Lenin, Stalin, and Hitler: The Age of Social Catastrophe
by: Robert Gellately
Published by: Vintage Book
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Reviewed by Jamie Driggers
Few would deny that the twentieth century was an especially bloody one. And most would agree that Stalin and Hitler were a great source of the destruction that tints the century. How much of the atrocity can be traced back to Lenin? How much a part did he play to make Stalin the leader he was? And how much of Hitler’s misery perpetuation was directly related to what was going on in the USSR?
In Lenin, Stalin and Hitler: The Age of Social Catastrophe, author Robert Gellately contends that Lenin, who introduced Soviet Communism, played a great part in the making of Stalin and the Bolshevism they so highly magnified, and which Hitler desired to wipe out. Not only did these men terrorize within their borders to cleanse their own public, they took it upon themselves to “spread the wealth,” the Soviets (who were Bolsheviks) by spreading communism, the Nazis by purifying the world of the non-Aryan race—particularly Jewish Bolshevism.
This book is thorough and detailed from the First World War to the end of the Second. The author delves into the lives of Lenin, Stalin and Hitler and his perception of what made them into the men that they became. He wrote of the interplay between the parties and the catastrophe that they caused.
This is a cleanly written, but not particularly compelling tome. As many non-fiction history books these days read almost like a novel, this reads more like a text. Part of the problem, I’m sure, is the huge cast of characters, span of time, differing philosophies, etc.
I don’t think the average Joe that enjoys WWII history will want to tackle this one. It is full of information, but I suspect that many will get bogged down in the details. So though I think it is well written and well researched, it probably has far more information than many history dabblers want to know.
Armchair Interviews says: Not for everyone, but if you love to delve into history’s characters, this is for you.
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