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Hitler vs. Mao - notes - 2021 - comparison
Great Battles In History (Wilfrid Laurier University)
Studocu is not sponsored or endorsed by any college or university
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Compare and Contrast Hitler and Mao
**write analysis of each point and how this owuld help them
Hitler
Condition
s that led
to rise
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Mao
Political: Struggling Weimar republic
Weimar received all blame from WWi and Versaille
feeling that Germany had been cheated, “November
Criminals”
Stab in the Back theory-blamed socialists and jews
citizens frustrated with govt.
Article 48, allowed pres to declare state of emergency
and use special powers to rule by decree and bypass
Reichstag
proportional Representation system: led to weak
coalition governments, no one party had majority, they
had a hard time working and agreeing with eachother. 6
coalition govs between 1924-1929. Hitler offered an
efficient alternative to help Germany out of the politicla
chaos
Pressure from Revolutionary groups such as Bolsheviks
Spartacists
Economic:
○ effects of WWi: bad harvests, shortage of food
and fuel, naval blockade, 2 million killed at war,
inflation, fevaluation of mark, reparetions
○ Great Depression: crash in the US meant that
US could no longer loan to Germany, US began
demanding repayment
○ unemployment 1930:3 mil, 1932: 6 million
○ weak economy made voters support more
radical parties (Nazis), they were looking for
answers and source of hope
○ Sep 1930 Nazis 2nd largest party in Reichstag
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1911: collapse of ruling Qing dynasty
political issues and dissapointments:
ÑThe emperors were not strong leaders,
which trickled down to other government
officials, who were incompetent
Economic: Heavy taxes were put on the
people, Large disparity between the rich
and poor, Widespread poverty
○ Opium War, Bankruptcy from
England, peasants had to work very
hard, financial instaility
■ outdated feaudal system
Foreign countries had spheres of influence
where they dominated
Became one of the 50 founding members of
the Chinese Communist Party
power vacuum
Civil War: CCP vs. Guomindang (Sun Yat
sen, then Chang Kai Shek)
1949: CCP defeats KMT, Proclamation of
the People’s Republic of China
Economic
China saw an increase in foreign interest in
the country after the defeat of the British in
the Opium wars 1839-42. The superpowers
in the world started to “carve up” China
among them and control her trade. The
emperor’s inability to resist this influx of
foreign involvement in the country
contributed to the rising nationalist
resentment and internal opposition to the
imperial power. As a result, China’s selfimage was badly hurt and many nationalists
were convinced that the abdication of the
emperor was necessary to modernize the
country in order to make it a great power
again. Despite late attempts at reform, the
dynasty was overthrown in 1911 in the
revolution of the double tenth (a military
nationalistic uprising). As the dynasty was
overthrown, a power vacuum arose, which
the KMT and CCP fight over later in the civil
war. Thus, the collapse of imperial power
created the conditions for the later civil war.
ideological divide
○ -Communist ideology. Ultimate aim
of communism is to create an equal
classless society, in which the state
has withered away.
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AIMS//
Ideology
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SUPPOR
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to create Aryan race resembling the perfect Germans
Lebensraum, gain more living space for Germ
Unite German speakers under German Reich
Overturn Treaty of Versaille
Economic goal of self sufficiency
NO Jews in new Reich, anti semitic (jews were the
cause of Gemrny’s prolems)
Mein Kampf: state control, classless folk community,
25 point Nazi Program, adopted February 1920, right
wing, nationalist, corporativist, anti semitic, called for
overturning of Versaille,
Nazism: leadership principle that leader should have
complete authoritative control, A FEW socialist elements
(better pensions and land reform) Social Darwinism (no
such thing asequality, inferior groups only exist to serve
the state/Nazi superior race)
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Used Goebbel’s propoganda to portray Hitler as
Godlike, sent from heaven to unite the German people
Hitler cult, hero
peasant farmers who wanted to return to old ideals
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-Mao adopts Soviet communism to
Chinese conditions. For example,
the peasant class is seen as the
revolutionary class.
○ -Mao also wants to revolutionize
Chinese society. 1) Eradicate rural
poverty through collective
ownership.
○ -Replace traditional Chinese values
with CCP values
○ Abolish foreign influence, and
especially western influence.
