Two faces of the same coin

Will there be two more antagonistic characters in recent history than Hitler and Stalin? On one side a Nazi. On the other one communist. But history shows us that, in addition to visceral enemies from 1941, they were also allied in 1939. This point is highlighted by Henry Kissinger in his seminal work Diplomacy: “If foreign policy were necessarily determined by ideology, Hitler and Stalin would not have led their hands. (…) But the common geopolitical interest is a powerful bond and inexorably approached the two old enemies. This is precisely what the fierce ideological combat placed on the sidelines and made possible the non-aggression pact in 1939. A friendship that would be broken by Hitler’s megalomania when he decided to attack the USSR in 1941.
But would ideologically be so far away? Even if for different reasons, both abhorred capitalism, religion, and some minorities, and both idealized a rigid, centralized and totalitarian political model, supported by the repressive force of their political police. With all these intertwined vectors, the task of identifying a common denominator between Hitler and Stalin becomes easier: the state. An omnipatient, omnipotent and omniscient state. In other words, there was only one religion, the state, and a god, the leader.
Therefore, the models were destined for failure; A reality that would be seen from the worst but unique, possible way. According to Statist’s figures, Hitler was responsible for about 14 million and 500,000 dead. In turn, and according to a Soviet newspaper quoted in a New York Times play in 1989, 20 million deaths are attributed to Stalin.
With regard to the economy, capitalism was a target to slaughter. At Mein Kampf, Hitler wrote that « the German bourgeoisie had come to the end of its mission and that it was not called to any other task. » He also believed that Germany should be self -sufficient, not depending on imports, and that « surplus profits » should « be removed from economic circulation. » Stalin, in a text available at Marxists Internet Archives, said that « the rich bourgeois are our uncompromising enemies » and obtaining the autarchy was a goal of the USSR in the 1930s. Hitler implemented a quarter plan in 1938 and Stalin presented the five -year plan in 1928. According to an article from The Atlantic, « in 1938, the volume of exports and Russian imports was 43 and 39 percent, respectively, from 1931 », already in Germany, exports in 1938 were 61% lower than 1929, according to a study by CQ Press. The similarities are evident, with the difference to reside in the fact that Hitler could not stand what he believed was a Jewish invention and Stalin faced the great enemy of Marxist dogmatism.
In addition to the economy, the religious vector is also an important point of contact between the III Reich and the Stalinist USSR. None welcome an institution whose power, influence, and legitimacy did not spill from the state apparatus. For this reason, Hitler led to Kirchenkampf, imprisoning and executing resistant theologians to the state’s attempted absorption of the church, and Stalin led purgos against the Orthodox Church in an attempt to release Homo Sovieticus from the oppressive ties of religion.
Considering all these historical evidence, it is easier to understand Ayn Rand when he wrote that « fascism, Nazism, communism and socialism are only superficial variations of the same monstrous theme – collectivism. » In other words, Hitler and Staline were two faces of the same coin.