Hitler and Stalin are the two most notorious people who have played a big role in shaping the 20th century’s history. Although both were ideologically very different dictators, they both succeeded in rising to power within their country; which in result had led to the deaths of millions under their dictatorship. The success was mostly attributed to their new ideas and their politics. Both Stalin and Hitler were not born in the countries where they rose to power. Stalin was born in Georgia. He had been very fascinated by Marxist ideas in his teenage years. He had been expelled from his school while he was trying to teach his classmates about Marxism. He had then joined underground Marxist groups. After being caught he was exiled to Russia. Hitler was born in Austria, near the border to Prussia. When he saw the war building up in then Prussia, he went to join the Prussian army to fight in World War One. Both men started to get more attached to the country they fought for. This led to nationalist thoughts in both. After the world war one, there was a lot of chaos in the political and economic situations in both Russia and Germany. Hitler and Stalin, used the destabilization as a way to get to the power. They both saw themselves as figures on a very large historical canvas. They had views on politics, leadership, law, nature, culture, science, social structures, military strategy, technology, philosophy and history.[1] They understood these ideas on their own terms, because they influenced decisions both men took and shaped their political preferences. Also because of the nature of their authority, it influenced in turn the wide circle of politicians and officials around them.[2] Stalin and Hitler, though they are completely different ideological people, shared a horror of childhood, fought a life changing war, and went through a dangerous time where everything could have caused completely different end results to their political careers; these experiences taught them how to get the masses to follow them and rose to power with excessive amount of propagandas. To fully understand the similarities between Hitler and Stalin, one has to look at their childhoods. Both Hitler and Stalin had a very tough childhoods. They both had an abusive fathers who beat them very much. Hitler’s dad, Alios Hitler, is known to have been pompous, status proud, strict, humorless, frugal and pedantically punctual.[3] Stalin’s dad, Vissarion Dzhvgashi, was an alcoholic who beat his wife and children often. One of Stalin's childhood friends wrote, "Those undeserved and fearful beatings made the boy as hard and heartless as his father"[4]. So both had a very tough childhood because of their father. This could be one of the reasons why they were so hard with others, and why they saw world around them very cynically.
They both had been sent to religious schools where both Stalin and Hitler were really good students. For both of them, church plays a role in their life. Hitler had attended monastery schools and sang in choirs. From being among the priests, Hitler starts idolizing the priests.[5] This is considered to be one of the reasons that Hitler didn’t crack down on the Churches; but some historians believe a different story. Some thought he was very anti-Christian as a result of his childhood religious experiences. Whether it’s one or the other, In Germany, churches remained in normal status when Nazis came in power. With Stalin, it is believed that because he had been forbidden by the institution to read the Marxist books and also the fact that they expelled him led him to have a lot of hatred towards church. In an interview, when asked about faith he answered by saying, “What do you think I am, an old Georgian granny to believe in gods and devils? I am a Bolshevik and believe in none of that nonsense.”[6] Stalin and Hitler, had some experience with religion and had been influenced by it. Both had justifications for killing so many people. This might have to do something with the fact that they wanted to go against their childhood teachings. They saw themselves in a bigger picture where mentally every act was somehow justified and they were the only ones who had every right to do it. It is also necessary to consider the circumstances which enabled Stalin and Hitler to become important figures. Stalin and Hitler fought in wars. For Hitler, that was the most traumatic experience in his life. The German defeats made him believe that he should be the German savior. Germany, which was defeated in World War One, turned to a parliamentary democracy also known as the Weimar Republic. The government could not fix the social and economic issues that were very big problems after the war in Germany, and that basically led to the decline of the government. This becomes one of the stepping stone towards the beginning of Hitler’s political career. In Russia, Stalin was the November Revolution, where Bolsheviks fought and seized power. This led Stalin to be closer to Lenin and gain some of his trust. Though there were some trust issues that Lenin had with Stalin, he did not hesitate to give him powerful positions within the party. For Stalin, this had been an opportunity that he wanted for so long. He wanted have a revolution, not only in Russia but spread it to other countries. The circumstance that led both Stalin and Hitler to power was basically destabilization. They both took out their contenders who would be conflicting with their goals. Hitler sent a circular letter to all party leaders to sign, confirming their rejection of any limitations on his authority. All returned their signatures.[7] Stalin was a quiet man who listened what others had to say. At the meetings Stalin never took part in a discussion until it was ended. Then when all had spoken, he would get up and say in a few words what was in effect the opinion of the majority”.[8] Other politicians were scared to disrespect in any way. This shows the amount of respect that both leaders got from their party members and also with other political members. Not only within Russia was he a popular leader, he was also popular with the western media reporters. Anna L Strong who worked with New York Times back in 1942 said “When I met Stalin, I did not find him enigmatic. I found him the easiest person to talk to I ever met. He is far and away the best Committee Chairman of my experience. He can bring everybody's views out and combine them in the minimum of time.”