There certaintly has been a lot of suffering throughout this history of Communism, but from what I've seen of people who lived under Communist rule, many are solid individuals. To characterize Communism as destroying the soul seems a bit much. Perhaps such a characterization might be better used to describe the rule of some of the Communist leaders.
Communism is the devil's work. It strips away human dignity and thought. It erodes human ability and creative drive.