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Hitler vs. Stalin (1090 094) 1 Hitler vs. Stalin: Who was a more destructive leader in relation to religious groups? Nicole Swain 1090 094 Riverview High School Sarasota, FL. , USA History Word Count: 3515 Hitler vs. Stalin (1090 094) 4 Introduction Research Question and Thesis
During Adolf Hitler’s reign, many innocent people were murdered and killed. The total people killed is around 6,000,000 people. The innocent people killed were “locked in the ghettos, aware about their forthcoming doom” (Kimel, What Happened? ). There was apparent suffering under Adolf Hitler’s reign. Many people were killed and died from slow and painful deaths. Joseph Stalin killed about 20 million innocent people. Many of these people were starved to death while others were sent to work camps. This shows the harsh conditions many people had to endure. Both of these men were responsible for millions of deaths.
Even though Joseph Stalin killed more people, the effects of these killings must be investigated to show who was a more destructive leader in terms of religious groups. Was Adolf Hitler’s reign more destructive than Joseph Stalin’s reign? This paper will be used to examine this question. This paper suggests that even though Joseph Stalin killed more people, Adolf Hitler might have been a more destructive leader in reference to religious groups. I will analyze the effects on the religious groups through articles and books published about these destructive leaders.
I will look at the Bolsheviks for Joseph Stalin’s influence and the Jews for Adolf Hitler’s influence. To investigate the effects on these religious groups, I will examine these religious groups after the reign of these leaders and use first hand accounts from people in these groups. I will compare and contrast the killing methods of these two people. I will look at Hitler’s death camps and extermination camps. I will then look at Stalin’s work camps. These camps will help to decipher which leader, whether Stalin or Hitler, was a more destructive leader.
These leaders effected the Jews and the Bolsheviks a great deal. If the leaders were so destructive to these religious groups, what happened to the rest of the religious population? The Russian Orthodox religion and the Muslim faith, and the Roman Catholic Church will also be examined to show the effects of these leaders. This paper proposes to explore these criteria and relate them to Germany and to Russia where Hitler vs. Stalin (1090 094) 5 Hitler and Stalin reigned. The information found on this topic will be discussed in terms of effects and specific events that took place.
The events will be found in journals and articles relating to specific examples of death or the effects on a person due to Hitler or Stalin’s reign. Several of these examples will be used. Some will be from people who Stalin effected and some will be from people who Hitler effects. All of these examples will be compared and contrasted to help determine who was a more destructive leader. Cause of the Holocaust The Holocaust is one of the main genocides Hitler was the cause of. One of the main factors blamed for causing the Holocaust was Hitler’s medical condition. Hitler had a disease called “General Paresis”.
This can be defined as an impairment of mental function caused by damage to the brain from untreated syphilis (A. D. A. M. Inc. ). This causes “paranoia, megalomania, delusions, flight from reality, and all those symptoms that provide the only rational explanation of the insane killings. ” (Kimel, Direct Causes of the Holocaust). This medical condition was noticed by many people surrounding Hitler. Ernest Hanfstaengl- a member of Hitler’s entourage writes in his memoirs about Hitler’s health problems: “One thing that became borne in on me very early was the absence of a vital factor in Hitler’s existence.
He had no normal sex life… It was part of hidden complexes and a constitutional insufficiency which may have been congenital and may have resulted from a syphilitic infection during his youth in Vienna. ” (Kimel, Direct Causes of the Holocaust). This excerpt shows the mental health problem Hitler was facing. Many believe that this medical condition was the cause of the Holocaust. The cause of the Holocaust is also blamed on many other factors, “such as anti-Semitism, Demonization, Versailles Treaty, and economic displacements of the Weimar Republic. ” (Kimel, Direct Causes of the Holocaust).
These factors do not explain Hitler’s irrational actions during his reign which is why many believe his medical condition was the cause of the Holocaust. Stalin’s Rise to Power Hitler vs. Stalin (1090 094) 6 Stalin was also responsible for many deaths. His rise to power was not what Lenin had imagined. Stalin was highly regarded by Lenin as an administrator but not as a theoretician or leader. Stalin caused much suffering during his reign. He responsible for many deaths: “approximately 20 million, including up to 14. 5 million needlessly starved to death, at least one million executed for political “offenses”, at least 9. million more deported, exiled or imprisoned in work camps, with many of the estimated five millions sent to the ‘Gulag Archipelago’ never returning alive. ” (Harris, Joseph Stalin). These statistics show the drastic nature of Stalin’s reign. This paper will investigate both Hitler and Stalin to conclude who was a more destructive leader in relation to religious groups. Hitler vs. Stalin (1090 094) 7 Argument Hitler and Stalin were both men who were very destructive leaders to religious groups that were surrounding them. Hitler is known for his treatment of the Jews. Stalin is known for his treatment of the Bolsheviks.
