Similarities Between Hitler And Stalin
Although Hitler and Stalin both employed a special police force to help control the country under their totalitarian rule, Hitler’s force relied on having secret police everywhere while Stalin relied on having individuals report their friends and coworkers. To control citizens by spying on them and imprisoning them, Hitler employed the use of the Himmler’s SS and the Gestapo political police. The SS initially started off as Hitler’s personal bodyguards, but under Himmler’s command, they evolved into a more powerful force, who were eventually responsible for the Final Solution. The Gestapo, while somewhat similar to the SS, were Hitler’s secret police, who focused on taking down any opposing political opponents, primarily those who went underground after the creation of the one party system in Germany. The Gestapo were responsible for the capture and imprisonment of most opposing political leaders in Nazi Germany. According to the book on Germany, “Denouncers and
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snoopers infor0med on their fellow citizens” and were an important part of how the Gestapo operated and instilled fear in the German people. Stalin’s Russia operated in a very similar way, using his secret police force, the NKVD, to control and instill fear in the Russian people, just as Hitler did with the SS and Gestapo. The Russian book states “The NKVD spied on every area of life.
They could arrest almost anyone on the flimsiest of evidence”, relying on tips and accusations from ordinary citizens. Many citizens took advantage of this power, abusing it to get rid of people they disliked or as a way to get a promotion or better apartment. In the film East/West, the husband is almost denounced by someone living in his own apartment building, just showing how common denouncement was in Russia at the time. While Hitler and Stalin may have used the same method of controlling the German and Russian people, they had very different views on who should be punished. Hitler persecuted based on race and religion, believing genocide was the only solution, while Stalin condemned anti-Semitism, only punishing those who did not support him or his views. Although neither of these views are justifiable for the means they used, Stalin did not persecute to the same lengths as Hitler, but still punished those he found guilty to a similar
extent.
snoopers infor0med on their fellow citizens” and were an important part of how the Gestapo operated and instilled fear in the German people. Stalin’s Russia operated in a very similar way, using his secret police force, the NKVD, to control and instill fear in the Russian people, just as Hitler did with the SS and Gestapo. The Russian book states “The NKVD spied on every area of life.
They could arrest almost anyone on the flimsiest of evidence”, relying on tips and accusations from ordinary citizens. Many citizens took advantage of this power, abusing it to get rid of people they disliked or as a way to get a promotion or better apartment. In the film East/West, the husband is almost denounced by someone living in his own apartment building, just showing how common denouncement was in Russia at the time. While Hitler and Stalin may have used the same method of controlling the German and Russian people, they had very different views on who should be punished. Hitler persecuted based on race and religion, believing genocide was the only solution, while Stalin condemned anti-Semitism, only punishing those who did not support him or his views. Although neither of these views are justifiable for the means they used, Stalin did not persecute to the same lengths as Hitler, but still punished those he found guilty to a similar
extent.