Comparison Of Ivan The Terrible And Adolf Hitler

“A leader does not deserve the name unless he is willing occasionally to stand alone” (Kissinger). Two leaders that stood alone by the end of their rules were Adolf Hitler and Ivan IV, or Ivan the Terrible. Ivan the Terrible was crowned the tsar of Russia in 1547 and ruled until he died in 1584. Ivan was known as an evil ruler who accused most of his noblemen of treason, killed thousands of his subjects, and murdered his son. When Ivan the Terrible died, Russia was left in financial and political ruin (Bogatyrev). Adolf Hitler was born in Austria in 1889 but loved Germany. In 1921, Hitler became the leader of the German Worker’s Party, a nationalist and anti-Semitic group, and based the Nazi Party on them. Hitler was dictator of Germany from 1933 until he committed suicide in 1945, and started World War II and the Holocaust while in power (“Adolf Hitler”, Biography.com). Ivan the Terrible and Adolf Hitler showed that people who have a similar impact on the world usually have the same characteristics. Ivan the Terrible and Adolf Hitler were both confident in themselves and in their countries and very paranoid, which caused them to be aggressive rulers willing to do whatever they needed to meet their goals.

Ivan IV and Hitler were both rulers of their societies because they had supporters to get them there. People like to follow someone who reflects confidence in everything they do.

Ivan and Hitler invaded many countries because they were confident in themselves and their countries. Their confidence led to their downfall. Russia fought in too many wars and Hitler believed he was smarter than his generals, which caused them to lose battles. Their paranoia motivated both of them to create secret police, which maliciously killed their enemies. These personality traits helped their empires become strong, but also led to their