Evaluating the Historical Comparisons of Hitler and Stalin “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely, great men almost always are bad men.”
Lord Acton 1887
No other men could fit this description of power and corruption more perfectly than Hitler and Stalin. Throughout history they have been both idolised and demonised leading to the overwhelming fascination the world has with them. Both successfully rose to heights of power in their own countries which was unprecedented, they were able to manipulate the public, had strong ideologies and regimes and between them they were responsible for the deaths of millions of innocent people. Although on the surface these two men were
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After this it became clear the true extent of the crime which was committed under Stalin. As a result there was a flood of historical comparisons made of the two by leading historians such as Ernst Nolte, Allan Bullock, Ian Kershaw and Richard Overy to name but a few. They all similarly focus on key issues such as their rise to power, ideologies, propaganda, education, art and culture, terror regimes, violence and mass murder. Although there are clearly many similarities between Hitler and Stalin and their regimes, historians in more recent years have attempted to turn this view on its head by claiming that the comparison argument is misconceived because there are more dissimilarities than similarities.[1] Historical studies along this scholarly line was extensive throughout the end of the 20th century and now into the 21st century proving that Hitler and Stalin are still two major figures in history that require continued exploration and investigation in order to understand why two men and regimes which were polar opposites were in fact fundamentally similar.
To evaluate and understand the historical comparisons of Hitler and Stalin awareness of the origins of this fascination is required. The earliest attempt to compare the two is believed to have originated from the work of Hannah Arendt who in 1951
This essay will compare the three leaders who are famous for their dictatorship and totalitarianism during the 30's decade-Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini and Joseph Stalin. Totalitarianism is when a government gains absolute and total control over the country, including the freedom of thought and will as well as the citizen?s lifestyle, no other political parties are allowed and has the concept where the country is most important. The difference and similarity between their ideology, usage of propaganda & censorship and the method of improving the economy would be stated and explained through examples. Basically, their ultimate aim was the same, they all tried to make their country better. However, there was their own ambition wanting for
There were differences between Hitler and Napoleon, however I feel there were more similarities. They were both immigrants in the country they ended up ruling, both conquered most of Europe, both had radical views about fighting, and both were very quick in their fighting. However, the most significant similarities between the two leaders is how they were accepted as monarchs in a previously democratic society, and what they did for the countries after becoming monarchs.
The debate as to whether Hitler was a ‘weak dictator’ or ‘Master of the Third Reich’ is one that has been contested by historians of Nazi Germany for many years and lies at the centre of the Intentionalist – Structuralist debate. On the one hand, historians such as Bullock, Bracher, Jackel and Hildebrand regard Hitler’s personality, ideology and will as the central locomotive in the Third Reich. Others, such as Broszat, Mason and Mommsen argue that the regime evolved out from pressures and circumstances rather than from Hitler’s intentions. They emphasise the institutional anarchy of the regime as being the result of Hitler’s ‘weak’ leadership. The most convincing standpoint is the
Under a backdrop of systematic fear and terror, the Stalinist juggernaut flourished. Stalin’s purges, otherwise known as the “Great Terror”, grew from his obsession and desire for sole dictatorship, marking a period of extreme persecution and oppression in the Soviet Union during the late 1930s. “The purges did not merely remove potential enemies. They also raised up a new ruling elite which Stalin had reason to think he would find more dependable.” (Historian David Christian, 1994). While Stalin purged virtually all his potential enemies, he not only profited from removing his long-term opponents, but in doing so, also caused fear in future ones. This created a party that had virtually no opposition, a new ruling elite that would be
Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin were the most recognizable and known totalitarian leaders in Europe. They both had a great impact on the world's history. Adolf Hitler was the Fuhrer of the III Reich and a leader of the Nazi Party. He is to blame for the break out of the II World War and for the creation of an ideology which caused the holocaust and suffering of many nations. Stalin was a leader of the Soviet Union until 1953.
