Thematic Essay Leaders

Franklin Delano Roosevelt High School Isabelle Li
Period 5 March 14th, 2014

Vocabulary:
Russification: the process during which non-Russian communities, voluntarily or not, give up their culture and language in favor of the Russian one.
Secret police: are intelligence agencies and or police agency, law enforcement agency which operates in secrecy, alternative name for secret service and also quite often in totalitarian states beyond the law to protect the political power of an individual dictator.
Kulaks: a category of relatively affluent farmers in the later Russian Empire, Soviet Russia, and early Soviet Union.
Great purge: a campaign of political repression in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1934 to 1939.

Intellectuals, philosophers, and leaders have often recorded their ideas in written works. These ideas have been used throughout history to guide societies and influence the course of national and regional development. Throughout history these ideas have been used to guide societies and nations as well as influence the development of the region. Adolf Hitler and Mao Zedong are two leaders that have been consider people that have changed the world somehow whether for good or evil. Adolf Hitler was a German politician and the leader of the Nazi party. Mao Zedong, commonly referred to Chairman Mao, was a Chinese Communist revolutionary and the founding father of the People's Republic of China.
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian born German politician and the leader of the Nazi party. He was born April 20th 1889 and died April 30th 1945. He was the chancellor of Germany for around 12 years and Dictator from 1934 to 1945. Hitler was best known for being the Centre of World War II, The Nazi party, and the Holocaust. In Germany, he was considered a decorated World War I veteran. He became the leader of NSDAP. In 1923 he was imprisoned in his failed attempt to take over Munich. In prison he wrote his memoir Mien Kampf, which translates into My struggle.
In his memoir he outlines his political ideology and future plans for Germany. The main idea found in his memoir was his hatred of Jewish people. The book confesses his hatred of the Jewish people and how they are the reason for all of Germany's problems. Throughout the book he also reveals his plans to eliminate all of the Jewish people. In his book he states, "I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord…"
His book, said by most people, was the main cause of the Holocaust. The Holocaust was a mass murder, or genocide, of approximately six and a half million Jews during the Second World War. The effect of the mein kempf on Germany was that it caused the massive homicide of people. The book itself was like a book of propaganda. In his book Hitler also praised himself in order to gain the trust and support of the German people. He told everyone that he was the seventh member of the Nazi party, but in reality he was the 555th member. People read his book and began to support him and the support received from his people was enough for Hitler to proceed with his goals. With the support of the people Hitler was able to carry out his plans which soon led to the Holocaust and deeper involvement of the World War.
Mao Zedong, born on December 26th, 1893; died September 9th, 1976, was the founding father of the People’s Republic of China and the Chairman of the Communist Party of China, established in 1949. His political theory, modernly known as Maoism, contained his theories, military strategies, policies. As a controversial figure, Mao is considered one of the most important individuals in History. He is held with high regards in the People’s Republic of China and supporters regard him and a great leader with numerous accomplishments. Some including his work on modernizing China and shaping it into one of the world powers. He was also known for promoting the status of woman as well as improving the health care and education of the Children. Mao also provided shelter and housing and the longevity of the people in China went from around 500 to over 900 million during his rule. Modern historians today now see him more as a cruel dictator who didn’t care much for human rights. Historians also believe that Mao Zedong contributed to over 50 million deaths of people from starvation, executions, and forced labor. During his rule Mao also wrote a book called “Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung” or known in the west as “The Little Red Book”.
“The Little Red Book”, published in 1964, was a handbook that had a red cover, red known as the color of communism, which contained a collection of excerpts from his speeches and articles. He wrote on a variety of different topics such as literature and art, Guerilla warfare, war, contradictions, democracy, and several different articles pertaining in each category. It was also one of the most distributed books during the Cultural Revolution. Almost everyone single person during his rule had this book.
Mao’s book had a long standing impact on the People’s Republic of China. Even today his teachings are passed down to the younger generations. Numerous people still have copied of his book and some people today value his book and writings more than Mao himself. Mao became an icon in China and so did his book. During the 1960’s, the book was the single most visible icon in China. In posters and pictures created by propaganda artists, nearly every person painted was smiling or looking determined and they were seen with a copy of the book in his or her hand. Even today a lot of Asians still follows his teachings and philosophies after his passing and they see him as an inspiration.
With the many teachings of people today some are always bound to stick out more than others. Some even have long lasting impact on the nation and society. Adolf Hitler and Mao Zedong, even though not all considered good, were two individuals that help change how the world is today. Even with horrific events such as the Holocaust without the book of Hitler we would probably not have had a WWII but without these events the world would not how it is today. As of without Mao Zedong, China would still probably be mostly exocentric with the world and isolated. The teachings of Mao helped bring China out of one of its darker ages into one that is more westernized. These two completely different individuals have changed society by their teachings and as well as their contributions to literature.