Memories of Ezzat Shahi

Memories of Ezzat Shahi is a collection of recollections by Ezzat Shahi, who survived the brutal confrontations with the Shah’s regime, including the deadly blows of SAVAK and the psychological tortures of interrogation and imprisonment, and lived to witness the victory of the Islamic Revolution. Although Shahi briefly served as a planner and executor within the nascent revolutionary system of the Islamic Republic, he soon stepped away, observing subsequent events and their consequences from a distance. The reasons for this withdrawal, as well as his engagement with revolutionary currents before and after the revolution, are revealed in his eloquent conversations and memoirs.

Beyond personal anecdotes, joys, sorrows, and the everyday experiences of life, Shahi’s memories provide a historical account of two decades of struggle against the Shah’s regime, the fate of militant political movements, and the stories of individuals who, regardless of their ideology or creed, rose to pursue timeless human ideals—justice, equality, and a society free of discrimination—and shed blood for them.

Shahi recounts these events fearlessly, challenging many prominent political figures and movements of contemporary history. His narratives and analyses are presented without bias toward personalities, factions, or parties, motivated solely by a sense of historical duty. In his memoirs, he critically examines numerous anti-Shah organizations and revolutionary groups active in the 1940s and 1950s.

To document the book, the compiler conducted extensive research using a variety of written, electronic, and oral sources. Around three thousand documents—including news reports, incident reports, and biographical accounts of key figures before and after the revolution—were reviewed and cross-checked with Shahi. The result is this comprehensive oral history, which distinguishes itself from other memoirs by corroborating Shahi’s recollections with statements from other contemporary figures, gathered through painstaking interviews.

Kazemi has worked to provide as much evidence and documentation as possible for the events and characters described, reconstructing historical truth with clarity. Descriptions of individuals’ appearances and traits are included whenever possible, allowing readers to form their own judgments. The book’s appeal lies not only in the compelling storytelling of Shahi’s experiences but also in its inclusion of practical documents and photographs, each accompanied by explanatory captions aligned with the text and footnotes.