[9] So Stalin and Hitler were very careful what they did. They wanted respect and they got it. Both Hitler and Stalin went through a rough time where their career could have gone to different end results. It could have ended their political career very badly. Stalin, who was a key player within the Bolshevik party, wasn’t liked by Lenin because of his aggressive and violent behavior. Lenin also believed that Stalin was a very power hungry. He believed that he would do anything to get to power. Before Lenin died, he had his wife write his final testament in which he said, “Stalin is too rude and this defect, although quite tolerable in our midst and in dealing among us Communists, becomes intolerable in a Secretary-General. That is why I suggest that the comrades think about a way of removing Stalin from that post and appointing another man in his stead who in all other respects differs from Comrade Stalin in having only one advantage, namely, that of being more tolerant, more loyal, more polite and more considerate to the comrades, less capricious, etc.”[10] The congress could have removed Stalin right that moment but they didn’t; they dismissed Lenin’s claim as very absurd and blamed it on his old age. There were a few Stalin sympathizers within congress of 1924 at the time. Interestingly, they would die because of Stalin twelve years later. At the same time, Adolf Hitler was waiting to be tried in Munich for the coup that he tried previous November. In this trial he defended himself with brilliant speeches that were heard by not only court members but also by the press of that time. He persuaded not only the Persecutors but also many people who were watching the trial. In the trail he said, “I have hopes that the old cockade will be lifted from the dirt, that the old colors will be unfurled to flutter again, and that expiation will come before the tribunal of God. Then from our bones and from our graves will speak the voice of the only tribunal which has the right to sit in justice over us.”[11] He said what many people wanted at the time. He was sentenced to jail for five years but was released for his good behavior. While in jail he was allowed to do almost everything he wanted. Being in jail was one of the things that made Hitler very popular at the time and was getting sympathy and respect for it. This shows the key moments that both Hitler and Stalin got through that could have ended every ambition of theirs. They both seemed very calm during these times and were using it as a way to get better. Both Hitler and Stalin make use out of different ways of propagandas. Though use of propaganda by Nazis were much exaggerated but Bolsheviks almost used it in same way. Hitler and Stalin started a whole new era of aggressive use of propaganda. This was very helpful with both dictatorships. The propaganda that they created were very dramatic, more than often very exaggerated, especially in their use of German mythologies; where both dictators, Stalin and Hitler, were made like gods. The language in speeches was very interesting when they would make people think differently than what the words actually meant. In one of the speeches by Rudolf Hess who is promoting Hitler says, “We do not want to forget the mothers, women, and children who gave their dearest, often their provider, and bear their fate with quiet heroism.”[12] Though it might look like nothing at first but when one hears this message; the message here is to treat Hitler like your father or mother because he is trying to save the country. This kind of hidden message helped to turn people unconsciously believe and have faith in Hitler. This kind of message can also be seen in Stalin’s propagandas. In 1924 when Stalin wanted to eliminate Trotsky from Soviet politics, he arranged that no further towns, farms or factories would be named after him. He orders Trotsky’s name to be removed from army political education pamphlets that described him as a leader to the Red Army. Then he starts spreading rumors about how he had been a Menshevik for most of his career before joining the party only in 1917.[13] Obviously, a lot of things have to happen for propagandas to be successful. Both Hitler and Stalin invested their own money and resources to make such propagandas be successful. In conclusion Hitler and Stalin came from different background besides few similarities where both had abusive father who beat them often. They both went to religious school where they were very good students and had a lot of influence from it. They were shaped a different way than other normal kids. They both had experience with military where they saw the horrors of it. They are both nationalist to the country they fight in war with. They turn enemies in future but the way they came to power is similar where they eliminated every threat very swiftly. The amount of time each took was different but they did so end to their goals especially with immense amount of propaganda. They used it to make themselves as savior of their country. This had been massive scale operation where they used every resource they had to do it right. The experience their childhood, war and the love for a new found country is what makes these dictators very similar to each other. Work Cited: Anatolïĭ V. Baĭkalov. I Knew Stalin, Anatole V. Baikaloff. London: Burns, Oates, 1940. Print. 62 Anna L Strong. The Soviets Expected It. New York, New York: The Dial press, 1941. Print. 47 Ian, Kershaw. Hitler: 1889-1936 Hubris. London: W. W. Norton &, 2000. Print. 44 Richard, Overy. The Dictators: Hitler's Germany and Stalin's Russia. Penguin Books: London, 2005. Print. 35 S J. Taylor. Stalin's Apologist: Walter Duranty, the New York Times's Man in Moscow. New York: Oxford UP, 1990. Print. 52. The Last Testament, Lenin. http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/lenin-testament.asp n.d., last accessed November 15, 2013. Speech before the Munich Court, Hitler http://www.hitler.org/speeches/02-26-24.html n.d., last accessed November 15, 2013. The oath to Hitler, Rudolf Hess. http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/hess1.htm n.d., last accessed November 15, 2013. [1] Overy, 26. [1] Richard, Overy. The Dictators: Hitler's Germany and Stalin's Russia. Penguin Books: London, 2005. Print. 35 [2] Overy, 35. [3]Ian, Kershaw. Hitler: 1889-1936 Hubris. London: W. W. Norton &, 2000. Print. 44 [4] Anatolïĭ V. Baĭkalov. I Knew Stalin, Anatole V. Baikaloff. London: Burns, Oates, 1940. Print. [5] Overy, 23. [6] S J. Taylor. Stalin's Apologist: Walter Duranty, the New York Times's Man in Moscow. New York: Oxford UP, 1990. Print. 52. [7] Overy, 34. [8] Overy, 25. [9] Anna L Strong. The Soviets Expected It. New York, New York: The Dial press, 1941. Print. 47 [10] The Last Testament, Lenin. http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/lenin-testament.asp n.d., last accessed November 15, 2013. [11] Speech before the Munich Court, Hitler http://www.hitler.org/speeches/02-26-24.html n.d., last accessed November 15, 2013. [12] The oath to Hitler, Rudolf Hess. http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/hess1.htm n.d., last accessed November 15, 2013. [13] Overy, 26.
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