FREE ESSAY ON THE SOVIET GERMAN WAR

THE SOVIET GERMAN WAR

The Soviet-German War is the most brutal episode of the most vicious war that mankind has
ever seen (Clark 1). During the "Great Patriotic War", as Joseph Stalin coins it, the
Soviet Union emerges through pure tenacity as one of the world's great superpowers.
Although Stalin and the USSR emerge victorious, the sacrifices made are enormous (Clark
446). Estimates show between 20-25 million Soviets die from 1941-1945. Only 7-8 million
Germans die during this same period (Encarta). Many of these deaths are a direct result
of the brilliant (sometimes insane) chess match between two of the most tyrannical
leaders in history: Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin. Even today, some people ponder which
leader fits the anti-Christ description best. The finest way to analyze the minds of
these two leaders is to examine each dictator's rise to power, the motives which led to
the "unholy alliance", and the initial offensive campaigns that each dictator launches. 
Born on December 21, 1877, Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili's father is a drunkard and
his mother is a washer struggling to support the family. Dzhugashvili will later be known
to the world as Joseph Stalin (Encarta). Stalin's mother, Ekaterina Georgievna, is a
dedicated member of the Orthodox Church and enters him into the Seminary at
Tifilis(Georgia) in 1894 for the study of priesthood in the Georgian Orthodox church.
Soon after Stalin becomes part of the illegal Marxist movement (Encarta). The young
Stalin quickly rises to the rank of leader of his own Marxist circle. In May of 1899, he
is expelled from school just short of graduation in which later communist literature
criedits to "political balance" (Encarta). By this time, Joseph Stalin has become more
immersed in his role as a professional agitator of the system. While working as an
accountant in Tbilisi, Stalin joins the Social-Democratic Workers' Party. In 1900 and
1901 he leads railway strikes and demonstrations which catches the attention of the
imperial police. He is captured for the first time and is exiled to Siberia in 1903; but
the feisty Stalin escapes and by 1904 he is back in Georgia. Between the period of 1903
and 1913, the imperial police capture Stalin a total of seven times for revolutionary
activity. He escapes numerous times to come back and wreak chaos on the Czarist
government. When the RSDLP split into the Menshevik and Bolshevik factions, Stalin's need
for disruptance leads him to the Bolsheviks, the more militant of the groups(Encarta) 
In late 1905, he travels as a Caucasian delegate to the secret Bolshevik conference in
Finland. It is here that he meets Vladimir Lenin. Stalin quickly becomes one of Lenin's
most trusted lieutenants; his main priority going to raising money for the party. Lenin
promotes Stalin to the Central Committee, which is the Bolsheviks leading body in 1912
(Encarta). During this time Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili adopts the name Joseph
Stalin, which in Russian Stalin means "man of steel" (Encarta). By this time the Stalin
that the world knows best begins to evolve. 
In 1922, the Central Committee of the new Bolshevik government elects Stalin as Secretary
General. Lenin then suffers his first major stroke. This is the most important turning
point in Stalin's rise to power. With Lenin bedridden for the last years of his life,
Stalin uses his closeness to Lenin as a means of quickly rising past the normal orders of
succession that Lenin put in place. In the last moments of his life, Lenin begins to
realize that Stalin is an aggressive tyrant who will stop at nothing for absolute power
(Encarta). Lenin's final political "testament" displays his doubts about having Stalin as
the Secretary General and even asks that Stalin is removed from office. Lenin also
suggests that one of his other understudies, Trotsky, should replace him. Lenin's
testament is successfully suppressed by Stalin and is Lenin's wishes are not made known
until after his death. With Lenin dead, Stalin easily becomes the ruthless dictator that
rivals Hitler. 
While there has always been evidence that Stalin's destiny is insanity, Hitler's
childhood is nowhere near indicative of what is to follow. Born on April 20, 1989, in a
small village in Austria-Hungary, Adolf Hitler's father is an Austrian customs agent who
rises to considerable status. Therefore, Hitler's childhood is relatively comfortable
(Encarta). The only indication of the future Hitler is his strong will. He is a bright
but moody student who loves the arts. Hitler's erratic behavior causes him to flunk out
of secondary school at the equivalent of the ninth grade level. In 1907, Hitler is
rejected from the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts(Encarta). This is the beginning of Hitler's
journey from dejected youngster to brilliant, yet psychotic man. Between the 1908-1914,
Hitler spent his life as a loner, moving from locations often and selling paintings for a
living. At one point Hitler lives in a homeless shelter(Encarta). When World War I erupts
in 1914, Hitler eagerly volunteers for service in the German army on the Western Front.
