Throughout history, many great leaders have risen up through the ranks to shape history. Some were brutal tyrants who opposed each other, but others had one commonality, they were extraordinary leaders. Men such as Adolph Hitler, Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong made lasting impacts on the world that will forever be remembered throughout history.
Due to a poor economy as well as a weak government, Hitler was able to rapidly ascend to power in Germany after World War One. He proceeded to set up a totalitarian government and bring Germany out of its’ economic depression. After doing this he came up with his ideal master race of people for the world.
The Aryan race was tall, blonde and blue-eyed people that Hitler believed should rule. Meanwhile all non-Aryans were discriminated against, particularly Jews. This hatred of Jews came to be known as anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism was already occurring in some areas because of the belief that Jews were taking jobs that did not belong to them. For this reason they became the ideal scapegoat.
Hitler began by limiting Jewish rights but it escalated from there both rapidly and dramatically. In short time the Jews were being shipped off to concentration camps where they were brutalized, used as human lab rats, forced into slave labor as well as being mercilessly slaughtered when they had no further use. Those who did not starve to death or die of sickness were cremated in huge furnaces or sent into a gas chamber disguised as a shower room.
This policy followed him to other countries and was soon expanded to include those of Polish descent. The Polish people were then exterminated alongside of the Jews. To the horror of the rest of the world, when the camps were discovered and liberated the reality was that over six million Jews had been needlessly murdered before the end of World War Two.
Joseph Stalin started out as just another young revolutionary. He joined the Bolsheviks eventually and after V.I. Lenin’s death, Stalin took over power. Stalin created a totalitarian state and even drew up five-year plans for his country. The purpose of these plans was to increase the production of heavy industry and they proved to be very successful. It did not, however, assist in the promotion of consumer goods of which the U.S.S.R. was sorely lacking. The peasant’s lives also were hardly improved under this new system.
Stalin next encouraged the setup of enormous collective farms to be run by the state for people to toil on. These changes brought about a drastic increase in the industry and economy of the U.S.S.R.
Extreme paranoia may have been Stalin’s largest character flaw and eventually led to his downfall. This disorder convinced him that everyone was out to get him. For this reason he had millions of innocent people executed. All Bolshevik members other than himself were put to death. This included military leaders as well which put the U.S.S.R. at a great disadvantage in the world. The murders of all these people eventually came to be known as The Great Purge. Knowledge of his paranoia and what Stalin was capable of doing led to complete loyalty from all of his people.
Though Stalin had everyone loyal to him, he had other problems that lie ahead. The U.S.S.R. became increasingly susceptible to attack from other countries due to the execution of so many military leaders. With such a weakened military, Hitler saw his chance to expand his own rule and attacked the U.S.S.R. in June of 1941 in what was called Operation Barbarosa. This was in violation of a non-aggression treaty that both countries had signed and came as a surprise to Stalin. The continued onslaught by Hitler led Stalin to seek agreement with the Allied powers to defeat Germany.
China had its own leader of great significance emerge shortly after the end of World War Two. Mao Zedong was the first communist leader of China. To retain his hold on power, Mao gained the support of the peasantry that was much larger than the working class.
Mao Zedong’s emergence began during what is billed as The Long March. This was when he led his communist army in retreat from the Chinese Nationalist Army for over six thousand miles. During this time is when he garnered his support from the peasantry, retrained his depleted army and prepared to launch his new government- The People’s Republic of China.
Mao then started the Great Leap Forward in an attempt to improve agriculture and industry in China. Unfortunately it failed dramatically, setting the country back even further. Despite this failure, many of the surrounding countries turned to communism, affecting a great patch of Asia as well as the rest of the world.
Many great leaders have surfaced throughout the pages of history. While none were the same they held one common trait; they were leaders that greatly affected the world and will always be recalled. Three names that will almost always be mentioned when talking about history in the future are: Adolph Hitler, Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong.
 Dezcee · Thu May 07, 2009 @ 02:40am · 0 Comments |
