Hitler and Stalin free essay sample

Compare and contrast the methods used by Stalin and Hitler to keep opposition to their rule to a minimum To start off this comparison and contrast between the two great leaders, I would like to take in to account that both of them gained absolute power in the similar period of time. As we know Hitler was declared chancellor of Germany in January 1933, a few years back in 1929 Stalin emerged as the great leader and by the early 1930s he was unstoppable having no opposition that can stop his reign. There were just individuals who threatened him from time to time. After the both leaders came in complete power no or little opposition was facing them. Both leaders used different types of force to restrain their opposition, comparing the two dictators there are differences but also some similarities in using force in case the opposition tries to overtake them. Stalin faced the opposition during his rise to power 1924-1929, but also in his consolidation as a supreme leader 1930-1934. We will write a custom essay sample on Hitler and Stalin or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Stalin’s methods of dealing with the opposition mainly consisted of replacing their supporters with his own ones, and simple dismissing them for various reasons, spying and anti-communism. The contrast is that Stalin used force from the beginning, not just during the time he was at the top but also before. During his time from 1929-1953 he had individuals which tried to overtake him in votes, these people such as Kirov in 1934 didn’t last long because Stalin order his secret police to eliminate each individual who has been following Trotskyism. Using the great purge in the summer of 1936 also stated his regime and how he felt about his opponents. During this period he put many people to trial and most of them were executed. Many marshals and generals were the victims of this terror. He finished his supremacy with the Great terror. This terror lasted until 1939. Hitler used force when he gained power in 1933 arresting and prohibiting the members that were against him, the communist groups. The great German leader had used the SA to destroy the communist movement to gain power. Hitler didn’t like the behaviour from the SA leader Ernst Rohm. The SA caused a lot of riots and uncontrollable behaviour. Rohm wanted to place himself as the head of SA and the army. Hitler had different opinion on this situation and n 30 June 1934, as history likes to call it â€Å"The night of the Long Knives†, Ernst Rohm and 85 others were killed. Hitler wanted the support of the army so he can have a greater and stronger Germany. As he dismissed the SA, the unit that would substitute this position was the SS (Schutzstaffel), a secret service with special trained people. The SS has special unit inside the group called the Waffen SS (it is consisted of four units A,B,C and D). Hitler also used the Secret police called Gestapo to clean the streets and slow down the demonstrations against the Nazi party. The man who established the secret police was Hermann Goering, but later on in 1936 was taken over by Heinrich Himmler (also the leader of the SS). The force used can be compared, but it has differences. Hitler planned and had a good reason why to murder (and he wasn’t killing them, he was firing them in most cases), to make his country stronger military wise. On the Soviet side, Stalin murder because he didn’t have trust in the generals, because he wanted to be the only one who can rule the Soviet Union. Unlike Stalin, Hitler used speeches to give confidence to the people but also to go against the opposition and their opinion. Stalin really wanted to be the supreme leader and an idol for all Soviet people. The other way of sizing the opposition to a minimum was the use of Propaganda. Those are the things Hitler used against the opposition. The minister of Propaganda was Joseph Goebbels, the man who was working on Hitler’s side against the opposition, but also giving the Nazi party a better image. With the propaganda he was dismissing his opponents in 1933 while Stalin as mentioned before used the great terror to totally destroy his opposition through imprisonment and executions. To conclude, these two supreme leaders had the same but also different methods of disposing their opposition to a minimum. As it turned out both of the methods were effective. The two leaders met at the greatest battle of modern history (1941). At the end Stalin was more efficient and probably a better leader, he continued his legacy after the war until his death in 1953.