What is know so well known is that these two leaders were very destructive to all religions. Both of these leaders touched the Jews, the Bolsheviks, the Russian Orthodox religion, the Muslim faith, and the Roman Catholic faith. This paper will study the effects on these religions from the reign of Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin. Hitler’s treatment of the Jews Hitler was known for his treatment of the Jews. During the Holocaust, Hitler killed approximately 6 million Jews. Hitler passionately hated the Jews but it is not know why this intense hatred for the Jews developed. At some point at the end of the war Hitler absorbed the popular anti-Semitic argument that the Jews were to blame for German defeat: either as Marxists preaching an ideology of festering social decomposition, or as capitalists pulling the strings of the world market, or as a biological challenge to the purity of blood, Jews and Jewishness became for Hitler a historical metaphor explaining Germany’s crisis. ” (Overy, 19). For Hitler, the Jews represented everything that went bad in his country. This quote shows that Hitler hated the Jews. Hitler wanted to do away with these people he disliked so much.
So he put the Jews in concentration camps. While the Jews were in the concentration camps, many were put in gas chambers or shot and killed. Chances for survival in these camps was not very high. Conditions in these camps were very poor and many people starved to death or died from disease. These harsh conditions caused much grief throughout the Jews. These conditions effected the Jews very much. This person tells about a first hand experience at a concentration camp. Hitler vs. Stalin (1090 094) 8 “In Nordhausen the Division found a large German concentration camp for olitical prisoners, discovering 5,000 corpses among the 6,000 inmates in various stages of decay. The corpses were scattered throughout the buildings and grounds of the large camp and all of them appeared to have been starved to such an extent that they were mere skeletons wrapped in skin. Most of the bodies apparently lay untouched since death had overtaken them, but some were stacked like cordwood under stairways. ” (National Timberwolf Association, Mittelbau Dora Concentration Camp). This quote shows the devastating effects of the concentration camps on those present there.
This quote explains how thin and starved the prisoners were. It also states that the dead bodies were left laying around which caused much disease in the camps. These factors show how terrible conditions were in Hitler’s concentration camps. This proves that Hitler was a destructive leader and even though Stalin had a higher death count, Hitler may still be a more destructive leader. Stalin’s Treatment of the Jews Stalin was also known for harsh treatment of religious groups. One of those groups was also the Jews. Stalin, unlike Hitler, deported many of the Jews to other countries or areas.
One source states, ” that Stalin disliked and distrusted Jews is without doubt” (Rappaport, 136). This quote shows that Stalin did not like the Jews. He was like Hitler in the fact that Jews were not to be trusted and done away with. “Jews were also discriminated against in many of the professions and deliberately excluded from jobs that were deemed politically sensitive. ” (Rappaport, 136). This also shows the discrimination faced by Jews in Stalin’s time. Stalin’s actions towards the Jews was not as harsh as Hitler’s. Stalin orders “signified popular mass violence against Jews. (Service, 78). Stalin used those in his country to belittle the Jews. His hatred of the Jews filtered down into society and those living around Jews treated them terribly. Hitler vs. Stalin (1090 094) 9 ” Jews across the Soviet Union were persecuted. They were sacked from positions of responsibility. They were vilified at work. Anti-semitic jibes on the streets became common and no one was called to account. It required courage for anyone to defend the victims. The campaign, which was never really officially designated as being aimed at Jewish citizens, gathered force.