On legend states that upon hearing the news of war Hitler sinks to his knees in
jubilation. Most will agree that this is definitely a sign of an imbalance in his
thinking process. After his unit, the Bavarian Regiment's first battle against the
British and Belgians near Pyres, 2500 of the 3000 men in Hitler's regiment are killed,
wounded, or missing(Encarta). Hitler escapes without serious injury. This becomes a
similar pattern in Hitler's war years. Either from a result of his heroism or luckiness,
Hitler earns an Iron Cross First Class in 1918; which is a high medal to receive for a
person who never ranks above Private First Class(Encarta). The savageness of war causes
Hitler to hate races other than Germans and while recovering from a mustard gas bomb
Hitler decides to devote his life to the destruction of "inferior" races (Encarta) 
Hitler's makes his talent as an orator evident to his officers. After the war, he is
selected for special training to speak to returning prisoners of war. Hitler soon learns
the power of persuasive speech. His oratorical successes lead him to a special position
as an observer of political groups in Munich(Encarta). One of the groups he observes is
the German Workers' Party; later renamed the National Socialist German Workers' (Nazi)
Party. 
Hitler becomes intrigued by the party and soon joins. This marks his entrance into
politics. Through advertising in the anti-Semitism newspaper, people come to the meetings
to hear Hitler speak. In the summer of 1920, Hitler is instrumental in choosing the
symbol which is an infamous symbol of hatred; the swastika. By 1921, Hitler is named
Fuhrer(absolute leader) of the party (Encarta). Adolf Hitler quickly uses his position to
spread the party's influence throughout Munich and Bavaria. Soon Munich is the center of
right-wing opposition to the new national government (Encarta). The basis of the party is
that democracy and socialism are ineffective and the only way to prosperity goes through
dictatorship. Hitler's process towards absolute power begins on November 8, 1923, when
Hitler and 600 armed Nazis raid a Beer Hall in Munich the head of the Bavarian government
is speaking. Hitler takes several officials hostage in an attempt to takeover the
provisional government. However, the attempt to revolt fails and Hitler is sentenced to
five years in jail. The resilent Hitler is released one year later.
After his release from prison in December 1924, Hitler rebuilds the National Socialist
German Workers party (Nazi) and waits for the opportunity to regain national influence.
That opportunity comes from the Great Depression of 1929. He promises unemployed citizens
jobs and return of national prosperity to the country. With the support of his party,
Hitler is elected to the position of Chancellor in 1930. He wastes no time in
establishing the building blocks of the greatest autrocity the world has ever seen. 
The similarities between Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler are great. Both dictators gain
power through force. Both dictators are great orators and masters in the art of
propaganda. The love of these two men for mind games leads to the "unholy alliance"
(Roberts 1). The Unholy Alliance is a term used to describe the Nazi-Pact of 1939. 
'The friendship of the peoples of Germany and the Soviet Union, sealed in blood, has
every reason to be lasting and firm'---Joseph Stalin (Roberts 171)
Stalin has three aims for the Soviet-German Pact: 
1. To stay out of war with Germany as long as possible
2. If war with Germany could not be prevented, gain as much from Germany as possible
3. To settle issues with the carving up of Poland and the Baltic States 
Realistically, Stalin realizes that the Nazi-Soviet Pact is nothing more than a means to
buy time for the immenent invasion of Russia by Germany (Roberts 171). This is considered
one of Stalin's brightest moves. It is also the base of Stalin biggest blunders. Stalin
successfully plays Hitler's time game only to disregard the fact that the USSR should be
prepared one day for the invasion. Although the USSR has a military to rival the Germans,
Stalin allows the Soviet Union to become involved in a war with Finland during which
Russia loses soldiers at a rate of five Russian soldiers to one Finnish soldier(Roberts
163). 
By September 1939, Hitler has accumulated several victories in his quest for the
expansion of the Nazi empire. The ideas that he set forth for his party fifteen years ago
are beginning to come true and this partially causes Hitler to overlook the fact that
Stalin and the USSR is just as powerful and ruthless as he (Cecil 11). Hitler's hatred
causes him to see "Jewish Slavs" and Stalin as an obstacle in his conquests (Cecil
13-15). While Stalin has three aims of prevention, Hitler has three aims of aggression:
1. To conquer the world for the Aryan nation
2. To exterminate the inferior races
3. To prepare Germany for a war on the grandest of scales
The Soviet-Nazi Pact allows Hitler time to prepare for what the largest invasion in the
history of the world. This, coupled with the fact that the most important result of the
Soviet-Finnish War is that it leaves Russia off-guard, leads to an event named
'Barbarossa'. 
On the night of June 22, 1941, more than 3 million German soldiers, 600,000 armed
vechicles, and 3350 tanks prepare for Barbarossa; a well calculated military plan to
invade the USSR using the blitzkrieg(lightning) style of warfare. For Hitler, the
inevitable assault on Russia is the culmination of a long standing obsession. He believes
Russia's industries and agricultural lands will fit well in his Lebensraum (living space)
for Germany and his Thousand Year Reich. Russia has been on Hitler's agenda since he
wrote Mein Kampf seventeen years earlier here he states: "we terminate the endless German
drive to the soulth and the west of Europe, and direct our gaze towards the lands in the
east...If we talk about new soil and territory in Europe today, we can think primarily
only of Russia and its vassal border states" (Cecil 63). Believing that Britian is close
to being defeated, Hitler decides to execute Barbarossa on in June wanting to finish off
the Soviet Union as soon as possible, before it could significantly reload from the
Soviet-Finland War. Hitler believes, "We only have to kick in the front door and the
whole rotten edifice will come tumbling down" ( Cecil 26). 
Hit