World War II is a part of history that is often discussed, but not always in its entirety. Most, if not everyone, know of Adolf Hitler, his massacre of Jews, concentration camps, and so forth. Unfortunately, not as many people know about the horrors that Stalin ordered at the same time, and even before. Bloodlands, by Timothy Snyder, dives into shocking details about what happened during both regimes in the Bloodlands, the lands including Poland, Ukraine, Baltic States, Belarus, and Russia. Snyder emphasizes that, although they had conflicting views and desired outcomes, Hitler and Stalin worked together to murder millions of innocent people and ruin the lives of survivors along the way. With a specialty in modern Eastern Europe and the Holocaust,
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Both Stalin and Hitler wanted to rid their countries of undesirable people. Stalin did this before Hitler, and used intentional famine to starve people to death. Like myself, the average person, or American at least, does not know this happened. The Holocaust is typically viewed as a German phenomenon, without any reference to Stalin participating in his own murderous rampage during and even before World War II broke out. Hitler also used a policy of starvation to kill people off. Ultimately, starvation was seen as something that did not “do its job” fast enough, and other methods were used. Snyder emphasizes the different tactics used in the Soviet Union and Germany. In the West on the German side, death factories involving gas were the main death sentences. In the East in the Soviet Union, the majority met their death by one-sided gunfire. Snyder stresses the fact that the heavy majority of those killed by gunfire were unarmed and therefore not a threat and unable to defend themselves. Once again, Hitler and Stalin worked together to kill those they viewed as …show more content…
The book focuses more on Soviet involvement than German, not only because Snyder specializes in Eastern Europe but because the Soviet role of World War II is one that does not have much influence in the average ideas of the era. Remembering the individuality of the millions of victims is a daunting task, but one that must be pursued in order to view the tragedies outside of their boundaries. Snyder presented the different ideologies of the two regimes, but kept coming back to the point that the same path was traveled to attempt to arrive at two different destinations. The Bloodlands may be overshadowed by the popular ideas of World War II and the Holocaust, but the individuals that lost their lives and the actions of all of the perpetrators cannot be
Both Stalin and Hitler wanted to rid their countries of undesirable people. Stalin did this before Hitler, and used intentional famine to starve people to death. Like myself, the average person, or American at least, does not know this happened. The Holocaust is typically viewed as a German phenomenon, without any reference to Stalin participating in his own murderous rampage during and even before World War II broke out. Hitler also used a policy of starvation to kill people off. Ultimately, starvation was seen as something that did not “do its job” fast enough, and other methods were used. Snyder emphasizes the different tactics used in the Soviet Union and Germany. In the West on the German side, death factories involving gas were the main death sentences. In the East in the Soviet Union, the majority met their death by one-sided gunfire. Snyder stresses the fact that the heavy majority of those killed by gunfire were unarmed and therefore not a threat and unable to defend themselves. Once again, Hitler and Stalin worked together to kill those they viewed as …show more content…
The book focuses more on Soviet involvement than German, not only because Snyder specializes in Eastern Europe but because the Soviet role of World War II is one that does not have much influence in the average ideas of the era. Remembering the individuality of the millions of victims is a daunting task, but one that must be pursued in order to view the tragedies outside of their boundaries. Snyder presented the different ideologies of the two regimes, but kept coming back to the point that the same path was traveled to attempt to arrive at two different destinations. The Bloodlands may be overshadowed by the popular ideas of World War II and the Holocaust, but the individuals that lost their lives and the actions of all of the perpetrators cannot be