KMT: Starts of with Sun-Yat-Sen as the
leader. He is the leader from 1912-1925
Three main principles:
1) Nationalism (take away foreign influence)
2) People’s democracy (establish a
democratic state)
3) People’s livelihood (establish socialism,
where the poor are benefitted)
Chiang Kai-Shek 1925-1949
-Chiang shifts KMT ideology to the right. He
focuses more on nationalism. Chiang’s shift
to the right leads to the white terror in
Shanghai in 1927
How did Mao use the CIVIl War to his
adantage: he was flexible/adapted to the
situation, rallies against the landrds. tried to
unify the rural and urban elites.
educate masses in socialism
Mao believed that the Soviet Union
revolution was bureacrtized, abandonment
of people and the party becomes a group of
elites
political ideas rose from internal and
external struggles
Nationalism
Peasants as revolutionary class
recognized importance of masses
Get rid of elitism
GOALS: relationship between communist
party and peasants
republc would reflect wants of majority
4 key ideas: unity between people and paty,
army and people. mobile warefare
strategy/gerilla warfare, importance of
political indocrtination
“Long March”
1. advocated land reform & tax reform =
gained peasant support
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Oppositio
n
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unemployed people who liked plan of self suffiency
hardcore support: lower sectoin of miffle class: small
shopkeepers, artisans, peasant farmers
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White Rose movement, university of Munish 1934,
leaflets
Edelweiss pirate Group, those who refused to join HItler
Youth Groups
Some aristocrats and intellectuals Kreissaucircle
camps for communist, socialists, Jews, Roma
Trade union leaders did not use their power against
Hitler as they believed his power was temporary
most significant elite opposition to Nazis came from the
Army in which members plotted to remove or
assassinate Hitler
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28 Bolsheviks, claimed that Mao’s ideologu
contradicted leninism
Mao always competing with Leninists
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Consolida
rtion:
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LEGAL
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1933-1939
Reichstag Fire 1933- no clear evidence, Hitler portaryed
the fire as a start of a communist revolution
Decree for Protection of People and State, giving
government power to suspend many civilian liberties.
thousands of communists arrested. SA violence
increased
Enabling Act 1933: enabled Hitler to have 4 year
emergency powers to put down communist threat,
allowing him to make laws without approval of Reichstag
Hitler made sure judicial system matched his objectives.
He appointed those who were loyal to him, judjes
trained in Nazi ideology
○ Nazi Lawyer Association
○ Nazi Special courts to administer Nazi Justice
Legally outlawed KPD and suspended civil and political
liberties during the Reichstag Fire
Enabling Act gave him emergency powers
Gleichschaltung: coordination of all aspects of life
○ April 1933: formalize Nazi control over Lander
governments, they had power to make laws
without approval of provincial parliaments
○ Nazi appointed Reich governors who were
given wide powers to govern and carry out the
Fuhrer’s decision on policy
○ January 1934: Law for Reconstruction of the
Reich: abolished all provincial parliaments and
placed all regional governors under central
control of ministry of the interior
○ Trade unions abolished, workers ordered to join
Nazi German Labor Front
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METHOD
S:
FORCE
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Treatment
of
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SA under Rhom set up in 1921 to shut down opposition
Police state, enemies were sent to concentration camps
SA and SS coercion in March gave him votes for
Enabling Act
Sa and SS occupation of trade unions May 1933
Night of Long Knives, 1934, Hitler ordered the Security
Squad SS to shoot/arrest leaders of SA. 400 people
murdered to prevent SA domination over Hitler’s own
power
police state and terror
○ By 1939, Gestapo (Secret State Police) and SD
(Nazi Party internal Police) power to arrest,
torture and execute enemies
Socialist/communist party (Social Democratic Party),
KPD (Communist Party of Germany)= largest opposition
to Hitler, German youth= opposed: White Rose Mvmt
and working class teens in the Rhineland distributed
anti-Nazi literature in secret, students held protests and
distributed anti-Nazi leaflets
Opposition was exiled, killed, and detained; once Rohm
and SA became threat to Hitler’s dominance, Hitler had
SS attack and shoot SA during 1934 Night of Long
Knives
SS, SA, and Gestapo police force all used to put down
any and all opposition of left wing using force
ex: Army General planted bomb that injured
Hitler slightly, → SS tortured all suspects
KPD abolished after Reichstag Fire
SPD abolished June 22, 1933
Remaining political parties merged with Nazi or
voluntarily ended
July 14, 1933: Law against Formation of New parties
○ formally declared Germany to be a one party
state, only Nazi legal
June 30, 1934: Night of Long Knives, SS ordered to
arrest and kill Rohm and SA
○ purpose: consolidate Hitler’s power, remove any
possibility of a Nazi revolution from below
○ appease german army leaders by ending
threats from Rohm’s army
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purged and dismissed internal opposition
(Peng)
forced opposition to admit their ideas were
wrong.
