Actually, when you think about it, everyone seems to hate on Hitler so much. Why? Out of the three SPS leaders we studied, his reign of terror was actually the least terrible. The holocaust which killed six million people really wasnt much in comparison to Stalin and Mao.
Granted, Germany is alot smaller, and Hitler was around for a shorter time. So perhaps in terms of per unit time and population, Hitler would possibly be the worst. Still, more likely than not, there might actually be nationalism and racism subtly involved. Because the people Mao killed are chinese and the people Stalin killed are russian, no one cares. But Hitler, he killed jews, the promised children. I guess that is significant, but still, the lack of knowledge about what Mao and Stalin did is actually quite stunning.
Possibly because the reign of Hitler was at World War II but the reign of Stalin when most people were killed was outside World War II.
Still, studying China this year makes me realise how appalling Mao is. And dear me. All these happened less than fifty years ago.
The death toll due to the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution was more than that of the total death toll in the entire reign of Stalin and Hitler combined. That is pretty scary.
Hitler had his Night of Long Knives where he betrayed his supporters and those within his rank and had them killed to attain the absolute power he needed. So yes, Hitler was cruel when he killed allies. Stalin had the Great Purges to eliminate all his political opponents. Stalin was cruel when he was merciless against anyone who objected him. Mao throughout his reign and especially during the Cultural Revolution repeatedly raised his successors and killed them, including his comrades who fought along side him from the days of the Long March. Seriously, it seems that the only comrade of Mao that survived was Deng Xiaoping, and he got purged twice during the time of Mao's reign, just that he didnt die.
Geez. That is one crazed fella. I feel quite sad for Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping.
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