Stalinism versus Hitlerism: the basic intentions and results

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the soundness of equating Stalinism and Nazism (Hitlerism), expressed in a resolution adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe on July 1, 2009.Design/methodology/approachThe paper compares the two movements from three different angles: first, in their basic intentions; second, in their basic accomplishments; third, in the correlation between their basic intentions and their basic results.FindingsThe paper finds that: in their proclaimed short‐ and long‐term goals, Stalinism and Hitlerism have nothing in common; in their actual short‐term (there was no long‐term) results, they were similar in content but different in form; it was their very nature that doomed their efforts to translate their basic intentions into basic results.Originality/valueThe paper shows that a similarity or dissimilarity of the two movements can be ascertained not in their total but in their parts such as, for instance, the goals they achieved and the methods they employed.

The personality cult of Stalin in Soviet posters, 1929–1953

“…My domination will not survive the day I cease to be strong and consequently feared.' 4 The centrality of the Warrior archetype to propaganda for charismatic leaders is evidenced by the fact that, throughout history, even leaders who were unsuccessful in battle were portrayed in propaganda as militarily and strategically brilliant. As Simon Price notes, the Roman emperor Domitian lay claim to great military victories which were later condemned as shams and Trajan compensated for his lack of actual military achievements by being depicted as a general in his official statuary.…”

“…Great historical figures, 3 Vasilii Breev, as quoted by Gor'kii in Michael Cherniavsky, Tsar and people: studies in Russian myths, New Haven, Yale University Press, 1961, p. 221. 4 Napoleon, quoted in Mattei Dogan, 'Comparing two charismatic leaders: Ataturk and de Gaulle ', Comparative Sociology, 6, 2007, pp. 75-84, p. 80.…”

“…Matthew Cullerne Bown suggests that Lenin may have been fundamentally opposed to these displays but unable to prevent them due to his advancing illness. 4 After Lenin's death in 1924, state control of art began gradually to tighten. Communist professors were appointed to art schools as a matter of policy, and the commissioning of works of art became more widespread.…”

“…1969, cited in Robert Andrews, The new Penguin dictionary of modern quotations, London, Penguin, 2003, books.google.com.au/books?i d=VK0vR4fsaigC&pg=PT1111&lpg=PT1111&dq=marshall+mcluhan+The+new+penguin+dic tionary+of+modern+quotations&source=bl&ots=F-iC0c8wiM&sig=BAMUDrIXRMbypg0Znsg_ NMOkFgE&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiR2qiQ3IbQAhXFtpQKHa81AvoQ6AEIGzAA#v= onepage&q=marshall%20mcluhan%20The%20new%20penguin%20dictionary%20of%20 modern%20quotations&f=false (accessed 1 Nov 2016). 4 V.I. Lenin,Collected works,vol.…”

“…Jan Plamper argues that a defining feature of the modern personality cult is that the cult leader is male (The Stalin cult: a study in the alchemy of power, New Haven, Yale University Press, 2012, p. 25). 4 For example, Jost Dulffer, 'Bonapartism, fascism and National Socialism', Journal of Contemporary History, 11:4, 1976History, 11:4, , pp. 1109Maria Chamberlin, 'Charismatic leaders: Napoleon, Stalin, Mao Zedong andKim Il Sung', Masters thesis, California State University, 2010, gradworks.umi.com/14/87/1487113.html (accessed 2 Nov. 2016); J.O.…”