Download Hitler Vs. Stalin - Liz K. Learns Cedar History

By Liz Kraft and Ryan McCallum
HITLER VS. STALIN
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The Nazi rise to power in Germany brought an end to the quasi-democratic system of presidential rule into which the leaders of
the Weimar Republic slipped in response to the economic crisis of the Great Depression. Following his appointment as
chancellor by President Paul von Hindenburg on January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler began laying the foundations of the Nazi state.
Guided by racist and authoritarian principles, the Nazis eliminated individual freedoms and pronounced the creation of a Volk
Community (Volksgemeinschaft)—a society which would, in theory, transcend class and religious differences.
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005204
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There were several characteristics which Germany possessed after the First World War which made them vulnerable to being
manipulated by someone like Adolf Hitler. As in most nations, the economic factors of the time play a significant role in
determining how a society will behave. Germany was economically devastated after a draining defeat in World War I. Due to the
Versailles treaty, Germany was forced to pay incredibly sizeable reparations to France and Great Britain. In addition, the
Versailles treaty, which many agreed was far too harsh, forced Germany to give up thirteen percent of its land.
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/naziregime.html
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At the risk of appearing to talk nonsense, I tell you that the Nazi movement will go on for 1,000 years! ”
Adolf Hitler to a British Journalist
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At the beginning of the 1930s, Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Party exploited widespread and deep-seated discontent in Germany to attract
popular and political support. There was resentment at the crippling territorial, military and economic terms of the Versailles
Treaty, which Hitler blamed on treacherous politicians and promised to overturn. The democratic post-World War I Weimar
Republic was marked by a weak coalition government and political crisis, in answer to which the Nazi party offered strong
leadership and national rebirth. From 1929 onwards, the worldwide economic depression provoked hyperinflation, social
unrest and mass unemployment, to which Hitler offered scapegoats such as the Jews.
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Nazi Germany, also known as the Third Reich, is the common name for Germany during the period from 1933 to 1945, when
COMPARISON
Both Hitler and Stalin came into power during a
period of time where their country was in
hardship.
 Envisioned their countries as becoming world
powers.
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HITLER


Formed a Dictatorship, by
harnessing the general
discontent among the
Germany People, and
pushing the Jewish People
1
as “scapegoats ” for the
problems within the country.
offered
CONTRAST
STALIN
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Marxist Communist
POSITIVES
Hitler
-
Stalin
Brought Germany out of depression
Brought about World War II, and indirectly the evolution of greater
technologies.
-
Started 5 year plans which allowed economy to grow.
NEGATIVES
Hitler
-
Stalin
Tried to create the Lebensraum which required the expansion of
Germany
Killed off all who stood in his way
Brought in Nuremburg Laws which segregated the Jewish people.
Killed and tortured people who did not fit into the specific “cookie
cutter” of the Nazi regime.
Began the Holocaust
Through his regime 11 to 21 million people were killed in 6 years.
-
Ruled by terror
Executed or jailed all who opposed him.
Started the Purges
While the government was under his control he killed 950,000 to
1.2 million people in two years.
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