Joseph Stalin was the dictator of the Soviet Union during World War II and was originally part of the Axis powers. Many perished under his rule. Born on December 18, 1878, Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was a major dictator in the fires of communism. He firmly believed in the Marxist Revolutionary movement. Until 1934 Stalin pursued the Soviet policy of friendship with Germany. After Adolf Hitler became Germany's chancellor in 1933, Stalin joined the League of Nations in an attempt to gain international acceptance for the Soviet Union. Stalin signed a nonaggression pact with Germany to gain good relations with the nation. The pact was intended to keep the U.S.S.R. (Soviet Union) out of World War II and it gave both nations the ability to invade Poland. When Stalin refused to believe numerous intelligence reports of an impending German attack, the Nazi invasion of Russia on June 22, 1941 almost led to the collapse of the Soviet army. After the attack, Stalin immediately sided with the Allies. During the war, Stalin rose from premier, the lowest military rank, to marshal, and then to generalissimo, the highest military rank in Russia. At the Tehran Conference, the Yalta Conference with Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, and the Potsdam Conference, Stalin gained recognition as an astute diplomat. Under his rule, the Soviet Union had become a powerful force in Eastern Europe, and the western world took notice. He is known as one of the most ruthless dictators in World War II.
Benito Mussolini was the dictator that founded Italian fascism. Born on July 29, 1883, Benito Mussolini is the Italian dictator that founded Italian fascism. In an effort to restore Italy to its greatness and glory achieved during the Roman Empire, he allied Italy with Germany. He ended leading his country into ruins. He well-known for his close association with his wartime ally, Adolf Hitler. He was raised as a child with parents that had Socialist and anti-church beliefs. He graduated from the Salesian college of Faenza and had a degree in teaching. As he traveled throughout the provinces, he gained more knowledge and experience of neighboring countries. As his experience broadened, he gave up his teaching career and became a Socialist journalist. As he became a dictator he overused his powers, which many Italian citizens didn’t appreciate. In the middle of World War II his soldiers turned on him and the new king, King Victor Emmanuel dismissed Mussolini as premiere and had him arrested.
Adolf Hitler was the German dictator that committed genocide and wiped out over 6 million Jews and Half-Jews in Germany and other nearby countries. He annexed Austria and gained appeasement for Sudetenland by threatening war against Britain and France. He was the most ruthless dictator during World War II.
American Leaders
General Douglas MacArthur Born on January 26, 1880, General Douglas MacArthur was one of the commanders stationed in the Phillipines during World War II. He was also an occupation commander in post-World War II Japan, and was head of the United Nations (UN) forces during the Korean War. MacArthur graduated from West Point in 1903 with the military rank of Second Lieutenant. He held stints as a military aide to President Theodore Roosevelt .MacArthur served on the U.S. Army General Staff and got a call to help out during the Mexican Revolution. He had high military skill and assisted Franklin D. Roosevelt. MacArthur had an amazing career in the army and decided to retire from the army in 1937. Despite his retirement, General MacArthur was recalled back into the army to shore up military forces in defense of U.S. interests in the Pacific against an impending Japanese invasion. His troops courageously attempted to delay Japanese seizure of the Philippines. He was a very experienced Army General and helped lead the Allies to their incredible victory over the Axis powers.
General Dwight D. Eisenhower Born on, October 14, 1890, General Dwight D. Eisenhower is a well-known American hero. He was a major Allies general that led U.S. troops and later was elected as the 34th President of the United States. He earned a merit appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York. After Dwight’s graduation in 1915, he held many different military posts such as being an aide to the assistant secretary of war in Washington, D.C., where he met General Douglas MacArthur, who was the Army Chief of Staff at the time. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, Eisenhower rose to become supreme commander in the European Theater during World War II. He helped devise Operation Torch, which successfully gave the Allies a foothold in North Africa. Operation Torch was the British-American invasion of French territory in North Africa during the North African Campaign of the Second World War which started on November 8, 1942. His finest moment came in planning Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Europe on June 6, 1944, in Normandy, France. The whole operation depended upon the weather at the time of the invasion. Although the weather conditions were not ideal, Eisenhower ordered the invasion to proceed. Unable to predict the outcome of his orders, he kept a message in his wallet, which was him accepting personal blame if the Allies suffered a defeat. Operation Overlord, however, was a success, and the Allies went on to victory over the Axis powers. Long after World War II, Eisenhower won the Republican nomination for President and was elected as President in 1952. He was a great President and helped lead the U.S. through the Korean war.
President Harry Truman Born on, May 8, 1884, Harry Truman was Vice President for Franklin Roosevelt’s fourth and final term. That only lasted 82 days. During World War I, Truman became the captain of an army artillery unit after he and other members of the Missouri national guard were federalized into the regular army. His artillery unit experienced extensive combat service in France. Truman was popular with the men in his unit for his fairness, decisive leadership, and bravery under fire. He was reluctant to run for the Democratic senatorial nomination of 1934, but Tom Prendergast insisted. Tom Prendergast was the person that Truman deferred to on patronage jobs during his eight-year tenure as presiding judge. Truman and Tom Prendergast’s nephew Jim Prendergast served in the army together during World War I as well. After winning the Democratic primary, he was easily elected to the U.S. Senate in November. He slowly gained his way through the government and legislature ranks and during his first term in the Senate, Truman had specialized in legislation affecting railroad and airline regulation. In 1941 he was appointed chairman of a special committee to investigate waste, fraud, and inefficiency in defense spending. As Truman provided nonpartisan(unbiased), honest, dedicated leadership to this task, his reputation and status within the Senate grew further. He also attracted more favorable attention from Roosevelt and the media. Since this occurred, Roosevelt and Bob Hannegan pressured Truman into becoming Roosevelt’s running mate for the election. After Roosevelt became President, he kept Truman out of the loop so when he died, Truman was unprepared and didn't know anything about what was going on in Europe and Japan. He had to learn the hard way end up dropping both atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. After World War II, Truman led the United States through the Korean War. He lost a lot of public approval because he removed General MacArthur from the army during the Korean War. He left his presidency with low public-approval ratings. However, Truman was ranked as a “near great” President, along with Andrew Jackson and Theodore Roosevelt.