Stalin and Hitler - Essay Example

However the research defines that they were triumphant within their countries for an extensive period of time and gives the comparable ways in which they acquired the power that they did. Historians have claimed that their successes could be attributed to the facts that they laid claim to new ideas and political approaches which in fact gave them approval from the citizens of the countries they ruled over for many years. Through the many detailed reports that have been compiled over time it is easily seen that Hitler and Stalin despised each other immensely but this did not change the fact both had common characteristics (Nolte 1999).

Because Stalin became focused on building what was seemingly an industrialized empire with little regard for the people, the time period he ruled under was known as "Stalinism" (Nolte 1999). For Hitler, it has been common knowledge for decades now, and even during the time of his ruling that he was focused on communism and developing the world into a communist one, carrying out genocides on cultures that refuted his rule. Therefore, the time of his leadership and power over others was depicted as, "Nazism" (Nolte 1999).

Although these are two different types of mental philosophies they hold key elements that are strikingly similar, the main being the thirst for power that both held, again with little acknowledgement for those people that they each considered beneath them. The each rose to the highest possible position of power attainable in both their countries, ruling with what could only be termed as an iron thumb. For awhile both brainwashed the citizens into believing what was nothing other than false lies and hopes for a better world to live in, and again for a period of time the people followed both of these leaders willingly.

The three main reasons they both were able to gain power over people such as this was due to their utilization of propaganda, their amoral views, and the ambition they both had to gain power in the world (Nolte 1999). However, it was also what led to their defeat as well, as history clearly shows. Because they were both known to be quite skilled in the utilization of propaganda, they had the ability of using their words to brainwash and manipulate others into believing that everything that they stated was true.

It was undoubtedly through this form of power that they gained the ability to get people to do anything they wanted, which is a fact that points out the characteristic of amorality they both shared as a common trait (Kreis 2006). It could also be said that due to the fact that both Germany and Russia were attempting to recover from WWI, it gave the opportune chance for these dictators to have the opening to rise to a seat of power in their countries because the citizens were searching for hope and wanted to believe that a change in the right direction was going to be possible.

However, instead of positivism coming out of the people giving approval for these two leaders to rule over their geographical areas, what happened instead was a nightmare in which the world that they thought was bad worsened due to both of these men demeaning human individuality under the