Political Leaders
Adolf Hitler (1933-1945)Leader of the Nazi Party in Germany during the Third Reich. Responsible for widespread state repression, the suspension of civil liberties, invasion of territories across Europe and the Holocaust. He was a fascist leader, using nationalism, military power and cultural propaganda to maintain a tight grip on his people. During the Holocaust, he ordered the killing of over 10 million people. / “By the skilful and sustained use of propaganda, one can make a people see even heaven as hell or an extremely wretched life as paradise.”
“Those who want to live, let them fight, and those who do not want to fight in this world of eternal struggle do not deserve to live.”
Benito Mussolini
He is credited as being the first fascist leader, using nationalism as a means of promoting social unity. Taking power in 1922 and ruling until 1943, he would lead his country, Italy, into the second world war with hopes of imperialistic glory. Known by the nickname “Il Duce”, he often used his secret police to eliminate dissidents and engaged in the use of widespread propaganda to indoctrinate the Italian people. / “The truth is that men are tired of liberty.”
“All within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state.”
“Let us have a dagger between our teeth, a bomb in our hand, and an infinite scorn in our hearts.”
Josef Stalin
One of the most powerful and murderous dictators in history, Stalin was the supreme ruler of the Soviet Union for a quarter of a century. The population suffered immensely during the Great Terror of the 1930s, during which Stalin purged the party of 'enemies of the people', resulting in the execution of thousands and the exile of millions to the gulag system of slave labour camps. In all, Stalin was responsible for the death of over 20 million people. When the Nazis turned on the USSR, the Soviets mobilized, sending forces to meet Hitler’s armies on the now-open eastern front. Stalin was a ruthless dictator; yet he was instrumental in the defeat of Nazism. / “When one person dies, it's a tragedy, but when a million people die, it's a statistic.”
“You cannot make a revolution with silk gloves.”
“Die, but do not retreat.”
“When we hang the capitalists they will sell us the rope”
Mackenzie-King
As Canada’s PM during WWII, he stood beside Britain in the quest to stop Hitler’s armies from conquering Europe. In a move to assert Canadian independence and autonomy, Mackenzie King declared war on Germany one week after Great Britain. One of his biggest challenges during the war was how to deal with the question of conscription and Quebec. He goes down in history as Canada’s longest serving Prime Minister though his sending back the St. Louis placed a dark mark on Canadian history. / “It is what we prevent, rather than what we do that counts most in Government.”
“Far more has been accomplished for the welfare and progress of mankind by preventing bad actions than by doing good ones.”
“Not necessarily conscription, but conscription if necessary.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Known predominantly by his initials, “FDR”, he was US president from 1933-1945, dying while in office. As WWII loomed on the horizon, FDR gave financial support to China and Britain while officially remaining neutral. On December 6, 1942, a naval base at Pearl Harbour (Hawaii) was bombed by Japanese pilots, a date which marked the official entry of the United States in the Second World War. / “The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerated the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than the democratic state itself.”
“We have learned that we cannot live alone, at peace; that our own well-being is dependent on the well-being of nations far away. We have learned that we must live as men, and not as ostriches... We have learned to be citizens of the world, members of the human community.”
“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear.”
Neville Chamberlain
He served as British PM from 1937 to 1940. He is best known for his policy of appeasement towards Hitler, especially with the signing of the Munich Agreement which ceded the Sudetenland to Germany. His pledge to defend Poland brought Britain to the forefront of war in 1939. / “We should seek by all means in our power to avoid war, by analyzing possible causes, by trying to remove them, by discussion in a spirit of collaboration and good will. I cannot believe that such a program would be rejected by the people of this country, even if it does mean the establishment of personal contact with the dictators.”
“I believe it is peace for our time . . . peace with honour [after signing the Munich Agreement].”
Winston Churchill
Widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of all time, Churchill lead Britain through the bulk of WWII. When times got tough and people thought Britain would fall, he refused to surrender, pushing forward in his country’s efforts to rid Europe of Hitler’s tyranny. His undying dedication to the cause kept Britain’s morale high, even as his country faced bombing nightly during the German Blitz of London in 1940-1941. / “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”
“Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.”
“An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.”
“Danger: if you meet it promptly and without flinching, you will reduce the danger by half. Never run away from anything. Never!”
Charles DeGaulle (French Resistance)
De Gaulle began World War II as the leader of a French armoured division. But when the German blitzkrieg defeated the French army in six weeks, leading to the evacuation of the military during the Miracle at Dunkirk in 1940, De Gaulle took on a political role as the head of the Free French movement. De Gaulle called on all French people to resist their Nazi occupiers and later was recognized by the Allies as the official head of the French government. / “France has lost the battle but she has not lost the war.”
“You have to be fast on your feet and adaptive or else a strategy is useless.”
“A man of character finds a special attractiveness in difficulty, since it is only by coming to grips with difficulty that he can realize his potentialities.”
“The cemeteries of the world are full of indispensable men.”
Philippe Petain (Vichy)
Petain was a French national hero for his role in defending the country during World War I. During the German invasion of France in 1940, Petain offered a cease fire with the Nazis and in return was named “Chief of State”. While the Germans controlled the North and West of France, the remainder was left under the command of Petain who made the new capital of his collaborationist state Vichy. His regime cooperated fully with Germany until its defeat, and even created its own anti-Semitic legislation. In doing so, he gained power but lost the respect of many of the citizens of France and ultimately was sentenced to life in prison for his traitorous ways. / “Our spirit of enjoyment was stronger than our spirit of sacrifice. We wanted to have more than we wanted to give. We tried to spare effort, and met disaster.”
Emperor Hirohito
After his father’s death when he was only 25, Hirohito became the Emperor of Japan. While the Japanese people regarded the Emperor as being divine or God-like, Hirohito actually had very little control over his country as most important decisions were made by older political and military leaders. So, although he did not really want to go to war at all, he reluctantly supported the Japanese invasion of China and the bombing of Pearl Harbour. This decision ultimately lead to the destruction and defeat of Japan, as the United States use of the atomic bomb on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 forced Japan to surrender. / “We have resolved to endure the unendurable and suffer what is insufferable.”
“That most unfortunate war, which I deeply deplore.”