Hitler and Stalin Comparative Essay During the period that would lead up to World War II, two powerful men seized the opportunity to gain control of a major part of Europe; which ultimately led to the transformation of our history today. These two ingenious strategists were known as Hitler and Stalin. Hitler, the founder and leader of the Nazi party, and also the Reich Chancellor had guided Germany into becoming a National Socialist and Anti-Semitic country. Stalin on the other hand had envisioned and altered the Communistic society that was previously in Russia. Although these men are from the same time but from different countries, they were able to possess traits that classify their individuality and their commonalities. As one may tell, it is through their approach to rise to power, their use of terror to control their country, and their skill to scapegoat certain groups of people that truly defines these men. Both Hitler and Stalin came into power either through the opportunity presented to them or through devising a strategic plan. According to Howarth, “On 2 August, Hindenburg died. Straight away Hitler announced the offices of Chancellor and President were combined.”(112). Prior to the announcement that combined position of Chancellor and President, Hitler was chosen to be the next Chancellor due to the fact that the former Chancellor, Papen intended to manipulate Hitler for his own motives. Subsequently, Hitler requested for and Enabling Act which would allow him to make his own laws; and soon after it was passed. Using this act, Hitler proposed the law aforementioned regarding the combined position of Chancellor and President after the death of President Hindenburg. This law resulted in the finalization of Hitler as the absolute ruler of Germany. Conversely, the book Twentieth Century History: The World Since 1900 stated, “What they didn’t realize was that dull bureaucrats are capable of quietly acquiring a great deal of power for themselves.”(Howarth 129). Through this quote, it is implied that was not viewed as a threat to the other political leaders, and as a result he was able to silently gain power. However, before he was in power, Lenin the former leader of the Bolsheviks and Soviet State had suggested through documentations that Stalin be dismissed from the government due to his crude and reckless attitude towards others. Nevertheless, Stalin secretly received these documents through Lenin’s secretary and quickly suppressed them before they could be addressed to the party. Following the suppression of these documents, Stalin devised a plan to rid of his opponent by turning them against each other; while he himself would be on the side growing in power. One by one they were quickly eliminated leaving Stalin to be the General Secretary of the communist party. Contrastingly, one can tell that Hitler had gained his power legally through the means of the constitution, as opposed to Stalin whom imposed his way to the head of the government. To maintain this power, each individual also had to enforce terror through different tactics.
Although there are many ways to sustain control over one’s country, both Hitler and Stalin believed that fear would seal their newly attained power. According to Forman, “The Prussian political police was replaced by the Geheime Staatsplolizei (“Secret State Police”), better known as the Gestapo... All these special police establishments, together with the more overt efforts of the storm troopers, made it impossible for a communist party to function openly and the party disappeared. An atmosphere of terrorism prevailed.”(95). By using these police establishments, Hitler was not only able to instill fear in his people but also in the elimination of other political parties from rising. The author stated, “The OGPU’s task was not only to root out and destroy opposition but to terrorize ordinary people into silence and passive obedience.”(Howarth 134). As it may be inferred, Stalin