acts of sabotage causing the death of hundreds of thousands of people. ...Even at that time Winston had not imagined that the people who were wiped out in the purges had actually committed the crimes that they were accused of.colonies for homeless children (Reclamation Centres, they were called) which had grown up as a result of the civil war; or simply left somewhere to die.scrounging round dust bins and rubbish heaps and also in waiting for the passing of trucks which traveled over a certain route and were known to carry cattle feed which sometimes split a few fragments of oil cake.the piles of rubble everywhere... the unintelligible proclamations posted at street corners... the gangs of youths in shirts all the same colour... the enormous queues outside the bakeries... the intermittent machine-gun fire in the distance.