Part 6/9:
The NKVD’s methods were not merely bureaucratic overreach; they were steeped in inhumanity and brutality. The institution is remembered for the vast penal networks created under its aegis, including the infamous Gulag system, which imprisoned millions. The methods of execution evolved to horrific standards, with innovations such as gas vans introduced for mass killings.
One particularly chilling figure in this narrative is Isaiah Berg, who pioneered the use of these gas vans—symbolizing the mechanized depravity that the NKVD embodied. His prowess in carrying out executions soon became a double-edged sword, ultimately leading to his own execution shortly thereafter.