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The Soviet-German War is the most brutal episode of the most vicious war that mankind has ever seen (Clark 1). During the Great Patriotic War, as Joseph Stalin coins it, the Soviet Union emerges through pure tenacity as one of the worlds great superpowers. Although Stalin and the USSR emerge victorious, the sacrifices made are enormous (Clark 446). Estimates show between 20 - 25 million Soviets die from 1941 - 1945.
Only 7 - 8 million Germans die during this same period (Encarta). Many of these deaths are a direct result of the brilliant (sometimes insane) chess match between two of the most tyrannical leaders in history: Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin. Even today, some people ponder which leader fits the anti-Christ description best. The finest way to analyze the minds of these two leaders is to examine each dictators rise to power, the motives which led to the unholy alliance, and the initial offensive campaigns that each dictator launches. Born on December 21, 1877, Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili's father is a drunkard and his mother is a washer struggling to support the family.
Dzhugashvili will later be known to the world as Joseph Stalin (Encarta). Stalin's mother, Ekaterina Georgievna, is a dedicated member of the Orthodox Church and enters him into the Seminary at Tifilis (Georgia) in 1894 for the study of priesthood in the Georgian Orthodox church. Soon after Stalin becomes part of the illegal Marxist movement (Encarta). The young Stalin quickly rises to the rank of leader of his own Marxist circle.
In May of 1899, he is expelled from school just short of graduation in which later communist literature credit to political balance (Encarta). By this time, Joseph Stalin has become more immersed in his role as a professional agitator of the system. While working as an accountant in Tbilisi, Stalin joins the Social-Democratic Workers Party. In 1900 and 1901 he leads railway strikes and demonstrations which catches the attention of the imperial police. He is captured for the first time and is exiled to Siberia in 1903; but the feisty Stalin escapes and by 1904 he is back in Georgia. Between the period of 1903 and 1913, the imperial police capture Stalin a total of seven times for revolutionary activity.
He escapes numerous times to come back and wreak chaos on the Czarist government. When the RSDLP split into the Menshevik and Bolshevik factions, Stalin's need for disrupt ance leads him to the Bolsheviks, the more militant of the groups (Encarta) In late 1905, he travels as a Caucasian delegate to the secret Bolshevik conference in Finland. It is here that he meets Vladimir Lenin. Stalin quickly becomes one of Lenin's most trusted lieutenants; his main priority going to raising money for the party.
Lenin promotes Stalin to the Central Committee, which is the Bolsheviks leading body in 1912 (Encarta). During this time Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili adopts the name Joseph Stalin, which in Russian Stalin means man of steel (Encarta). By this time the Stalin that the world knows best begins to evolve. In 1922, the Central Committee of the new Bolshevik government elects Stalin as Secretary General. Lenin then suffers his first major stroke. This is the most important turning point in Stalin's rise to power.
With Lenin bedridden for the last years of his life, Stalin uses his closeness to Lenin as a means of quickly rising past the normal orders of succession that Lenin put in place. In the last moments of his life, Lenin begins to realize that Stalin is an aggressive tyrant who will stop at nothing for absolute power (Encarta). Lenin's final political testament displays his doubts about having Stalin as the Secretary General and even asks that Stalin is removed from office. Lenin also suggests that one of his other understudies, Trotsky, should replace him. Lenin's testament is successfully suppressed by Stalin and is Lenin's wishes are not made known until after his death. With Lenin dead, Stalin easily becomes the ruthless dictator that rivals Hitler.
While there has always been evidence that Stalin's destiny is insanity, Hitlers childhood is nowhere near indicative of what is to follow. Born on April 20, 1989, in a small village in Austria-Hungary, Adolf Hitlers father is an Austrian customs agent who rises to considerable status. Therefore, Hitlers childhood is relatively comfortable (Encarta). The only indication of the future Hitler is his strong will.
He is a bright but moody student who loves the arts. Hitlers erratic behavior causes him to flunk out of secondary school at the equivalent of the ninth grade level. In 1907, Hitler is rejected from the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts (Encarta). This is the beginning of Hitlers journey from dejected youngster to brilliant, yet psychotic man. Between the 1908 - 1914, Hitler spent his life as a loner, moving from locations often and selling paintings for a living.
At one point Hitler lives in a homeless shelter (Encarta). When World War I erupts in 1914, Hitler eagerly volunteers for service in the German army on the Western Front. On legend states that upon hearing the news of war Hitler sinks to his knees in jubilation. Most will agree that this is definitely a sign of an imbalance in his thinking process.
After his unit, the Bavarian Regiments first battle against the British and Belgians near Pyres, 2500 of the 3000 men in Hitlers regiment are killed, wounded, or missing (Encarta). Hitler escapes without serious injury. This becomes a similar pattern in Hitlers war years. Either from a result of his heroism or luckiness, Hitler earns an Iron Cross First Class in 1918; which is a high medal to receive for a person who never ranks above Private First Class (Encarta).
