are all modern dictators, by
which I mean, they ruled in the 20th century. (One of them, Fidel Castro, ruled