Since execution often took place in the basements of the militia HQ, bodies were buried not too far away. He said trenches were made into which the bodies of the "enemies of the state" were dumped and covered with lime, then another layer of bodies was placed and the procedure repeated.
When we asked grandfather how he felt about doing his work, he only repeated that they were "enemies of the state" and he thought what they did was right.

What does nationalism have to do with it? They stoked patriotism, which is different.

The truth is that Stalin is far from being the cannibal that he is portrayed asby many historians. And the archives confirm this.
Nobody denies the fact of repressions but that was a necessary step in a country that was getting close to the war with Germany