100 flowers campaign, confusing speech
tricked opposition into sharing their opinion
100 fowers campaign:
○ People began to harshly criticize
and attack Mao
○ Mao called for an abrupt stop
because he was scared of the
amount of criticism
○ Those who spoke too strongly were
arrested
those who opposed Mao:
○ Sent to labor camps
○ Officials were replaced
Analyse the methods and conditions which led to Mao`s rise to power Mao`s rise to power was down to
many factors just as the weakness of the GMD and Chiang Kai-shek that brought corruption, unorganization and hyperinflation, helped the communist`s to appeal to people of China, as did the events of
the Chinese Civil War, that showed off Mao`s clever use of guerilla warfare and his inspirational
leaderships skills. As well as Mao`s cult of personality formed from his peasant upbringing and the
renowned Long March, as well as his ideology of Land Reforms and being a man of the people, all
contribute to Mao Zedong`s rise to power. China had been a land of unity until the mid-nineteenth century,
wars and revolutions followed after that. When the last emperor abdicated and the Warlord Era came
over, the country fell in a state of chaos. The GMD then reunited the country promising the three
principles of nationalism, democracy and land reform. Chiang Kai-shek- the leader of GMD ignored the
ideas of democracy and land reform, he was a strong nationalist and even though he had contacts with
Russia he was very right winged and turned out to be very anti-communist. By 1927 GMD lost their
popularity meanwhile Communists Party started gaining support, Chiang Kai-shek started a so called “
purification movement”, which meant nothing else than killing thousands of communists. This movement
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turned the masses against the GMD, as they understood that GMD don`t keep their word about the three
aims which they promised, and oppositely made a way for the Communist Party. The two parties declared
war on each other, due to the slaughters in Shanghai, Mao was able to set up the first communist base in
Kiangsi. More and more communists joined Mao in this base, but Chiang and his army soon surrounded
the villages around Kiangsi and Mao was forced on the Long March. Quoting a Chinese saying “A journey
of a thousand miles begins with a single step” we realize that this first step for Mao...
Mao's prestige rose steadily after the failure of the Comintern-directed urban insurrections. In late 1931
he was able to proclaim the establishment of the Chinese Soviet Republic under his chairmanship in
Ruijin, Jiangxi Province. The Soviet-oriented CCP Political Bureau came to Ruijin at Mao's invitation with
the intent of dismantling his apparatus. But, although he had yet to gain membership in the Political
Bureau, Mao dominated the proceedings.
In the early 1930s, amid continued Political Bureau opposition to his military and agrarian policies and the
deadly campaigns being waged against the Red Army by Chiang Kai-shek's forces, Mao's control of the
Chinese Communist movement increased. The epic Long March of his Red Army and its supporters,
which began in October 1934, would ensure his place in history. Forced to evacuate their camps and
homes, Communist soldiers and government and party leaders and functionaries numbering about
100,000 (including only 35 women, the spouses of high leaders) set out on a retreat of some 12,500
kilometers through 11 provinces, 18 mountain ranges, and 24 rivers in southwest and northwest China.
During the Long March, Mao finally gained unchallenged command of the CCP, ousting his rivals and
reasserting guerrilla strategy. As a final destination, he selected southern Shaanxi Province, where some
8,000 survivors of the original group from Jiangxi Province (joined by some 22,000 from other areas)
arrived in October 1935. The Communists set up their headquarters at Yan'an, where the movement
would grow rapidly for the next ten years. Contributing to this growth would be a combination of internal
and external circumstances, of which aggression by the Japanese was perhaps the most significant.
