History has undoubtedly seen its fair share of mistreatment and torture of humans, either physically or mentally. Famine, war and disease are just some of the factors that led to a human’s early demise, especially when examining the treatment of these at the hands of violent aggressors. Nowhere was this more evident than during the rule of Stalinist Russia and Nazi Germany. Historians have for years debated which regime was more deadly to not just warring countries, but even their own people. It is necessary, then, to closely compare and contrast Stalinist Russia with Nazi Germany through their use of propaganda, torture and genocide. Joseph Stalin (born Josef Vissarionovich Djugashvili) was the dictator of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) from December 27, 1929 until his death on March 5, 1953 and the successor to the former Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin. As a member of the Bolshevik revolutionaries that led the Russian Revolution of 1917, Stalin was elected general secretary of the party's Central Committee in 1922. Following that, he would become the party’s leader and dictator of the USSR. Stalin’s reign would be a vicious one to say the least; Lenin himself even expressed concern over Stalin’s intentions. Nearing death, Lenin warned “Having become general secretary, he has enormous power in his hands and I am not sure that he always knows how to use that power with sufficient caution”. Although Stalin would still rule, many initially believed Leon Trotsky to be Lenin’s natural successor. Trotsky was a hero to the Russian people; he organised the revolution and established and commanded Russia’s Red Army. He was also adept in Marxist theory, the foundation of Communism. Containing an expert knowledge of Marxism would enable Trotsky to make Communism work more effectively for the USSR; Stalin did not possess such an understanding. Though lacking initial control, Stalin was much stronger as a politician than Trotsky and was willing to do whatever it took to destroy his opposition. Nearing Lenin’s death in January of 1924, Stalin allied against Trotsky with fellow party members Lev Kamenev and G.E. Zinoviev, a Bolshevik leader who was Lenin's greatest supporter during the Revolution. Together, Stalin overtook Trotsky’s dominant position and eventually became the dictator of the Soviet Union (there is no official date as to when exactly Stalin seized his power, but the beginning of his reign is often marked with the implementation of his first 5 year policy on December 27, 1929). However, the Bolshevik’s decision to ignore Lenin’s warning would be one the Russians suffered immensely for. Adolf Hitler officially ruled as president of Germany from August 19, 1934 until his suicide on April 30, 1945. Before getting involved in politics, he started off as a recruit in the German army. Hitler’s military career began at age 25, at the dawn of World War I in 1914. He had felt a lack of purpose and meaning in life and decided to put himself to good action through service of his country. But the war dehumanized him; when others likely thought of their families, Hitler thought only of the war and the enemies of his fatherland. While Hitler’s emotion had become suppressed by hatred and anger, he began to see everything from a propaganda perspective and came to the deluded conclusion that the Jews were to blame for the fall of Germany (likely because of their high ranking status in European society). In his own words, “If 12 or 15,000 of these Jewish corrupters of people had been gassed we might have saved the lives of a million real Germans." At home in Munich, Hitler was selected by the army to spy on a group known as the National Socialist Worker’s Party, commonly known as the Nazis. Enthralled by the party’s shared anti-Semitic views, he decided to represent them as a speaker. Hitler turned out to be a superb orator and was able to captivate the masses. Because of him, party attendance grew exponentially and he rose to become the new Nazi leader. Once in power, he created a paramilitary faction of the Nazis known as the Sturmabteilung (Assault Division) or SA for short. Hitler’s SA was used for violent intimidation, ruthlessly beating anyone who dared to oppose or even question the Fuhrer (a title he gave to himself meaning leader). In 1932, Germany was struck by the global depression and the German people needed a drastic solution. In a state of turmoil, Hitler and the Nazi party gave the people not only a sense of hope, but a sense of empowerment and national pride. He gave the people this idea of a German paradise, but unfortunately, that paradise was not to be shared with everyone. Hitler was quick to reveal his anti-Semitic views and he, like Stalin, utilized various propaganda tactics to eliminate his opposition and earn the loyalty of the German public. (The Most Evil Men in History: Adolf Hitler, documentary) In the Soviet Union, Stalin had ambitious p