Many leading Jews were taken into police custody. ” (Service 576-7). This quote also shows the treatment of the Jews under Stalin. Many were taken from jobs and treated poorly solely because they were Jewish. Although Stalin treated the Jews very badly, it is my opinion that Hitler treated the Jews worse. Hitler’s punishments for being Jewish had a much more lasting effect on society and on the Jewish culture. Stalin’s Treatment of the Russian Orthodox Church In addition to suppressing the Jews, Stalin also suppressed the Russian Orthodox faith. The Russian Orthodox Church came under attack in 1928 with the large-scale confiscation of its priceless icons and church ornaments, as well as anything else of value. ” (Rappaport, 223). This religion suffered greatly under the reign of Stalin. Many of their cathedrals were demolished as to stop the practice of the religion. When Stalin closed these church, many people were “up in arms”. “The silencing of the bells in Russia, a place once known as “the country of churches,” and of great historical religious centers such as Rostov suggested to many simple peasants that the end of the world had come. (Rappaport, 223). These churches were a great part of this religion. When the churches were closed, many people were affected. Stalin had many priests executed for their work in the church. They were sent to prison camps where they suffered greatly. Bibles were not allowed in homes, church services could not take place, and religious practices of any sort were not allowed. This proved to be rough for all those who believed and practiced this religion. Eventually, Stalin reopened some Hitler vs. Stalin (1090 094) 10 churches and allowed them to practice the religion. Those churches that had been reopened in the war continued to function, and the Patriarch agreed to act as unofficial ambassador for the ‘peace policy’ of the Soviet government ??? and the Russian Orthodox Church avidly occupied buildings which had previously belonged to other Christian denominations. ” (Service, 496). This quote shows how Stalin’s attitude toward the Russian Orthodox Church changed. It shows that Stalin again allowed them to practice their religion freely. This fact makes Stalin more likable to these people.
Therefore, Stalin’s reign on the Russian Orthodox Church was as damaging as his reign on the Jews. Hitler’s treatment of the Russian Orthodox Church Hitler also was suppressing the Russian Orthodox Church during his reign. Hitler’s goal was “to crush the armed forces and break up the state. ” (Kershaw, 355). Although Hitler did not have as much interaction with the Russian Orthodox Church, he was still suppressed it. Hitler did not support religion during his reign. Hitler’s suppression of the Russian Orthodox Church was not as severe as Stalin’s suppression.
Therefore, Stalin was a more destructive leader than Hitler in reference to the Russian Orthodox Church. Stalin’s Treatment of the Muslim Faith Another religious group Stalin suppressed was the Muslims. Stalin separated this group of people to keep them from growing strong. “Any opportunities ethnic minorities might have had of consolidating themselves through regional Communist parties were removed by the imposition of a “divide and rule” policy, whereby the Soviet Union’s many Muslims, in particular, were separated into smaller and often incompatible regional units along totally artificial borders.
Such a policy was designed to forestall the rise of a pan-Islamic movement [… ]” (Rappaport, 190). This quote shows Stalin’s efforts to suppress the Muslim religion. Stalin often separated these people Hitler vs. Stalin (1090 094) 11 because he was afraid of a movement made by these Muslim to over take his reign and his country. Therefore, Stalin put people of different religions and different tongues together. This created much uproar and caused a lot of bitter conflict. Another reason Stalin separated the Muslims was because they were harder to suppress than the Christian religious groups. [.. ] the large Muslim populations of central Asia proved more difficult to suppress, a fact that had originally prompted a tolerant approach under Lenin. Islam had come under anti religious propaganda attack from the late 1920s. Its mosques, schools, and hospitals were closed down and its sharia law courts suppressed, while a propaganda campaign was launched against Islamic customs, such as ritual fasting at Ramadan and the veiling of women. ” (Rappaport, 227). This quote shows the steps Stalin took to suppress the Muslims and Islamic people.
These measures that were taken affected this culture very much. Their culture and customs are very important to them. These measures infuriated the Muslims. Stalin later relaxed these measures taken against the Muslims. “[… ] diplomatic expediencies later made it important for Stalin to relax the oppression of Muslims in order not to endanger Soviet relations with its Islamic neighbors and potential allies. ” (Rappaport, 227). This measure taken to reduce restrictions on the Muslims was important for Stalin’s stability in the Soviet Union.
The Muslims also were much happier not having the control placed over them. The freedom to practice their own beliefs was a big relief to them. Hitler’s Treatment of the Muslim Faith Hitler, as opposed to Stalin, was a welcoming sight to the Muslims. “One of the group of Soviet citizens that felt had reason to rejoiced the coming of the Teutonic legion invaders were Soviet Muslims. ” (Nino Oktorino, The Pro-Nazi Soviet Muslims). This groups of Muslims found in the Soviet Union welcomed Hitler and his reign. Hitler tried help free them to become free from Stalin and Russia.
