Left: Adolf Hitler - Photo Source: US Air Force
Right Joseph Stalin with Roosevelt and Churchill at Teheran Conference 1943 - Photo Source CIA

Two of the greatest tyrants in history ruled at the same time. One was Adolf, sometimes written Adolph, Hitler and the other was Joseph, sometimes written Josef, Stalin. Stalin was born on 21 December 1879. He was the fourth child born to his mother in under four years. The other three had died. Adolf Hitler was born on 20 April, 1889. He didn't know who his grandfather was because his father was the illegitimate son of Maria Anna Schicklgruber and an unknown person who might even have been Jewish. Hitler's name was really Hiedler because his father had changed it to that but somehow it got written down as Hitler in the public record book. His father had changed his name to hide the fact that he was illegimate. This rumor came about because Maria Anna Schicklgruber was supposedly employed as a cook by a rich Jewish family named Frankenberger and it was thought that their 19 year old grandson made her pregnant and then he sent her money on a regular basis. Hitler was born in a small Austrian village near the German Bavarian border. Stalin was born in Gori, Georgia in Russia. His mother was very protective of him because he became ill quite often and she was afraid that he would die like the three siblings before him. Stalin's mother was very religious and placed him in the church school. He won a scholarship and used it to enter the Seminary. In the seminary Stalin joined a secret organization that advocated independence of Georgia from Russia. This is where he was introduced to the ideas of Karl Marx. He was later expelled from the seminary. When Adolf was a baby he had the nickname Adi. His father remarried his own niece and Adolf had a brother Edmund and a sister Paula. Hitler did well in school and enjoyed singing in the church choir in a Benedictine monastery. Young Hitler even considered being a priest. He was very found of the priests in the monastery. It seems that both Stalin and Hitler had a nearly identical religious background except for the fact that Hitler was only a boy when he sang in the monastery choir.

Even though Hitler was a good student, he did poorly when sent to technical school because he was unhappy and since he was from the country, he was looked down upon by the city boys. Hitler wanted to be an artist and wanted a classical education instead. After Stalin was kicked out of school, he just stayed unemployed for quite a while, later getting a job as a clerk at the Tifis Observatory. He also started to write for a socialist newspaper. The socialist party had a falling out and some followed Julius Martov while a small fraction followed Vladimir Lenin. Those who followed Lenin were called Bolsheviks. Stalin became a Bolshevik.

In 1904 Stalin began organizing demonstrations and strikes. Lenin became impressed with the young man and asked to meet him. Stalin was arrested four times in the next eight years but escaped. Eventually he became the editor of Pravda. In 1913 he was arrested again and exiled to Siberia. He was allowed home after the Czar was overthrown. Lenin berated the Bolsheviks in 1917 calling for revolution and saying they were doing nothing to further this goal. Stalin then wrote an editorial in Pravda condemning some of the Bolshevik leaders and calling for revolution. He was rewarded by Lenin and appointed Commissar of Nationalities. This position was one of power since 65 million people fell under the Commissar because half of the countries population were not Russians, they were Georgians, Belorussians, Buriats, Ukrainians, Tadzhiks and Yakuts.

In 1905 Hitler dropped out of high school, he was sixteen years old. He was unemployed for years. His father was dead and his mother, while urging him to learn a trade, never really pushed him to work. He liked to sleep late and stay up late. When he woke he would dress up and take his ivory tipped can and go out for a walk. Hitler developed a close friendship with a would be musician who was a good listener. He was Linz Kubizek who would later say that Hitler hated to be corrected and was quick to anger. He also said he was very high strung. After Hitler's mother died he moved into a home for poor men in Vienna and stayed there for years. He had become a beggar before that. Hitler began to sell his paintings to mostly Jewish shop owners and became friends with Josef Neumann, a Jew. It is said that Hitler experienced bouts of depression. The mayor of Vienna was Karl Lueger, an anti-semite who Hitler admired. Lueger was to become the model for the new Hitler. Hitler still maintained his friendships and relations with the Jewish shop owners. He didn't want to serve in the Austrian Army so he moved to Germany but was tracked down and told he had to serve or face prison, but failed the physical. He later joined the German army. Hitler had become an informant while in the army. He reported soldiers who took part in uprisings in Munich resulting in their deaths. Even though the war was over Hitler was still in the German army and was sent as an education officer after spewing anti-semitic outbursts. Apparently most of the officers at the time shared his feelings. Hitler was called a born orator by the army. While investigating the German Workers' Party for the army he got enraged at someone who advocated Bavaria breaking away from Germany and gave a fifteen minute speech against it that so impressed the party leaders that he was invited to join them and he did. This was the beginning of his rise to power.