Conflict with Japan, which would continue from the 1930s to the end of World War II, was the other force
(besides the Communists themselves) that would undermine the Nationalist government.
Hungry for raw materials and pressed by a growing population, Japan initiated the seizure of Manchuria in
September 1931 and established ex-Qing emperor Puyi as head of the puppet regime of Manchukuo in
1932. The loss of Manchuria, and its vast potential for industrial development and war industries, was a
blow to the Nationalist economy.
The Chinese resistance stiffened after July 7, 1937, when a clash occurred between Chinese and
Japanese troops outside Beijing (then renamed Beiping) near the Marco Polo Bridge. This battle not only
marked the beginning of open, though undeclared, war between China and Japan but also hastened the
formal announcement of the second Kuomintang-CCP united front against Japan. The collaboration took
place with salutary effects for the stressed CCP. The distrust between the two parties, however, was
hardly hidden. The uneasy alliance began to break down after late 1938, despite Japan's steady territorial
gains in northern China, the coastal regions, and the rich Chang Jiang Valley in central China. After 1940,
conflicts between the Nationalists and Communists became more frequent in the areas not under
Japanese control. The Communists expanded their influence wherever opportunities presented
themselves through mass organizations, administrative reforms, and the land- and tax-reform measures
favoring the peasants - while the Nationalists attempted to neutralize the spread of Communist influence.
At Yan'an and elsewhere in the "liberated areas," Mao was able to adapt Marxism-Leninism to Chinese
conditions. He taught party cadres to lead the masses by living and working with them, eating their food,
and thinking their thoughts. The Red Army fostered an image of conducting guerrilla warfare in defense of
the people. Communist troops adapted to changing wartime conditions and became a seasoned fighting
force. Mao also began preparing for the establishment of a new China. In 1940 he outlined the program of
the Chinese Communists for an eventual seizure of power. His teachings became the central tenets of the
CCP doctrine that came to be formalized as Mao Zedong Thought. With skillful organizational and
propaganda work, the Communists increased party membership from 100,000 in 1937 to 1.2 million by
1945.
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Belatedly, the Nationalist government sought to enlist popular support through internal reforms. The effort
was in vain, however, because of the raging corruption in government and the accompanying political and
economic chaos. By late 1948 the Nationalist position was bleak. The demoralized and undisciplined
Nationalist troops proved no match for the People's Liberation Army (PLA). The Communists were well
established in the north and northeast. Although the Nationalists had an advantage in numbers of men
and weapons, controlled a much larger territory and population than their adversaries, and enjoyed
considerable international support, they were exhausted by the long war with Japan and the attendant
internal responsibilities. In January 1949 Beiping was taken by the Communists without a fight, and its
name changed back to Beijing. Between April and November, major cities passed from Kuomintang to
Communist control with minimal resistance. In most cases the surrounding countryside and small towns
had come under Communist influence long before the cities. After Chiang Kai-shek and a few hundred
thousand Nationalist troops fled from the mainland to the island of Taiwan, there remained only isolated
pockets of resistance
Mao Zedong has become one of the most controversial figures in the history of mankind. He destroyed
the old China and built a new China based on the teachings of Karl Marx. During his first years as a
young revolutionary, Mao was mostly cooperative and generous. He had a real prospect for the future of
China and its people. His desire to create a Chinese state where economic disparities are non-existent
faced much opposition from various establishments. The moderates of the revolution did not see rapid
heavy industrialization and collectivization as effective and as a result, they were removed from the party.
The wealthy gentries and professionals despised the efforts to redistribute wealth and many died so at the
hands of revolutionaries. Chiang Kai-Shek and the United States often tried to sabotage Communist
efforts and destroy Communist leadership. Overall, it can be said that Mao faced heavy opposition
against his policies from the traditionally well-off members of society and foreigners and he was able to
eliminate the hostilities by using his popularity, tactics, and an iron-fist.
