by Ray Black
Despite these disastrous internal affairs, Pol Pot now chose to wage war on the Vietnamese, who had formerly been his ally. One thing led to another and eventually the Viet Minh decided enough was enough. In late 1978, they invaded Cambodia to overthrow the Khmer Rouge, which they achieved very quickly. Pol Pot went into hiding at the border with Thailand. He, and a hardcore Khmer Rouge following, remained there through 1979. They were not pursued because the Vietnamese justified their occupation of Cambodia by the continued existence of the Khmer Rouge.
Over the next ten years there existed a shifting power struggle between the Vietnamese controlled governments and the Khmer Rouge. During this period, Pol Pot contracted cancer. He resigned in 1985 and became de facto leader, due to the loyalty of his following. In 1997, he was arrested and put under house arrest for the murder of a colleague who had attempted to broker a peace deal between the Khmer Rouge and the government. He died from natural causes six months later at the age of seventy-three.
Pol Pot clearly had ideas above his station. As with many tyrants, the ‘perfect wave’ theory allows them to rise to positions of power and influence that do not suit their intellect. They then find themselves wholly inadequate for the task in hand and resort to simplistic measures in an attempt to resolve problems, only to create more. In Pol Pot’s case, he had only a rudimentary understanding of communist ideology and ended up killing off the very people who could have made it work for him. What he failed to grasp is that you need intelligent and educated leftists to build a successful communist state, and even then it doesn’t work very well because human nature is fundamentally one of selfishness, which leads to corruption.
Joseph Stalin
It would be fair to say that Joseph Stalin was a man who let power go to his head. In so doing he grew increasingly paranoid that people were out to get him. His way of dealing with his suspicions was to have countless people murdered or sent to labour camps. He then found himself in a vicious cycle, as he then had good reason to think that he had enemies. So his obsession with guarding his own back turned him into a maniacal tyrant. In the end, his ideology had very little to do with communism, for he had established an administration structured with the very worst kind of hierarchy.
Stalin had played a key role in the February Revolution in Russia in 1917. The Russian population had had enough of imperialist rule, because the tsar and his court displayed a blatant disregard for the welfare of the common man. The Bolsheviks and Mensheviks formed an uprising with the aim of turning Russia into a communist state. The royal family were placed under house arrest and then executed to prevent a monarchist reprisal. So the Romanov royal lineage came to an abrupt end and Russia became a brave new world.
From February to October 1917 there was a provisional communist government in Russia, but the October (Bolshevik) Revolution saw the Bolsheviks take control. Vladimir Lenin became leader of the Soviet Communist Party from that time until his death in 1924. There then came a power struggle between Joseph Stalin, another Bolshevik, and Leon Trotsky, a Menshevik. Stalin ultimately won the fight and so began a twenty-nine-year run as leader. Trotsky was expelled from the Soviet Communist party in 1927 and exiled from Russia in 1929. He died in Mexico in 1937, having been killed by a Stalinist assassin.
Trotsky’s death was part of a depressing period in Soviet history known as the Great Purge or Great Terror: 1937—38. In the late 1930s, Stalin began a systematic campaign of political repression and persecution against anyone who he deemed a potential threat to his omnipotence. All kinds of trumped-up charges were used to arrest, incarcerate, torture and murder people. Ever-present police surveillance was used to ‘find’ reasons to bring people down for ‘counter-revolutionary activities’.
A great many victims were sent to Siberian labour camps known as GULAG, which is an acronym formed from the Russian for ‘The Administration of Corrective Labour Camps and Colonies.’ The notion that they served as corrective institutions was misleading though, as the combination of forced labour, extreme cold, poor clothing, insufficient food and rudimentary accommodation meant that vast numbers died from sheer exhaustion.
In addition to this proactive victimisation, Stalin indirectly killed millions of Soviets through intentional neglect. Under his administration, the infrastructure had become hierarchical to such an extent that those at the bottom of the pyramid suffered from extreme poverty and starvation. Waves of famine swept through the Soviet Union, taking untold numbers of peasants to their graves. Stalin displayed blatant disregard for their fate. In fact, he decided it was a good thing as it was a natural way of thinning out the population so that only necessary people would survive to build the Soviet future.
He lived to regret this point of view in the early 1940s however. In June 1941, Adolf Hitler broke a pact with the Soviet Union and began an invasion eastward towards Moscow. Stalin had inadvertently shown Hitler how weak his infrastructure was by the Red Army’s struggle to overpower the Finnish army during the Winter War (1939—40). Seeing his opportunity, Hitler sent his army rampaging its way across the sub-Baltic belt and into Russia itself.
Despite the colossal size of the Red Army, it was so ill-equipped and supplied that the Soviet troops dropped like flies. By December 1941, the Germans were just 16 km (10 miles) from Moscow and things were looking very bad. It was only thanks to the Russian winter that the Germans failed to take Moscow and were eventually forced into retreat. The Red Army then took advantage of their forward momentum and managed to push the Germans all the way back to Berlin by 1945. They paid a heavy price though.