The rulings of these two leaders had many similarities yet still had some differences. Their beliefs in running the country came to be very alike. Hitler and Mussolini both had negation of parliamentary and democratic political order, the use of violence and of physical strength, and the “revolutionary project” of a new society. Hitler and Mussolini feared any kind of strong and permanent power other than their own. This system of government where many institutions clashed with one another was extremely chaotic, and only the one leader could keep it working.
The rulings of these two leaders had many similarities yet still had some differences. Their beliefs in running the country came to be very alike. Hitler and Mussolini both had negation of parliamentary and democratic political order, the use of violence and of physical strength, and the "revolutionary project" of a new society. Hitler and Mussolini feared any kind of strong and permanent power other than their own. This system of government where many institutions clashed with one another was extremely chaotic, and only the one leader could keep it working.
Throughout all the worlds significant and powerful leaders, Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini were two men that similarly abused their powers in ways never seen before.
Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany and Joseph Stalin’s Soviet Union are two controversial regimes. Hitler and Stalin were both Dictators of the countries they ruled. When Hitler and Stalin are compared, we can clearly see that each one of them were cold blooded killers. They are both responsible for an absurd amount of innocent deaths. Hitler is believed to be responsible for killing at least six million Jewish people during the Holocaust; Stalin is responsible for the killings of millions of people (many of them Jews).
Dictatorship throughout the ages has mainly led to oppression and conflict between people and government. Some of the notoriously bad dictators took office around the 1920’s and 1930’s. There were three main dictators in that time period and they all ran different countries in very different ways. Josef Stalin was known as the dictator of the Soviet Union, he was all about communism and did not care if there was opposition to his ideas. On the other hand, Benito Mussolini was in charge of Italy and all about fascism. Possibly the worst known dictator of all times was Hitler, in charge of, Germany, he was all about Nazism. Each had a different outlook on ruling, but they all did things similarly to lead to nations hatred against them. Basically, their ultimate goal was to do what was best for their countries, however, there want for power tended to get in the way. They all wanted to accomplish many things, they used many different ideas and ways to run their nations. They were all blamed for their nations demise in one way or another. This essay will discuss the similarities and differences between Stalin, Hitler, and Mussolini.
Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin are 2 notoriously known people in world history. Both Stalin and Hitler are known for the great number of deaths they have caused. Although both men have totally different reasons on why they killed so many people their ways of leadership are somewhat alike.
Hitler and Stalin will probably go down in history as two of the greatest known evil leaders of the 20th Century. You might ask what could bring two men to become the menaces they were. What kind of upbringing would cause someone to turnout the way they did?
When considering historians accounts on whether Hitler was a “Weak dictator.” due to his erratic ineptitude as a leader or whether he was actually “The Master of the Third Reich.”, it’s essential to look upon the historians argument and whether it’s credible or not. With a look at the differing historian’s views it’s evident that there’s clear difference between the historians viewpoints; some portray Hitler to be a lazy and reluctant decision maker and was merely “One extreme element of the extensive malevolence that was the Nazi system.” Whereas others argue that Hitler had reached a state of absolutism as he controlled all areas of Nazi government and thus tailored a social Darwinist bureaucracy which was driven to implement his world view” . Both sides of the argument can be divided into two different aspects: Some historians argue from an ‘Intentionalist’ viewpoint where Hitler had total control whereas others would argue from a ‘Structualist’ viewpoint thus suggesting Hitler didn’t have full control due to his poly-cratic style of leadership and there was more than one element of rule within Nazi Germany.
for is a difference in this two regimes . A pure race and Arians were
“Hitler did not act alone in the conduct of foreign policy in the 1930’s neither did he dictate its course exclusively.” In the early years of Hitler’s reign Taylor was correct to identify him as an ordinary statesman because during this time there was a different formation of Government compared to the later years in the war. However, it is difficult in retrospect to dispute that Hitler was a normal statesman when looking at atrocities of his domestic policies such as; the extermination of Jews in concentration camps. The war was still in the public memory when ‘Origins’ was published and the myth created about Hitler that he was a madman with brutal policies was strongly embedded in society, therefore to argue against this would obviously create much controversy.