Originally, Mao sought the support of the USSR. However, Stalin doubted the abilities of a
Chinese man who was outnumbered by the capitalists led by Chiang Kai-Shek. Many pessimistic
Bolsheviks in Mao’s revolutionary army turned against Mao after the White Terror where the Communist
Party and millions of Chinese were virtually exterminated by Chiang. It was only after Chiang’s
Encirclement Campaigns which culminated in the Long March that the Soviets and the Chinese populus
began to recognize the Chinese Communist Party. Unfortunately, Stalin did not provide significance aid to
the Mao due to fear of U.S. intervention.
In 1946, Mao proclaimed the Republic of China after unsuccessful mediations between the
Americans, the Communists, and the Nationalists. Mao immediately pronounced intellectuals, rightists,
and gentries as the enemies of Socialism and thus the innumerable and poor Chinese people. To rid
China of these individuals who represent a very small proportion of the Chinese population, Mao instituted
a series of reforms that lasted for longer than he would have wanted. Mao’s attempt to use propaganda
can be considered as a way to create conformity amongst the people. He wanted Chinese people to
police each other and keep those who deviate from the Communist ideology in check. Intellectuals were
criticized for not agreeing with Mao’s policies. The Hundred Flowers Campaign effectively extorted the
voices of these individuals and put them into a political trap. Mao quickly eliminated these individuals via
demotions, persecutions, and even assassinations. Gentries and other economic elites were subject to
forced collectivization and sometimes-violent “Struggle Meetings” implemented by the poor. After the
Hundred Flowers Campaign, the Anti-Rightist Campaign was established in 1957 as a way to purge the
party of those who were moderates and critical of Mao’s collectivization reforms. During his first decade of
official rule, Mao faced domestic oppositions but was able to seek and destroy those individuals at an
insanely fast pace.
During the Great Leap Forward after the Anti-Rightist Movement, Mao expected rapid
industrialization and agricultural advancements throughout China. What he did not realize was the lack of
infrastructure to allow such changes and this mistake resulted in the death of millions of Chinese. With
these deaths came moderates and rightists who used this opportunity to gain more supporters. The
peasant population was most affected by the lack of food which caused many of them to resent the
policies of Mao as well. The opposing parties were forced to resign with many forced to commit suicide by
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jumping off of buildings. Mao and Khrushchev also conflicted in ideologies. Mao decided that this was the
time for China to exceed the rank of pupil and become a leader in the socialist world. The Soviets,
however, proved to be a formidable institution who will not accept the Chinese as equals or even higher,
as teachers. The result was a passive split between the USSR and China.
After the Great Leap Forward, Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping introduced more rightist polices to
help China normalize. Their policies were effective but Mao despised their overwhelming popularity. Thus,
in 1966, Mao announced the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution to further eradicate the right. Western
education, intellectuals, gentries, rightists, local leaders, and artists were all persecuted with the help of
radical and uncontrolled teenage Red Guards. Mao targeted Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping for the
reason that they were too popular and were “capitalist roaders.” During this period, China was again
destabilized by political and social upheaval. One can say that the Cultural Revolution was Mao’s final
attempt to establish a path for a future socialist utopia, but it can also be said that Mao simply wanted to
remove his oppositions which he did with great success.
Mao’s treatment of his oppositions is actually reflective of China’s thousands of years of history.
Many Chinese emperors recognize intellectuals and opposing elites as personal enemies. With no choice,
they isolated these individuals from the masses which are composed of the easily manipulated poor.
Mao’s consistent success in destroying rising oppositions and creating a god-like self-image is rather
familiar to the Chinese. It can be said that the oppositions did deem themselves as enemies of Mao.
Instead, Mao created his own enemies
Origin and nature of authoritarian and single-party states
· Conditions that produced authoritarian and single-party states
· Emergence of leaders: aims, ideology, support
· Totalitarianism: the aim and the extent to which it was achieved
1. Select two leaders of single-party states, each chosen from a different region, and explain how and
why the conditions of their state helped them to rise to power.
