The Political Leaders Following The End Of World War II

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

Soso Djugashvili, more commonly known as Joseph Stalin, ‘man of steel’, dictator of the Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) Russia, can be considered a ‘Red Tsar’ to an extent when features of Stalinism are compared to those of Tsarism and Russia ruled by Nicholas II’s autocratic regime from 1894 to 1917. A ‘Red Tsar’ is a communist leader whom follows similar principles followed under the leadership of a Tsar, that were influenced by few opinions allowing sole leadership and little opposition from others. Stalin can be considered a ‘Red Tsar’ to an extent as he ruled Communist Russia as a somewhat totalitarian state and was considered a ‘God-like’ figure sent to Earth to lead the nation and its people. From Stalin’s reign of terror from 1929 to 1953 there can be similarities seen in his regime to features of Tsarism as well as differences, this is why there are alternative interpretations for Stalin being considered a ‘Red Tsar’.

First, before the Second World War, the nation of Czechoslovakia had been a strong democracy in Central Europe, but beginning in the mid 1930s it faced challenges from both the West and the East. Until the Soviet’s invasion where they installed a whole new communist government in Prague. For the next twenty

The concept of Stalinism, being the ideologies and policies adopted by Stalin, including centralization, totalitarianism and communism, impacted, to an extent, on the soviet state until 1941. After competing with prominent Bolshevik party members Stalin emerged as the sole leader of the party in 1929. From this moment, Stalinism pervaded every level of society. Despite the hindrance caused by the bureaucracy, the impact of Stalinism was achieved through the implementation of collectivization and the 5-year plans, Stalin’s Political domination and Cultural influence, including the ‘Cult of the Personality’. This therefore depicts the influence of Stalinism over the Soviet State in the period up to 1941.

October 6, 1989: Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev during a visit to East Berlin for the 40th anniversary of the East German state humiliates the Communist regime of Erich Honecker by calling for reforms.

It is undeniable that Stalin had a profound impact on the Soviet Union following Lenin’s death. His rise to power within the Soviet Union has provided historians with a hotbed of political intrigue for many years. He was an opportunist, coming to dominance by manipulating party politics and influential figures in the politburo to eliminate his opposition by recognising and exploiting their weaknesses thus becoming the dominant leader of the Soviet Union. He was severely underestimated by other members of the Politburo about his potential within the party, leading to missed opportunities to ally and stand against him- a mistake that Stalin never made. He gained support from the public by exploiting the idea of ‘the Cult of Lenin’ in 1924 at Lenin’s funeral, and then adopting this concept for himself, thereby likening himself to Lenin; and, more importantly, gained support from other party members by following the wishes of Lenin, for example, initially supporting the continuation of the NEP and supporting the idea of factionalism. This essay will also argue that he was ideologically flexible as he was able to change his ideas for the party according to who he needed as an ally, in order to achieve dominant status in the party. He sought out which individual was the biggest threat, and eliminated them before they could stand against him.

The Czech crisis of 1968 also known as, the Warsaw Pact invasion, was the USSR led invasion of Czechoslovak. In January of 1968, the Czechoslovak Communist Party elected Alexander Dubcek. This was of no concern to the USSR until it became apparent that Dubcek was promoting liberal policies (Leffler 239). In the midst of economic turmoil in Czechoslovak, Dubeck “instituted economic reforms, permitted political liberalization,” replaced people of high standing positions in both the interior and the military (Leffler 239). The people of Czechoslovak responded positively to these changes. A revolution of liberation began in the country. Free speech was in full swing, “newspapers multiplied” and the people spoke freely of politics and concerns. This revolution became known as “Prague spring,” and amongst U.S. involvement in North Vietnam and the Dominican Republic as well as increasing Chinese hostilities, this revolution had the USSR fearing for socialist interests (Leffler 239).

From Stalin’s Cult of Personality to Khrushchev’s period of De-Stalinization, the nation of the Soviet Union was in endless disarray of what to regard as true in the sense of a socialist direction. The short story, This is Moscow Speaking, written by Yuli Daniel (Nikolai Arzhak) represents the ideology that the citizens of the USSR were constantly living in fear of the alternations of their nation’s political policies. Even more, the novella gives an explanation for the people’s desire to conform to the principles around them.

This paper will discuss how Stalin’s background helped build the qualities of a ruthless leader and how he displayed them

In Under a Cruel Star, Kovaly explains the attractiveness of Communism, as well as terror Communism brought to Czechoslovakia. Kovaly’s accounts of how communism impacted Czechoslovakia are fascinating because they are accounts of a woman who was skeptical, but hopeful for communism. Kovaly was not entirely pro-communism, nor was she entirely anti-communism during the Party takeover following World War II. By telling her accounts of being trapped in the Lodz Ghetto and the torture she faced in Auschwitz, Kovaly displays her terror experienced with totalitarian regimes and her need for change. The people of Czechoslovakia welcomed communism because it provided them with the chance to make up for the passivity they had let occur during the German

Another immediate legacy of the Prague Spring was disillusionment with communism, and the Prague Spring was in fact the beginning of the decline of communism in Czechoslovakia and other countries. People no longer believed that they could reform communism, and they were now completely opposed to it

The Czechoslovakia revolution mainly occurred because the communist government had many conflicts with the citizens but before the revolution, when communism was just beginning, the citizens wanted that type of government. On the contrary, during and after the revolution, the people of Czechoslovakia favored a more democratic government where the power resides in the people, not just rulers. The communist ways began in 1948 when “Benes gave in to communist demands and handed his cabinet over to the party” (Communists 1) after many acts of protest that he could no longer control. Many people fought to change their government in their country to go from a parliamentary democracy to a communist government. They wanted to change their form of

In the aftermath of World War II, the Soviet Union took control of Czechoslovakia. These communist rulers encouraged the arts- as long as artists supported communist rule. Ironically, it would be the arts that led to their downfall. A group of writers pushing for an end to censorship led to the start of Prague Spring, a hopeful time of democratic reforms in the 1960s. However, the Soviet army brutally crushed this peaceful revolt shortly after.

Though loyalty and the military were important components of Communism, there was one thing that the government system had at the core of its existence, control. All of it’s principles tied back to control whether it being the control of its people, other counties, or the whole world. Though, because of its many flaws, it never branched out far; it still used a great

The citizens of Czechoslovakia had not known freedom in decades. During much of World War II the nation was occupied by the Nazis and later by the Red Army as it drove the Nazis back to Berlin. When they Red Army moved into an area, communist regimes were set up to govern the area, and establish satellite nations. There were numerous uprisings throughout the decade that were violently suppressed by the communist governments with help from the USSR. After Alexander Dubcek tried to grant reforms to the people of Czechoslovakia in 1968, the USSR and most members of the Warsaw Pact sent their military forces to intervene and suppress any unrest or reforms. Things grew somewhat violent and brutal, as any demonstrators were either or beaten,