Hitler and Mao comparasion

• Conditions of Emergence - Structural explanations

  • Hitler 1920-1933
  • Mao 1935-1949
• Economic factors


  • WW1 reparations
  • Occupation of the Ruhr
  • Wall Street crash
  • Mass unemployment
  • Externally imposed economic factors
• Conditions of Emergence

  • Very industrialized
  • Rural poverty
  • Foreign Imperialism
  • Unequal distribution of land
• Conditions of Emergence

  • Heavily agricultural
  • Social Divisions
  • Urban-rural split, traditional vs pro-modernization
• Fear of Communism

  Peasants and industrial workers had different opinions on imperialism and industry
• Urban-rural split


  Increased as urban development continued
• Treaty of Versailles


  Article 231, the War Guilt Clause. Germany was held responsible for WW1
• Territorial provisions


  • Germany lost 13% of its European territory, all its colonies, and 15% of agricultural production
• Military Provisions

  • Rhinelands were demilitarized
  • German army was restricted to 100,000 men, with no heavy tanks or military
• Weimar Republic


  Weak due to its ineffectiveness which led to crippling debt
• Article 48


  The president can rule by decree without going through the Reichstag
• Golden Age


  1924-1929
• Gustav Stresemann


  Chancellor in 1924, appeared committed to paying the reparations, getting Germany out of isolation, inspired multiple parties to work together
• During the golden age, Germany became less polarized, established relief for the unemployed, and supported war veterans with more than 2 million homes built, peoples spirit was recovering
• Stresemann introduced new currency "Rent mark" which was linked to the value of gold, agreed to the Dawes Plan of 1924 (which he invested in Germany's infrastructure)
• However, in the golden age, Stresemann was too dependent on foreign aid, therefore, was unstable regardless
• The Warlord Era was weak as it had many regional lords, which instated their own rules and taxes. No coherence and balance in the country
• Methods used for Emergence- Intentional explanations


  • Hitler
  • Mao
• Enabling Act


  Allowed the chancellor to act without consent from parliament
• Beer Hall Putsch was Hitler's first attempt to overthrow the government, indicated his motives to take over. It failed and Hitler was arrested, however, it put him into the position of a strong leader, and he wrote "Mein Kampf" during his prison time
• Hitler convinced the German population that the communists were responsible for the Reichstag fire. Hitler appears as the saviour of Germany
• Peasant Policy


  All CCP members had to follow rules, and the communists were largely concerned with the treatment of peasants. Mao managed to persuade the peasants to kill their landlords and later promised to redistribute the land. Helped to impose communist ideology in the countryside
• Ku Wongmei's Diary (psychological coercion) - Bombardment of emotional and physical abuse, forcing soldiers to listen to the peasant's stories and all the horrible things done to them and gaslighting them into believing it was their fault
• Yan'an rectification - Disloyalty was treated as a crime, the first major act of coercion which "remoulded" the minds of the members to be undoubtedly loyal to Mao
• Futian Incident - Purge within the Red Army, Mao arrested and tortured those he believed to be GMD spies
• Hitler


  • Skilled orator and good at managing a crowd
  • Nazi Salute
  • Nazi Flag
  • Brown SA shirts
  • Appealed to socialist and capitalist parties
  • Emphasized German nationalism and patriotism
• The Long March solidified Mao's leadership
• Mao


  • Came from a peasant class, and worked as a librarian before joining the CCP
  • Cult of personality which indicated that Mao was easy to connect with and could better understand the nation
  • Creation of "Maoism" as a new communist branch
• Nazi Ideology


  • Autarky
  • Lebensraum
  • Anti-communist
  • Rebuild national pride
  • No Jew is a citizen
  • Big industrial companies have to share their profits (socialist)
  • Change the system of schools shifted to benefit the government in the future
  • Volkegemainshaft - Aimed to increase to population of the Aryan race
  • Stemming of left-wing ideologies
• Maoism


  • Normal communism could not exist within China due to the class system, and pushed forward the idea of "constant revolution"
  • Wanted to industrialize China, and aimed to go through an industrial revolution faster than any Western Country to prove superiority
  • Overthrow capitalism, industrialize, and become a critical modern society
• Hitler's usage of force was not prominent or emphasized when emerging to power
• Guerilla Warfare was used to fight the GMD during the Civil War
• Strict rules and regulations alongside punishment for those who did not follow rules or were found to be disloyal
• Joseph Goebbels


  Minister of propaganda, censored all opposition to Hitler and presented Hitler in the most positive way possible, stirred hate for Jewish people, organized a non-aryan burning of books, used posters and newspapers
• Hitler dealt with a literate population, which allowed him to easier spread his ideals
• Mao used the Long March to gain lore and respect from the people, illustrated Mao as a hero, being guided by a divine, many legendary hero stories came from the long march, settlement into Yan'an, where the former dynasty fell, a new one would rise from its ashes, Mao claimed leadership over CCP, safe from GMD air raids, large enough to make hospitals and schools
• Consolidation and Maintenance of Power


  • Hitler January 1933
  • Mao after 1949
• Enabling Act


  Gave Hitler the power to rule for 4 years in which he made laws without passing the Reichstag, ends democracy and establishes a dictatorship
• Local Government Purge: Hives all governmental and legislative positions to the Nazi party, police, education, law, and professors are all replaced by Nazi supporters
• Trade unions were banned and replaced with the German Labour Front