Lenin, Stalin, And Hitler By Robert Gellately

868 Words2 Pages

In Lenin, Stalin, and Hitler, acclaimed historian Robert Gellately focuses on the dominant powers of the time, the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, but also analyzes the catastrophe of those years in an effort to uncover its political and ideological nature. Arguing that the tragedies endured by Europe were inextricably linked through the dictatorships of Lenin, Stalin, and Hitler, Gellately explains how the pursuit of their “utopian” ideals turned into dystopian nightmares. Dismantling the myth of Lenin as a relatively benevolent precursor to Hitler and Stalin and contrasting the divergent ways that Hitler and Stalin achieved their calamitous goals, Gellately creates in Lenin, Stalin, and Hitler a vital analysis of a critical period in …show more content…

In 1917, exhausted by World War One, Tsarist Russia was a wreck. It was the perfect chaos moment for Lenin to return home. Germany, in effort to destabilize Russia, helped send Lenin back to Russia. They hoped Lenin would undermine the Russian war efforts. Instead of arrested and exiled again, Lenin was warmly welcomed home and supported by other radical thinkers such as Leon Trotsky. He quickly became the leader of the Marxist movement and led the Bolsheviks in the bloody violent Red October Revolution. Lenin, much to his own surprise, effectively ended the Russian Empire rather easily and established the Soviet state. The Tsar had become incredibly unpopular and were willing to embrace Lenin's revolution. After the story of Lenin and his construction of the USSR. The book then explains Hitler and his rise to power in Germany and his Fascist ideas heavily influenced by the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. Hitler was a influential speaker and excellent negotiator. He surrounded himself with people that he liked and people that liked him. He demanded the Nazi party to introduce him as the leader of the party. They conceded and he became party leader. The Nazi party moved its way up in the government and seat in Reichstag. In a way Hitler rose to power in a peaceful …show more content…

Arguing that the tragedies endured by Europe were inextricably linked through the dictatorships of Lenin, Stalin, and Hitler, Gellately explains how the pursuit of their “utopian” ideals turned into dystopian nightmares. Dismantling the myth of Lenin as a relatively benevolent precursor to Hitler and Stalin and contrasting the divergent ways that Hitler and Stalin achieved their calamitous goals, Gellately creates in Lenin, Stalin, and Hitler a vital analysis of a critical period in modern

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