The savageness of war causes Hitler to hate races other than Germans and while recovering from a mustard gas bomb Hitler decides to devote his life to the destruction of inferior races (Encarta) Hitlers makes his talent as an orator evident to his officers. After the war, he is selected for special training to speak to returning prisoners of war. Hitler soon learns the power of persuasive speech. His oratorical successes lead him to a special position as an observer of political groups in Munich (Encarta).
One of the groups he observes is the German Workers Party; later renamed the National Socialist German Workers (Nazi) Party. Hitler becomes intrigued by the party and soon joins. This marks his entrance into politics. Through advertising in the anti-Semitism newspaper, people come to the meetings to hear Hitler speak. In the summer of 1920, Hitler is instrumental in choosing the symbol which is an infamous symbol of hatred; the swastika.
By 1921, Hitler is named Fuhrer (absolute leader) of the party (Encarta). Adolf Hitler quickly uses his position to spread the partys influence throughout Munich and Bavaria. Soon Munich is the center of right-wing opposition to the new national government (Encarta). The basis of the party is that democracy and socialism are ineffective and the only way to prosperity goes through dictatorship. Hitlers process towards absolute power begins on November 8, 1923, when Hitler and 600 armed Nazis raid a Beer Hall in Munich the head of the Bavarian government is speaking.
Hitler takes several officials hostage in an attempt to takeover the provisional government. However, the attempt to revolt fails and Hitler is sentenced to five years in jail. The resident Hitler is released one year later. After his release from prison in December 1924, Hitler rebuilds the National Socialist German Workers party (Nazi) and waits for the opportunity to regain national influence. That opportunity comes from the Great Depression of 1929. He promises unemployed citizens jobs and return of national prosperity to the country.
With the support of his party, Hitler is elected to the position of Chancellor in 1930. He wastes no time in establishing the building blocks of the greatest authority the world has ever seen. The similarities between Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler are great. Both dictators gain power through force.
Both dictators are great orators and masters in the art of propaganda. The love of these two men for mind games leads to the unholy alliance (Roberts 1). The Unholy Alliance is a term used to describe the Nazi-Pact of 1939. The friendship of the peoples of Germany and the Soviet Union, sealed in blood, has every reason to be lasting and firm -- -Joseph Stalin (Roberts 171) Stalin has three aims for the Soviet-German Pact: 1. To stay out of war with Germany as long as possible 2. If war with Germany could not be prevented, gain as much from Germany as possible 3.
To settle issues with the carving up of Poland and the Baltic States Realistically, Stalin realizes that the Nazi-Soviet Pact is nothing more than a means to buy time for the imminent invasion of Russia by Germany (Roberts 171). This is considered one of Stalin's brightest moves. It is also the base of Stalin biggest blunders. Stalin successfully plays Hitlers time game only to disregard the fact that the USSR should be prepared one day for the invasion. Although the USSR has a military to rival the Germans, Stalin allows the Soviet Union to become involved in a war with Finland during which Russia loses soldiers at a rate of five Russian soldiers to one Finnish soldier (Roberts 163). By September 1939, Hitler has accumulated several victories in his quest for the expansion of the Nazi empire.
The ideas that he set forth for his party fifteen years ago are beginning to come true and this partially causes Hitler to overlook the fact that Stalin and the USSR is just as powerful and ruthless as he (Cecil 11). Hitlers hatred causes him to see Jewish Slavs and Stalin as an obstacle in his conquests (Cecil 13 - 15). While Stalin has three aims of prevention, Hitler has three aims of aggression: 1. To conquer the world for the Aryan nation 2. To exterminate the inferior races 3. To prepare Germany for a war on the grandest of scales The Soviet-Nazi Pact allows Hitler time to prepare for what the largest invasion in the history of the world.
This, coupled with the fact that the most important result of the Soviet-Finnish War is that it leaves Russia off-guard, leads to an event named Barbarossa. On the night of June 22, 1941, more than 3 million German soldiers, 600, 000 armed vehicles, and 3350 tanks prepare for Barbarossa; a well calculated military plan to invade the USSR using the blitzkrieg (lightning) style of warfare. For Hitler, the inevitable assault on Russia is the culmination of a long standing obsession. He believes Russias industries and agricultural lands will fit well in his Lebensraum (living space) for Germany and his Thousand Year Reich. Russia has been on Hitlers agenda since he wrote Mein Kampf seventeen years earlier here he states: we terminate the endless German drive to the south and the west of Europe, and direct our gaze towards the lands in the east If we talk about new soil and territory in Europe today, we can think primarily only of Russia and its vassal border states (Cecil 63). Believing that Britian is close to being defeated, Hitler decides to execute Barbarossa on in June wanting to finish off the Soviet Union as soon as possible, before it could significantly reload from the Soviet-Finland War.
Hitler believes, We only have to kick in the front door and the whole rotten edifice will come tumbling down (Cecil 26). Bibliography:
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Research essay sample on The Soviet German War
