Who has been the worlds most deadly tyrant?

Question

in terms of human deaths. I would guess Hitler. Anyone got the figures?

Answer 1

Stalin was responsible for more deaths than Hitler, both in the Terror in the Soviet Union before the Second World War and during the fighting. Recent work about China has also shown that Mao was responsible for a huge number of deaths.

A couple of points to make.

Firstly, Stalin and Mao had large numbers of people killed IN TOTAL because they were leaders of large modern states. Other leaders have killed a larger PROPORTION of the people who came under their control. I would guess that in recent times this would include Pol Pot and earlier in history Genghis Khan.

Secondly, tyranny is not just a matter of statistics. Each individual death caused by a tyrrant is a deplorable evil. Tyrants are to be condemned for their evil morals and intentions, not just because of the consequences of their actions (although that too).

Answer 2

Stalin was horriable, and worse then Hitler. Just because Stalin helped at the end of WW2 people ignore his horrors. Oh wait he didn't kill those people because he made sure they hadn't exsisted in the first place. That's why we will likely NEVER know the exact number. Pol Pot planned on killing off his whole country's population. The Khamer Rouge was doing quite well at it, and they are still at large to some degrees. Pinochet killed all his political oppostion and is famous for the "caravan of Death." There is a long list of horriable dictators.

Answer 3

Stalin or Mao Tse Dong
(details and hard numbers for both are sketchy)


that being said, the greatest (and underreported) genocide in recent history is a distinction that can be awarded to King Leopold of Belgium during the turn of the 19th century. Millions were killed in the Belgium Congo as a result of his rule and appetite for Africa's resources. It was the basis of Josef Conrad's original Heart of Darkness.

EDIT:

10-15 million Congolese, millions more mutilated, amputated - bounties were paid by the body part.

Answer 4

All good answers but all assume that deadly means human death. There are many ways to harm people and death is but one. Economic sanctions, criminal behavior, dirty politics, etc all have negative and far-reach effects.

Right now I can think of a country with 260 million citizens who are wallowing in debt in a stagnant economy where the leadership is made up of rich guys who keep passing laws that favor them and further harm the people who need help the most.

Answer 5

Not sure, but Stalin may have been responsible for more deaths than Hitler (he had more time after all).

One could even claim Karl Marx is responsible for more, as being ultimately responsible for every Communist tyrant, but he couldn't really be called a tyrant himself.

Answer 6

Joseph Stalin He Killed more than Hitler and Pol Pot combined Estimates are 20 million due to Execution Famine Gulag Etc. if you add the deaths under Stalin by combat with the Nazi it gets even higher.

Answer 7

Hard to say because these mass murderers hide their crimes so well (being absolute ruler lets you do that quite easily). Stalin is usullally aknowledged as the high number winner because he was in power for so long. Hitler wins for the most efficeint (his "final solution" ran for a relatively short time, but killed 6-12 million). Pol Pot wins for total percentage (around 3 million of a nation of 7 million).

Answer 8

Terrible as it seems, I think the answer lies not so much in 'who' was the most deadly.

I think the answer - if you are looking for raw numbers of people killed - lies in which of these deadly tyrants had access to the most effective killing methods, how many possible victims were available, and who was there to oppose him. (Notice not one woman is mentioned in the names above !)

There are lots of ways to kill people, broadly categorized into direct (eg shooting) or indirect (starvation). Many (most?) of Stalins killing was indirect, and this is also the situation for Hitler.

Hitler probably killed more directly - and if you believe USSR figures, indirectly as well. Which makes him deadlier for mine. Pol Pot comes into the equation because his base number of possible victims was smaller, and his opposition less. I am sure if each of these people had the facility to kill off even more people, they would have been 'happier' still ! Even in our Euro-centric history, Genghis Khan seems more a very successful empire builder than a tyrant (?)

So, Hitler, worst among equals...(bigger numbers, more opposition)

Answer 9

Stalin murdered an estimated 33 million of his own civilians, mainly in the Gulag concentration camps.
Hitler murdered 13 million civilians.

Answer 10

Hitler by far was the worlds deadliest not only did he commit genocide he brought about a world war his reign produced a death toll of millions of people.