Similarities Between Stalin And Hitler

Stalin and Hitler: Similarities and Differences

Political and economic instability had crippled the USSR and Germany in the 1920s (Waugh, 2001). Stalin and Hitler then emerged at the time of distress. They began making improvements which encouraged their people to believe that prosperous times await them. This notion would unfortunately turn out as an illusion. Both figures would eventually rule by decree. Despite treading on different paths of ruling, both figures still find some commonalities.

Two prominent differences would certainly come to mind when distinguishing Stalin from Hitler. The first notable difference lies in the fact that both men had reigned over different territories. Stalin was the dictator of the USSR whereas Hitler was the ‘Führer’, leader in other words, of Nazi Germany (McAleavy, 2002). Another major difference which separates both political figures is the ideologies which they embraced. Stalin was rooted to the principles of Communism (Waugh, 2001). This

First of all, both men had constantly used terror to preserve their sovereignty (). Hitler and Stalin had created the Gestapo and NKVD respectively (). Both secret police consisted of thugs whose sole duty was to eliminate their respective totalitarians challengers (Waugh, 2001). Both secretive organizations were also used in purging millions of people during the development of their respective leaders’ personality cult (). Such ruthlessness would result in people becoming too intimidated to voice their dissatisfaction against the state ().

They also utilized propaganda to strengthen their influence over their peoples’ lives (). This became evident when Stalin and Hitler used propaganda to glorify themselves and to criticize Western ideals (). This enabled them to rule with an iron fist (). With this achieved, both men began setting their sights on world domination (McAleavy,