Approximately thirty million Soviets (twenty million civilians, ten million soldiers) died in World War II. At least half might have survived had Stalin paid more attention to his infrastructure before the war. Indeed, Hitler may not have even reneged on his pact with the Soviet Union in the first place if he had seen that its vital functions were healthy. He only went in for the kill because he perceived the Soviet Union to be a weak target. He was right, but ultimately lost the fight only because Stalin had such a large population to throw into the war effort.
To add insult to injury, Stalin treated all troops who had been imprisoned during the war as traitors and deserters. Instead of being returned to their homes, they were sent to special concentration camps for interrogation. Only fifteen per cent or so were released. The remainder were either sentenced to death or condemned to GULAG punishment for between five- and twenty-five-year terms. Of course, many perished before their terms were up.
In the post-war era, the Soviet Union grew considerably in size, due to the addition of Eastern European countries as spoils of war. They included Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Bulgaria and East Germany. They became dubbed the ‘Communist Block.’ Stalin had become a hero of the Soviet people for winning the war, despite the loss of life. The political machine was such that the common man was beguiled by propaganda anyway, and Stalin’s atrocities were either brushed under the carpet or explained away as necessary acts for the greater good.
By the early 1950s, Stalin had become increasingly isolated on a personal level. He had become so wary of other people that even members of his own family fell under suspicion. Many disappeared or died under mysterious circumstances, such was his fear of assassination. He had, by then, honed his behaviour to the point where former friends and family were erased from memory. This process even included the retouching of photographs, so that Stalin could still admire his own image but, in the absence of people he viewed as apostates. His motivation was presumably a combination of denial as well as resentment, for he must have known deep down that simply removing people with opposed views was not an honourable solution to anything as it denies a balance of opinion.
Stalin met his maker as the result of a stroke in 1953, at the age of seventy-four. He had forged such a baleful reputation for himself by then that he was even regarded with caution on his deathbed. His own daughter was convinced that he had put a curse over all those in the room as
he approached death. He apparently opened his left eye and then raised his left arm into the air before uttering something incomprehensible as he stared and pointed at everyone. He was evidently convinced that he had been poisoned. So, Stalin died alone even though he was surrounded by people who might have shown him some compassion if not affection. It was a fitting end to a man who trusted no one but himself.
Kim Il-Sung
North Korea, officially known as The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, is infamous as the only surviving bastion of hard-line communism. What makes it intriguing as a nation though, isn’t it’s political ideology but the fact that it has become culturally isolated from the rest of the world. In fact, the introspection of North Korea has become something of a worry in the modern political climate, because it apparently also lacks a sense of global community responsibility. This has been expressed most clearly in its development and testing of nuclear weapons without notifying the world beyond its own borders.
It doesn’t harbour territorial ambitions however, but rather is deeply suspicious of the intentions of other nations. The untrusting and paranoid mindset of North Korea is largely due to the leadership of Kim Il-Sung, who was instrumental in turning the country into the closed system it is today. As well as adhering to hard-line communist ideology, Kim also introduced the ethos of Juche, which translates as ‘self-reliance.’ This meant that North Korea would have no need for trade with any other nation, as if it were an island in total isolation.
The intrinsic problem with communism is that it largely goes against human nature. The human condition is such people tend to thrive when given life elements that communism doesn’t offer them. Those elements include freedom of speech, the freedom to make choices, a social ladder to climb, fulfilment of ambition, psychological independence and so on. When people impose communism upon a nation they, themselves, are the only ones allowed to enjoy those elements, while the rest of the population are expected to become conditioned clones, like worker ants in a nest.
Some readily comply with the communist directive, but many do not, simply because their imaginations generate dreams and ambitions for a better life. The result is a need for a heavy-handed approach to governing them. In short, a controlling regime is required to keep the minions in their place. Inevitably, the situation then escalates so that active persecution and oppression become the tools of control.
Therein lies the advantage of Juche, as it means that the population is never exposed to other ways of doing things and other ways of thinking. So, without outside influence, the North Korean population was, and still is, that much more malleable in the hands of the ruling elite. At the same time, it has the propaganda value of making the population feel self-important – not needing to rely on outside help in any way, shape or form. It is the perfect ruse for effectively manipulating a population into doing what you want it to do. It is a form of self-policing as the North Korean population ‘believes’ that total autonomy is right and proper, so it readily submits to orders from above.
Nevertheless, it was still necessary for Kim Il-Sung to rule North Korea with a rod of iron, which he has earned an entry in this book. You see, North Korea has the worst human rights record of all the world’s nations. Restrictions on political and economic freedoms are so severe that Amnesty International and HRW (Human Rights Watch) have actively campaigned to address the problem. When one considers that the whole point of communism is to create a utopia of egalitarianism, then it is only possible to conclude that Kim Il-Sung’s efforts have resulted in catastrophic failure of duty to his nation.
Defectors and exiles from North Korea have made a litany of complaints about the remand, trial and punishment system of their former country. More often than not they describe trumped up charges, summary trials and corporal punishments that include forced labour, starvation, torture, rape, murder and execution. Perhaps twenty-five per cent of those who enter the prison system die as a result of maltreatment. Needless to say, the other seventy-five per cent are permanently scarred by the experience, both physically and mentally.