2. Analyze the conditions that enabled one left-wing leader to become the ruler of a single-party state.
I. How Adolf Hitler’s and Mao Zedong’s rise to power were Similar:
a. Both Germany and China were in states of disrepair directly before these two totalitarian’s rise to
power.
i. China had just ousted the Manchu Dynasty that had ruled from 1640-1911 and was in an era of divided
provincialism. There was rampant inflation caused by the reparations paid by China after the Opium Wars
and
The Boxer Uprising. There was by extension rampant unemployment and seasonal starvation. The most
fiscally
fruitful portions of China were under international control.
ii. Germany had rampant unemployment and inflation and regularly had coups (called Putschs) of differing
types
to differing levels of success. The most fiscally fruitful portions of Germany were under international
control.
iii. Both Mao and Hitler promised a rectification of the unemployment and supply problems as well as a
rejection
of all foreign interference.
b. Both Mao and Hitler used extensive propaganda campaigns to smear the existing government and
generate images of
their respective parties as freedom fighters and patriots to gain the populace’s favor.
c. The propaganda campaigns and later governments were both supported by writings of the two
totalitarians: Mien Kamf
for Hitler and Mao’s little red book.
d. Their non-governmental power was born out of governmental reprisals.
i. Germany had terrible trouble keeping the communist elements suppressed within their country and had
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to
accept help from the independently operated Friekorps.
1. After the Friekorps crushed the communist uprisings the government promptly disbanded them.
2. Hitler did not participate in these events; however, the members of the disbanded Friekorps later
joined the NAZI private army—the SA. They organized and trained it into a well-oiled fighting machine.
ii. The Nationalists had terrible trouble organizing all of the Warlords into one united country and accepted
the
help of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to do so.
1. After the CCP helped to crush the Warlords and unify China, the KMT Nationalists promptly disbanded
the CCP and massacred 250,000 of its members.
2. Mao did not participate in a high-ranking position during the unification campaign but promptly gained
unrivaled leadership when he led the CCP’s 6,000-mile retreat from the Nationalist’s crackdown to
establish a base in Northern China.
II. How Adolf Hitler’s and Mao Zedong’s rises to power differed:
a. Hitler was a heavily right wing NAZI; Mao Zedong was a heavily left wing Socialist.
b. Hitler received considerable support from the upper echelons of society whereas Mao relied almost
exclusively on the
common man.
c. Hitler came to power through an election then political maneuvering; Mao came to power through force
of arms after he
occupied Beijing in 1949.
d. They appealed to different parts of their respective populace’s psyche:
i. Hitler appealed to the average German on three levels:
1. He promised fiscal prosperity that the Weimar had been unable to provide.
2. He promised a stronger German government and State.
3. He painted the opposition as anti-German, weak, indecisive, etc.
ii. Mao appealed to the average Chinese populace on three levels:
1. He promised a collective prosperity in the form of sustenance for all, and an end to the seasonal
famines.
2. He promised only a unified Chinese state, by extension it would be a stronger one but this differed
from Hitler’s promise, as Mao’s promise didn’t include anything regarding imperialism or the furtherance
of the Chinese borders as Hitler’s did.
3. He painted the opposition as opulent, lavish, and puppets of the west.
Establishment of authorities and single party states
· Methods: force, legal
· Form of government, (left- and right-wing) ideology
· Nature, extent and treatment of opposition
1. Analyzing the ideology of (a) one right-wing ruler, and (b) one left wing ruler.
2. Select one leader of a single-party state, and explain why there was opposition to his rule, and why the
opposition succeeded or failed.
3. Discuss (a) the ideology of, and (b) the support for, one right wing ruler of a single-party state.
4. Evaluate the methods used by either Peron or Nasser to maintain power. (for our purposes, you will
select any two leaders from different regions)
Methods Similar
- Both at least attempted to use forces to gain power
- Hitler used in during the Beer Hall Putsch however he was unsuccessful and ended up going to jail
because of his
attempted revolt
- He also used violence in setting up opposition groups like the communists for his acts of violence like
the Reichstag
Fire.
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- Mao was much more successful in that he was able to beat the nationalists within China and take over
the government
within China acting as the supreme ruler.
Methods Difference
- Use of legal means were very different between Hitler and Mao
- Hitler used Legal means to be appointed Chancellor and then passing a law that allowed him to govern
without
consulting the Reichstag
- After passing the Enabling Act, everything he did was legal because he was following legal code to
govern.
- Mao did not use as many legal means to establish power because there was no real legal means to
establish power.
- Although there was some sort of democratic system, China had been in turmoil for so long that the
system did not
work correctly.