Lenin had changed his views from self determination and broke his promise. Stalin took credit for defeating the White Army in the revolution. Stalin would conduct meetings with administrators on a barge. If he felt they were not loyal, he would have them shot and dumped into the river. When Lenin was wounded in 1918, Stalin had 800 people rounded up and shot without a trial. A new post of General Secretary was created by Lenin and given to Stalin. Lenin became paralyzed from his old wound and Stalin went to the next party meeting and had most of his political opponents removed; Lenin turned on Stalin and asked for his removal but died before he could take further action. Stalin felt that the farmers weren't happy forming collectives and therefore it was their fault that the workers were not getting enough food. He executed many farmers and sent over 5,000,000 to Siberia. 1,250,000 died before reaching there. Stalin next drove Leon Trotsky out of office by forcing him to resign. He also stopped sharing power with Ley Kamenev and Gregory Zinoviev two Politburo members he had joined forces with. Stalin initiated the five year plan in 1928 and anyone who it was felt didn't produce enough, could be accused of sabotage and shot. In 1932 Stalin's policies were being routinely criticized. He demanded that all critics be shot. The party refused to go along with this. In 1934 the party demanded that all prisoners who had opposed the collective farm policy and industrialization would be released. In 1934, Sergey Kirov, the man who had pushed for the prisoner release and who had opposed some of Stalin's plans was assassinated as was Ley Kamenev and Gregory Zinoviev. Trotsky was blamed for leading a conspiracy. In 1936 Stalin had his man appointed head of the secret police and had all the leading figures who were critical of his policies arrested. They were told if they didn't confess, their families would be executed. They signed confessions saying they were trying to overthrow the government. The next thing Stalin did was to purge the Red Army before they could stage a coup against him. 30,000 members of the armed forces were executed. Stalin then went back to the secret police and had anyone who knew too much about the purges killed. Stalin believed Hitler would invade Russia but to buy time and increase his forces he signed the Nazi-Soviet Pact in 1939.

Hitler was now very involved with the German Workers' Party. He was by far their most emotional speaker, inspiring those who heard him, so much so, that donations increased considerably. In 1920 he was in charge of propaganda and recruited many young men, some of who he knew from the army. Anti-Semitic speeches were on the rise as was the audience to hear them. He used the fear of the Communist Party to increase his membership dramatically. When it came to the end of 1920 the party now had over 3,000 members. The party was changed by Hitler to include the term "National Socialist' and this now became the National Socialist German Workers' Party or NAZI party for short. Hitler was very popular, but while he was away on a trip, the old party leadership tried to wrest control. Hitler rushed back and threatened to resign. The old leadership knew that without him they had nothing. He now demanded that the only way he would return to the NAZI party was if he was made chairman and given absolute power. A vote was taken and Hitler won 543 to 1. In 1921 Hitler was now the Fuehrer of the NAZI Party. Hitler's power hold on German politics was straightened by England and France who introduced a bill demanding payment for damages for World War I which charged Germany 33 Billion dollars. This had the effect of ruining Germany's economy by causing runaway inflation. The mark fell from 18,000 to 4,000,000,000 to the dollar, making it almost worthless. To buy groceries cost billions of marks. Hunger riots broke out. It was now 1923 and the NAZIs had 55,000 members. The NAZIs decided to kidnap the leaders of Bavaria and force them to accept Hitler as their leader. Next the plan was to bring down the rest of the German government. It was though that the discontent among Germans would work in Hitler's favor. Hitler failed in his attempt to capture the Bavarian government. On 9 November Hitler marched on Munich with 3,000 NAZIs. A hundred armed police barred his way. The shooting began and Hitler's bodyguard jumped in front of him taking several bullets and saving his life. Hitler abandoned his friends and sped away in a car. Hitler went to a friend's home and was going to commit suicide but he was talked out of it. He hid in the attic for two days. He was captured and arrested. He was put on trial for treason. The newspaper coverage was so intense that everyone now knew who Hitler was. Hitler said he did revolt but the traitors were the politicians in 1918 who surrendered. He was sentenced to five years with eligibility for parole in six months. Hardly a sentence for treason. So sympathetic was the court that they gave light sentences to all and even acquitted General Ludendorff.

Things were getting better in Germany which was hurting the NAZI party. By 1926 Hitler was the supreme ruler in the NAZI party. He began to make the appointments that he would keep, such as Goebbels. Hitler invited his half sister to live with him and fell in love with his beautiful niece but she committed suicide. Some even say he may have killed her. After her death Hitler never ate another piece of meat. When the great depression hit, Hitler knew this was the time to strike. He now had over 100,000 NAZIs in the party. The German parliament was being dissolved and new elections were to be held. The NAZIs won 107 seats. To celebrate their victory, the NAZIs dressed in plain clothes smashed the windows of Jewish businesses. Hitler's Storm Troopers became so violent that the SS had to be used to put down a riot by them. In 1932 a presidential election was to be held. Hitler got 30% of the votes but Hindenburg got 49%. Since there was no majority a run off election was needed. Hitler now received 36% of the votes but Hindenburg got 53%. Hindenburg was 85 years old and elected for 7 years. The NAZIs now had 230 seats in the Reichstag and the party was the most powerful and largest in Germany. Hermann Goring was now the chairman of the Reichstag. He called for new elections, but while Hitler was getting ready, Eva Braun tried to kill herself. Hitler kept demanding that Hindenburg make him chancellor and Hindenburg kept saying no. Hitler was backed by industrialists who thought he would help their business. But Kurt von Schleicher became the new Chancellor. The industrialists still pushed for Hitler. Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany. Hitler had the Reichstag burned and blamed it on the Communists. After the elections of 5 March 1933 the NAZIs began to roundup their political enemies. A state of emergency was declared and NAZIs were put in the place of elected and appointed office holders. The parliament voted 441 to 84 to give full powers to the NAZI party. Hitler was now in complete control of Germany.