There have also been reports of routine show executions to remind people of the dangers of breaking the rules. In addition, it is reckoned that military weapons are tested on prisoners for their efficiency at killing. Also, it has been said that any women prisoners found to be pregnant are forced to abort or have their new born babies killed to avoid the problem of having to provide for their maternity needs.
It has been estimated that about two million North Korean civilians have been exterminated so far. It seems to be business as usual too, as the government still refuse to allow independent human rights observers into the country, suggesting that there is a great deal worth hiding from the rest of the world. It also seems likely that punishments for dissidence extend beyond the borders, because some whistle-blowers have been murdered in neighbouring territories.
Kim Il-Sung became leader of North Korea in 1946, following World War II. He was placed in power by the Soviets, under Joseph Stalin, when it became apparent that the Korean peninsula would need to be divided in two, due to ideological differences. The Korean War (1950—53) saw Kim assert his authority as leader of North Korea and establish the armistice or ceasefire line that now forms the territorial divide between North and South Korea.
From 1953 onwards, Kim Il-Sung propagated the North Korean version of communism. When a few high-ranking politicians voiced their opposition to it in 1956, they found themselves the victims of a Stalin-like purge. Many were put to death, while others were exiled from their homeland. By 1966, Kim had let the power get the better of him. He ordered that he should now be addressed as the Great Leader and introduced the ethos of Juche.
Kim used the media to develop a phenomenon now known generically as the personality cult. He created a larger-than-life personality for himself by displaying his image ubiquitously, so that people were brainwashed into revering him as the Great Leader. The use of public displays of flattery and praise also did much to cement the idea that he was some kind of god-like figure who rewarded the good and punished the bad. It would have been true but for the fact that his definitions of good and bad were not especially godly.
In 1972, Kim became president of North Korea rather than just ‘leader’ or ‘prime minister’. This allowed him to add nepotism to his list of wrongdoings, by designating his son Kim Jong-il as his successor in waiting. State duties were gradually shifted onto his son’s shoulders over the next two decades, while Kim enjoyed the high life. His personality cult reached a point where he was purported to have supernatural powers and he took full advantage of the myth. Anyone who so much as voiced their disapproval of his behaviour was either executed or sent to a GULAG-like labour camp.
By the time Kim Il-Sung died, in 1994 at the age of eighty-two, he had left North Korea in economic ruin. He had spent so much money on military defence that the infrastructure had collapsed, causing poverty and starvation for millions. Despite this legacy a three-year period of mourning was declared after his death so that people might still be punished if they failed to express sufficient grief for the loss of the Great Leader. Kim Il-Sung turned out to be another one of those leaders who had set out with good intentions but evolved into a tyrant to compensate for his inadequacies in office.
Adolf Hitler
Some people are turned, by circumstance, away from the path prepared for them. Adolf Hitler is a good case in point. He had a rather unhappy childhood that led him to leave school with no qualifications, despite his evident intelligence. He happened to possess a raw talent at drawing and painting, so he decided that he would become an artist. To achieve his ambition he relocated from his home town in Austria to the capital city, Vienna, where he attempted to win a place at the Academy of Fine Arts. However, his lack of formal training and entry requirements meant that he was twice turned away, in 1907 and 1908.
He produced as many as 2,000 workmanlike drawings and paintings to sell on the streets but ended up destitut
e and living in a homeless shelter. During this period of hardship, the impressionable young Hitler began to germinate anti-Semitic ideas in his mind, because he saw wealthy Jews around him who showed little empathy for him and others like him. In marked contrast, he was shown compassion by people of his own stock, so that he began to view society in a very black and white manner.
Hitler readily volunteered to join the German army when World War I broke out in 1914. He had always admired the Germans, so it gave him a chance to become Teutonic by proxy. During the war he performed duties as a messenger, which was dangerous work as it involved leaving the relative safety of the trenches and racing across exposed terrain. Over the course of the war he was shot in the leg and suffered a poison gas attack, but was noted for never complaining. His bravery won him the Iron Cross, second and first class, which was highly unusual for a private. He wasn’t promoted to officer, apparently because he lacked German citizenship.
Hitler was shocked and angered by Germany’s capitulation to the enemy in 1918, especially as the Germans weren’t in retreat and still held foreign territory. To him it was a sign of cowardice and it marked a radical change in his thinking. He decided that his purpose in life was to avenge and save the German people. He also decided that communist ideology was to blame for the surrender, so communists joined his list of hate figures. In addition, he decided that to fight until the last man is standing was a better approach to warfare. All of those notions propagated in his mind, and so began his road into politics.
Following the war Hitler remained in the army, not least to earn a wage. Within a year he had become a military police spy and was assigned duties involving the procurement of evidence against Jews and communists in the government, whom the National Defence Force wanted to blame, as scapegoats, for the way the war had ended. Hitler’s espionage led him to investigate the German Workers Party, where he met Anton Drexler and Dietrich Eckart, both of whom greatly influenced his politics. Before long he had left the army and joined the party, where he quickly established himself as a charismatic and powerful orator. By July 1921 he had become leader and renamed the party to National Socialist German Workers Party – the Nazi Party.