The Robert Jervis International Security Studies Forum has published a roundtable review of Michael David-Fox’s “Crucibles of Power: Smolensk under Stalinist and Nazi Rule” (Harvard University Press, 2025).

Harvard University Press describes “Crucibles of Power” as a history of WWII-era Smolensk that “traces the experiences of Smolensk residents between the interwar years and the end of World War II, a period during which the city and region passed from Stalinist rule to Nazi occupation and back. The result is a revelatory examination of choice and power under dueling forms of murderous totalitarianism.”

The roundtable review is introduced by Nicole Eaton (Boston College; Harriman Postdoctoral Research Fellow, 2013-14) and features reviews by Peter Fritzsche (University of Illinois), the late Alfred J. Rieber (Central European University; RI, 1954; GSAS, Ph.D., 1959), and Vanessa Voisin (University of Bologna) along with a response by Michael David-Fox (Georgetown University) himself. Alfred J. Rieber’s review is of particular significance as the professor’s final piece of academic writing.

Image Credit: Harvard University Press