The purges and show trials aimed to terrorise Soviet society into compliance with Stalin’s regime, and ‘remove potential enemies,’ to allow Stalin to found an almost entirely ‘new’ Communist party, which comprised of ‘more dependable’ members. The Terror fundamentally had the impact of manipulating and destroying social norms, and disarranging the political and military structure which had formed in Russia following the Bolshevik revolution. During the purges and show trials which comprised the Terror, the Communist Party were forced into submission, which essentially impacted the party in an adverse manner. 90 per cent of the once established Bolshevik party members were purged, including Bukharin, Yagoda and Rykov at show trials, and the remaining members were exhausted of any power. The removal of these skilled and able members was detrimental for the Communist party, as it weakened them industrially and economically, and resulted in an endemic lack of experience across the party.
Dissatisfaction and grumbling began to emerge behind the scenes against Stalin and he saw evidence for the first time that his position as leader was threatened. Events at this congress are murky but there are accounts that a group of conspirators actually met at the congress and
On February 9, 1950, Senator Joseph McCarthy launched his crusade against "communism" as he saw it. The speech delivered in Wheeling, WV was infamous for its reference to members of Congress who McCarthy accused of being members of the Communist Party. The insinuation was that these men were silent enemies working in favor of the Soviet Union for the downfall of the American government and way of life. In the Wheeling speech, McCarthy played on the Cold War and Red Scare fears (fear of a communist takeover) by asserting that the communist world, particularly the Soviet Union, was in a showdown with the democratic nations led by the United States. He charged that there were 205 communist spies in the state department who were selling out the United States.
Truman in the late 1940s, started to introduce doctrines that moved for the “containment” of communist expansion and influence in Europe. There was also the fear of an internal communist threat that spurred the creation of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). The HUAC held public investigations and tried to uncover communist toleration and subversion. One notorious investigation was against Alger Hiss, who was accused of passing classified documents to the Soviet Union in 1937 and 1938. In 1950 the McCarran Internal Security Act passed and required communist organizations to publish their records, and register with the government.
During his rule as General Secretary of the Soviet Union, Stalin was able to create a highly totalitarian regime. This was achieved by the dictator’s notorious use of terror, by controlling information and mass media and Stalin’s prominent cult of personality. However, the extent of the totalitarian rule didn’t achieve similar levels throughout the whole state. Stalin’s use of terror as a method of eliminating opposition was a key factor in the establishment of totalitarianism in the Soviet Union. In the early 1930’s Stalin felt threatened by his growing opposition and was determined to bring the party under his total control.
How important was Stalin’s use of purges to his conciliation of power? During the 1930s, Stalin launched a regime of the Great Purges against prominent party members. This was the form of terror used by Stalin and his supporters to remove enemies. The victims of the purges were enemies of the state or people who were accused of crimes they could not have possibly committed. Show trials were held where public enemies of the state were accused and then, in the majority of cases, executed.
When the revolution was going to its peak Trujillo's regime started to imprison people who were part of the revolution along with jailing revolutionaries were killed and suffered forms of torture. In the book it shows how he got to power and stayed in power. He did it by having a radar on nearly every person in his country. People would be scared to talk bad about him anywhere they went beyond their home. Even then Trujillos secret police could send his men to spy on a specific family or neighborhood.
McCarthyism Explain how McCarthyism affected the lives and political thinking of people in the U.S. The "McCarthyism era "was started by Wisconsin Senator named Joseph R. McCarthy. He had many people that had the same beliefs. His beliefs along with his fellow "witch hunters" changed the lives of many people. The anti-Communist theme and the sanctions that were put on individuals without proper evidence.
The 2005 film Good Night, and Good Luck took place during the beginning of the Cold War, specifically around the time when Senator Joseph McCarthy was rising to power. During his reign as the chairman for the Committee on Government Operations of the Senate, he accused several public figures of being Communists. His speeches were frequently reported on in the media, and the determined factor for censorship during the Red Scare was based on ideology, rather than actual content. Many people unjustly accused of being Communists were persecuted and discriminated, and the Republican Party began advocating the rise of ideological conformity. A great deal of the American public became extremely paranoid, and the general atmosphere of the era was nihilistic due to fear of Communist infiltration.
He was also under threat from other groups especially the Communist Party. After the Wall Street Crash ( October 1929) many people looked to extremist groups such as the Nazi and Communist Parties. People blamed the Social Democrats who were linked to the Weimar Republic for the economic failure and this is why popularity grew for the Nazi Party. It was essential to gain a two thirds majority in the Reichstag if Hitler hoped to pass any laws of his own. So one of the first things Hitler did after becoming Chancellor was to dissolve the Reichstag and call for a fresh election on the 5th March 1933.