The Nature of Communism and Nazism

Two totalitarian systems, Communism and Nazism were the two most frightening totalitarian political systems in the history of mankind. They were the systems most brutal to its political adversaries but also to its own people and other races and/or religions. Unfortunately our own country, Croatia faced both of them during the 20th century, and some of bad influences we still feel today.In my essay I will do my best to examine these two totalitarian systems, describe their nature in essence and answer question "How did Communism and Nazism influence the societies".

Communism in general is the political and economic system which wants to replace private property and market economy with public ownership and peoples' control of production and all national resources. The first communist system was established in Russia in 1917 by the Bolsheviks (later called communists). Under "The State and Revolution", Lenin discussed implementation of "dictatorship of the proletariat" through the red terror and violent revolution. Darkest years of Russian communism were under J.V. Stalin, era called "Reign of Terror", especially for its own Russian people. J.V.Stalin killed over 20 million people that were mostly Russians and many were sent to concentration camps, so called the Gulags. It is said that between 15 and 20 million people went through dozens of Gulag labour camps from 1929 to 1953. Gulag is actually the acronym for "the Main Camp Administration".The total population of the camps varied from half a million in 1934 to 1.7 million in 1953 and it "hosted" full range of different social groups – from thieves and small crooks to political enemies and big landowners and ex-capitalist to very personal enemies of communist party officials.Obvi...

... middle of paper ...

...nfluences upon societies both were very conservative as women didn't have the same rights as in the free Western World and minorities were discriminated or even worse sent to the concentration camps and killed. Teachers, academics and other members of the elite were often mistreated not to say molested or even killed. The systems were actually killing their own people's and children future.Unfortunately Croatian people suffered under both of these systems, first as a part of Nazi occupied territory under the name of Independent State of Croatia which was run by local pro-Nazi government and immediately after the Second World War inside of Tito's Communist Yugoslavia.A lot of very sad days we remember still today and the Nazi genocide of the Jewish people will continue to remind generations of what an evil system and lunatic leader can do if he gets out of control.