- The only real way of getting power was through force so that was what was required of Mao in order to
gain power.
Ideologies Similar
- Both are totalitarian states that control most aspects of peoples’ lives
- Both created some sort of cult around the leader.
- Mao was seen as a hero after the Long March and was idolized after becoming the leader of China
- Hitler was given credit for getting Germany back to its former glory and so he was idolized.
- Both supported improving the economy within their state and supporting nationalism.
Ideologies Differences
- Hitler wanted to improve the economy by getting rid or unemployment and making Germany selfsufficient by increasing
exports while decreasing imports
- Mao wanted to improve the economy by following more of a communist model by creating communes to
produce goods.
- Mao focused on more of a communist model of government changing it slightly to focus more on
peasants.
- Hitler was more conservative following more of a fascist model.
Opposition Similar
- Both crushed any opposition violently
- Mao through purges
- Hitler through sending those groups to work camps or concentration camps
- Both dispersed any kind of political opposition
- Hitler legally outlawed any other political parties
- Mao chased out the KMT out of mainland China to Taiwan after the end of the war.
Opposition Differences
- Hitler focused on Jews, communists, gypsies, homosexuals and political enemies.
- Mao tended to focus on the intellectuals as the subjects of his purges
- Hitler also tended to use these out groups as scapegoats for the things that occurred within Germany
previously.
Synthesis of Mao and Hitler
A. Gaining power
1. Legal
a. The two are on completely different levels when legality comes into play. Hitler Manipulated the
government to gain full control, while Mao was elected. Mao didn’t have a Parliament (Reichstag) to go
through he was the one man elected to lead a nation
2. Force
a. The similarities between the two in how they gained power by using force is more prevalent. Mao used
War, while Hitler used the Beer Hall Putsch. The two had no care for others lives as long as it advanced
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them for the better.
B. Form of Government
A. The two had very differing philosophies when it cam to governing their respective states. On one end
of the spectrum, Hitler, is a very rightist leader focusing on military, nationalism, and the people of his
country. Mao had a different way he ran China. He centralized the government and ensured that he could
control exactly how much and what was made in China.
B. The only similarities that the two had was that while Hitler discriminated against Jews and Communist,
Mao wanted to bring down anyone that wasn’t for his cause. Both had plans set to “flush” out the “Unwanteds”.
C. Treatment of Opposition
A. Hitler had a more moderate form of treatment to his opposition. He would jail them, and rarely kill his
opponents. While Mao had a more harsher take on punishment. He would Kill the opponents, and even
citizens that supposedly were against him would be jailed on sheer suspicion.
B. Both had a no tolerance policy to their opposition. Suppressive rule kept the pressure off of them and
scare tactics helped them keep their rule.
Domestic policies and impact
· Structure and organization of government and administration
· Political, economic, social and religious policies
· Role of education, the arts, the media, propaganda
· Status of women, treatment of religious groups and minorities
1. Compare and contrast the religious policies of Hitler and Peron.
2. In 1952 Kenyatta said, “God said this is our land, land in which we flourish as a people”. In what ways
did the people of Kenya (a) benefit, and (b) suffer from Kenyatta’s policies?
3. To what extent were the social and economic policies of one of the following successful: Mao, Nasser,
Stalin?
4. Compare and contrast the domestic policies of two of the following: Castro, Kenyatta, Stalin. (for our
purposes, you will select any two leaders from different regions)
5. Examine the role of education in one single-party or authoritarian state.
6. In what ways, and to what extent, was propaganda important in the rise and ruler of Hitler?
Compare
- No Religion as influence
- Both seen in the eyes of the followers as God like characters
- Both Germany and China had massive book burnings of anything that might challenge the dictatorships
- Propaganda was huge for both leaders
- Both leaders targeted youth for revolution
- Targeted religious groups
- The current government had been fighting a war against the Japanese that left the people suffering and
depressed. Mao challenged Chaing Ka Sheck's weak Chinese government, which led to a civil war. Just
like Hitler after World War I, which lead to World War II.
- Both left office with there deaths
- Prior to both coming to power both Germany and China has hyperinflation problems
Contrast
- Mao Communist and Hitler Nazi
- Little Red Book, Third Reich
Allies are USSR for China and Germany Italy and Japan
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