This fact shows that Hitler was not a destructive leader towards Muslims or Islamic religions. Hitler vs. Stalin (1090 094) 12 Although the attempt to free the Muslims from Russia and Stalin failed, Hitler was still a type of hero for the effort he made. “I must said that I am a little worried about the Caucasus… The Tartars in the Crimea are, to a large extent, disloyal… they never liked us. It is well known that during the Crimean War they gladly ‘collaborated’, as we’d now say, with the English and the French. And, above all, there are religious factors, which the
Germans have not failed to exploit. Nor do I trust the mountain peoples of the Caucasus. Like the Crimean Tartars, they are Muslims, and they still remember the Russian conquest of the Caucasus which ended not so very long ago – 1863. ” (Nino Oktorino, The Pro-Nazi Soviet Muslims). This quote shows the effect Hitler had from his relationship with the Muslims. It also goes to prove that Stalin disapproved of the Muslims and Hitler approved of the Muslims. These facts show that Stalin was a more destructive leader in reference to the Muslims.
All of these facts go to answer the question of who was a more destructive leader: Hitler or Stalin. Hitler vs. Stalin (1090 094) 13 Conclusion Restatement of Research Question and Thesis Statement From the research presented above, one can conclude that Stalin was a more destructive leader. Stalin’s terrible treatment of the Jews, Russian Orthodox Church, and Muslims goes to prove Stalin treatment of the religious groups in his country under his reign was a more destructive leader. Summary of Evidence
This paper was written to answer the question of who was a more destructive leader in terms of religious groups: Hitler or Stalin? In this paper, Hitler and Stalin’s treatment of religious groups was evaluated to determine who was a more destructive leader in relation to religious groups. I examined Hitler and Stalin’s treatment of the Jews, The Russian Orthodox Church, and the Muslim faith. My research showed that Hitler was a destructive leader when it came to the Jewish religion and the Russian Orthodox Church. Hitler tortured and killed many Jews and suppressed the Russian Orthodox Church under his reign.
Hitler’s treatment of these religions proved he was a destructive leader. Stalin also tortured many Jews and suppressed the Russian Orthodox Church. Stalin also suppressed and split the Muslims in Russia. Stalin was destructive to all three of these religious groups whereas Hitler was on destructive towards three. This is why Stalin was a more destructive leader. Evaluation of Sources The information I utilized to write this paper came from books, Internet sites, and journals. The information I received from these sources went to better my understanding on this topic.
The value of these resources is great. The resources helped me to find reliable data to come to a conclusion on who was a more destructive leader. I analyzed all my sources and they all seemed to be reliable. The Internet sites could be considered unreliable due to the fact that they don’t have proof of reliability. All information used was back up through other sources and proven to be true. Further Questions that were Uncovered Hitler vs. Stalin (1090 094) 14 If I were to write this paper again, I would change a couple things.
I might include more religious groups so that I could analyze Hitler and Stalin’s treatment of more religious groups to a fuller extent. I might also have eliminated the use of Internet sites to be sure of reliability. I might also have used a couple more sources to find even more information on the religious groups discussed in this paper. This paper has not prompted any new questions. In conclusion, Joseph Stalin was proven to be a more destructive leader. His treatment towards the Jews, the Russian Orthodox Church, and the Muslims prove he was a more destructive leader then Adolf Hitler.
Hitler vs. Stalin (1090 094) 15 Bibliography 1. Harris, Bruce. “Joseph Stalin. ” moreorless : heroes & killers of the 20th century 23 05 2001 7 Aug 2008 . 2. Kershaw, Ian. Hitler: 1936-1945 Nemesis. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company Ltd. , 2000. 3. Kimel, Alexander. “What Happened?. ” Holocaust- Understanding & Prevention July 2008 7 Aug 2008 . 4. Kimel, Alexander. “Direct Causes of the Holocaust. ” Holocaust- Understanding & Prevention July 2008 7 Aug 2008 . 5. Mialet, Jean. “Mittelbau Dora Concentration Camp. ” National Timberwolf Association 12 08 2007 7 Aug 2008 . . Montefiore, Simon. Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar. United States: Alfred A. Knopf, 2003. 7. Moore, Jefferson. “General Paresis. ” ADAM. 2004. Mosby. 7 Aug 2008 . 8. Oktorino, Nino. “The Pro-Nazi Soviet Muslims. ” Hitler’s Soviet Muslim Legions (2008) 7 Aug 2008 . 9. Overy, Richard. The Dictators: Hitler’s Germany, Stalin’s Russia. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company Ltd. , 2004. 10. Rappaport, Helen. Joseph Stalin: A Biographical Companion. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, Inc. , 1999. 11. Service, Robert. Stalin: A Biography. United Kingdom: Macmillan, 2004.