BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE

dolf Hitler and the (NSDAP – Nazi party) rode their way to victory and an eventual dictatorship by envisioning a new European community. He superficially promised respect for old traditions and equality for all people (as long as they were the type deemed acceptable to the Party). One of the main adversaries of the Nazi Party were the Communists, led from its central Russian base by the equally murderous dictator, Josef Stalin. Though many of the aspects of both regimes were similar concerning nationalism, economics, and the elimination of religious worship, Stalin immediately crushed traditional religions, national identities, and enacted severe economic plans which impoverished the already downtrodden Soviet citizens as soon as he took power. At the same time, however, the initial Nazi plan involved the gradual manipulation of the Germans and those in (SS) killing squads carried out their mass murder in the occupied countries, strict new laws were enforced on the populations, and war losses caused devastation across most of central Europe.