Hitler vs. Stalin: Who is a more destructive leader in terms of religious groups?

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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

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Introduction

        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

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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.  

        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