Similarities Between Hitler And Stalin

Hitler and Stalin:

The World’s Greatest Enemies

In world history, there have been countless cruel leaders; the cruelest of which are brought forth by totalitarian governments. Governments such as 1930s Italy, early 20th century China, and modern day North Korea have brought forth leaders such as Benito Mussolini, Mao Tse-tung, and Kim Jong-un. The most terrible and most remembered totalitarian dictators, however, emerged in the years leading to World War II. National leaders subjected millions of European and Asian citizens to cruelty. The two biggest dictators of that time were Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin. Both of these men killed millions of innocent men, women, and children, many of which from the very countries they led. However, no

Stalin welcomed Marxism, a philosophy introduced by his predecessor, Vladimir Lenin. Even when Stalin had peaked in power, he honored Lenin as the father of the Soviet Communist Party (Frankel, 2000, 134-139). Hitler, on the other hand, had to gather together a philosophy of his own. This led to the disjointed belief system of the Nazi Party, which was based on a combination of violence, racism, and a warped German Christianity; the only thing holding these things together was an acute form of anti-Semitism. Stalin and Hitler both proclaimed a zeal for his morals and claimed that humanity would be saved if only they were followed worldwide (Frankel, 2000, 134-139). Stalin and Hitler also agreed that society should be run empirically, or by scientific methods. The Soviet Union implemented this empirical ideology by introducing the "five-year plans," consisting of agricultural reforms and the forming of the gulag, a collection of labor camps. Hitler adopted this idea and translated it to the "four-year plan." This plan brought a quick restoration of the German army and the cold, orderly characteristics of the concentration camps. Stalin and Hitler attempted to justify their cruel agendas by claiming that they were necessary for the progression of science and technology (Frankel, 2000, 134-139). But, however similar Stalin and Hitler were in their actions, their political opinions were