Written by: Aashrab Khanal - 22001, Grade XII
Posted on: 15 March, 2022
Historical events are the result of political forces driven by distinct ideologies in different periods of time. The two most prominent political ideologies of the 20th century were Nazism and Stalinism. These two ideologies emerged in the first half of the twentieth century and caused rapid change in the political affairs of the age. The study of Nazism and Stalinism is prominent in historical terms because of their immense impact on various aspects of human society.
Stalinism is understood as the ideology and policies adopted by Stalin, based on centralization, totalitarianism, and the pursuit of communism. Nazism, on the other hand is the ideology and practices associated with the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany characterized by disdain for liberal democracy along with fervent antisemitism, anti-communism and scientific racism. Nazism and Stalinism were fundamentally opposed to each other in terms of their view of communism. This culminated in the war between Soviet Union and Nazi Germany in the Second World War. The differences are not the focus of study but the similarities are. Looking back, we can analyze the similarities between Nazism and Stalinism based on their political views, way of ruling and soon.
Some authors have drawn parallels between Nazism and Stalinism as they compared and contrasted the two philosophies and political systems, as well as the relationship between the two regimes. They have questioned why both rose to popularity at the same time. On ideology, and personality cult, Nazism and Stalinism were compared throughout the twentieth century. Both regimes were viewed as being in opposition to the liberal-democratic Western world which emphasizes their commonalities. The prominent methods used by operatives of Nazism and Stalinism are referred to as ‘indoctrination’ and ‘propaganda’. Indoctrination was targeted specifically towards one's own citizens and propaganda was used to craft a narrative to be disseminated to the outside world.
Totalitarian leaders like Hitler and Stalin really believed that they were working in the best interests of their people. The Nazis were cruel in their treatment of the inhabitants of the occupied territories. They attempted to depopulate Eastern Europe to make space for occupiers from the German master race . Stalin regularly purged the Communist Party of the Soviet Union of anyone who deviated even slightly from the party line, even if it affected the party or the Soviet government, since he considered they represented the interests of "dying classes" whose demise was historically inevitable.
