Summary of the years preceding and following World War II.
This paper gives a brief overview of four influential leaders during the years leading up to WWII and the immediate years following. The paper looks at how the leadership and policies of Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, and Zedong affected and changed the world. The paper also looks at the effects of British and European colonialism and how it began to disintegrate after WWII.
“Joseph Stalin ruled the U.S.S.R. from 1929 to 1953. Born Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili in 1879, he changed his name when he became a young revolutionary to Stalin, which means “Man of Steel” (Joseph pg). Stalin first rose to power in 1922 as secretary general of the Communist Party and using administrative skills and ruthless maneuvering, he disposed of all potential party rivals by having them condemned as deviationists and later executed (Joseph pg). In order to ensure his position, he pushed forward “socialism in one country” by setting the Soviet Union on a course of collectivization and industrialization and forcing some 25 million farmers onto state farms (Joseph pg). During the 1930’s, Stalin’s Great Purge arrested 1.2 million party members, roughly half of the party, with more than half a million dying from torture or execution (Joseph pg).”