Exam #5

It is quite simple to compare Stalin to Mao when it comes to how they got to be in power. Both of them, in the end, led their countries revolutions. Mao started off as a soldier, as did Stalin. By being on the field they got to build their reputations up with the people. While growing up Stalin was in a poor family and he got pushed around by a lot of bullies. This could be why he grew up to be so strong and loyal to Russia. The same goes for Mao, all of his life he was extremely loyal to his country. This could be why he was so strict when it came to people going against his government. Both of these men were forced to piece back together their fallen country. Stalin decided to make his country into a strictly communist nation, while Mao made China into a democratic dictatorship.

In the beginning of Hitler and Mao's coming to power, they both began concentration camps or something like them. They gave people extremely poor living conditions and thousands of men, women and children were affected by this, simply because their leaders did not agree with a certain group of people. There were also extreme rules in both governments, for Mao it was the Little Red Book, which had many maxims in it. If a citizen didn't know what the correct thing to do in a situation, than they would consult this. He made everyone carry around one of these, which led some people to become even more loyal to him. Hitler didn't have his own book that everyone carried around, but he did have the Nuremberg Laws. This was a type of segregation, it stated that if you had 3 German grandparents than you were a true German. But if you had 3 Jewish grandparents you were pure Jewish, this was basically just another way for Hitler to separate people.

A dictatorship is a government where just one person controls the country. One way to tell when a possible person may become a dictator is when they try to get everyone to do what they think is right. All of these men tried to force their types of government, the Nazi party, Communism and Democratic Dictatorship. Another thing is when they start to do dramatic acts and movements. Such as when Hitler started his concentration camps, and they started to turn quickly into death camps. One last thing to look out for is when the leader makes new laws and tries to split people up into different groups. Like when the Nuremberg Laws were made, it split up the Germans and the Jews. These are are all important signs of a potential dictatorship building.