Nicolas

Sawicky Paper 4 Professor Bakhmetyeva The twentieth century saw the rise of two powerful regimes. Eventually facing off in a world war, The Soviet Union and Nazi Germany fought hard to prove that their regime was the stronger of the two. These regimes not only shared some fundamental differences, but also some similarities between each other. Some of these areas of comparison include their ideologies, leadership, culture, policies, international politics, and peoples attitudes towards the regime. The ideology of a particular country can be compared to the mission statement of a certain company. Both the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany held a unique ideology that reflected their goals as a newly formed regime. The ideology of the Soviet Union was rapid industrialization at any cost, so that communism could be spread to other countries across the world. In contrast, the ideology of Nazi Germany is the inclusion of key elements of fascism and socialism, along with the Unification of all German-speaking people and revenge against the people behind the Treaty of Versailles. The leadership of a newly formed and radical regime is a very integral part towards that governments success. In the case of the Soviet Union, that leader was Joseph Stalin. He ruled his totalitarian regime with an iron fist, even taking over the position of Commander in Chief for the military, despite a lack of military knowledge. Just like in the case of the Soviet Union, Nazi Germany had a man who

ruled with an Iron fist. Adolf Hitler was the head of the totalitarian ruled Germany and just like Stalin, took the role of Commander in Chief of the Military despite having actual military knowledge. Both leaders even systematically removed any potential competitors in the form of purges. The culture of a nation is a very important aspect to its success. The regimes of the Soviet Union and Germany both incorporated their ideals into the culture of their respective countries to gain favor from the masses. Life in the Soviet Union was terrible. In order to prevent any counter-revolution, Stalin used film to dramatize Russian life as much better than reality. Through the use of art propaganda, Hitler was able to hide Germanys atrocities or even convince the German people that the governments actions were just. Some tactics included: promoting classical art, suppressing modern art, promoting anti-Semitic arts, creating Art with Nazi marches, releasing films that advance the cause of the Nazi party, and creating posters that furthered the Nazi ideals. The policies of a nation are something that is usually a direct result of the ideology of that nation. When it comes down to two totalitarian regimes like the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, there are some commonalities to be observed. In both countries, Enemies of the state would be put in work camps, where they would most likely die. Going along with these arrests and imprisonments, party officials had seemingly limitless power to arrest and dispose of any citizens they saw fit.

Even with those similarities in policies, they also had some very contrasting policies in place. The economic situation in the Soviet Union was far from satisfactory, actually resulting in harsher times than what the Russian people experienced under the Czar. There was a huge push towards industrialization of the most important sections of the Russian economy. This left items like clothes and shoes with no mass production possibilities (Class Notes). Along with this lack of consumer products, there was a strict collectivization policy in affect that broke the back of the peasants. To divert blame of the hardships, the Soviet government blamed the Kulaks, who they said were holding on to the grain. This move caused neighbors to rat out each other, causes many false accusations. In complete contrast, the life of a typical German citizen under the Nazi regime was much better than life under the previous regime. There were plenty of jobs, with a manageable increase in industrialization. The propaganda of the Nazi party was much more organized and helpful to the progress of the nation. The Nazi party helped instill confidence in the people of Germany by claiming the superiority of the Aryan race and blamed the problems of the past on the Jews. This unified the country against a common enemy, instead of put the citizens against each other. One of the main factors of how a country is viewed internationally is how it conducts itself on the international stage. In the case of the Soviet Union, its main focus was influencing the countries in its immediate vicinity and making them communist regimes. They would then be dissolved into the motherland and become part of the U.S.S.R. Nazi Germany took a similar approach, but in a more

forceful manner. Hitler started to invade neighboring countries with German speaking citizens in an effort to unite all the people of German ethnicity. This also worked as a land grab, so that the superior Aryan race would have more land to live on. These invasions went unmatched for a considerable amount of time, calling the bluff of the other European countries that warned Germany against any aggression. The majority attitude of a countrys citizens is extremely important to the success of a nation. The people of the Soviet Union lived in constant fear of what was next. They worked hard and kept their mouth shut because if they did not, it was off to Siberia. Although it did result in a hard working group of citizens, it was not worth the cost of their freedoms. If they did not have the possibility of arrest hanging over them, they Soviet Union would not have lasted as long as it did. The citizens of Germany had a very positive outlook on the progress of the Nazi party. They saw the transformation from the Weimar Republic to Nazi Germany. The minority that was unhappy with the direction of the Nazi Party was forced to remain silent to avoid a similar fate to the vocal citizens of the Soviet Union. As you can see, the regimes of the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany share both numerous similarities and differences. Both governments ruled with an iron fist and did whatever it deemed necessary to complete its ideological goals. Where they begin to contrast is how they went about change. Nazi Germany actually saw an improvement in the quality of life for its citizens. It was then much easier to convince the citizens of Germany to go along with anything the party wished to pursue. The quality of life for citizens of the Soviet Union was actually a downgrade

from life under the Russian Czar. This meant that the citizens needed to be forced to follow the will of the government, killing millions of innocent civilians in the process.