History's most Brutal Dictators?

[dutchking]

To narrow it down, I've picked a few leaders from the past few centuries to pick. What do you guys think? For me it's Hitler (I hate the "man") :
Duh.
Which is yours? If it's not on the list please specify. Some of them are mild (like Napoleon).
[EDIT] Mind as well address it before it comes up. THIS WILL NOT BECOME A HITLER THREAD. It's strictly for Historical discussion, nothing to do with the game.

 

[Ramius75]

Pol Pot. with a 1/4 of his own countrymen killed, this guy have no equal yet.

 

[Tee Kay]

Those in the list, in order of brutality:
1. Pol Pot
2. Hitler
3. Stalin
4. Mao
5. Kim Jong Il
6. Mussolini
7. Saddam Hussein
8. Napoleon

 

[Hornblower]

Mugabe of Zimbabwe - the state of the country speaks for itself but to reinforce the point.... in today's so called enlightened "new world order" the fact that this dude is even able to remain in power is a disgrace.

 

[Adler17]

Hmm. Yes, from the percentage Pol Pot it is. From the pure figures Mao. So I take Pol Pot.

1. Pol Pot
2. Mao
3. Stalin
4. Hitler

Adler

 

[Portugal]

Salazar of Portugal, I mean the guy ripped peoples toenails off!

 

[Azale]

1. King Leopold of the Congo Free State
2. Kim Jing Il of North Korea
3. Pol Pot of Cambodia

honorable mention to Lopez of Paraguay.

 

[luiz]

Napoleon and Mussolini hardly deserve a place in that list... they were fairly harmless compared to those other fellas. For me the list is, in order of evilness/brutality:

1-Pol Pot and Mao
2-Stalin
3-Hitler

 

[Ambidexter]

I'd have to go with Mao, due to the sheer numbers involved. Stalin, Pol Pot and Hitler are definitely in the running.

 

[dutchking]

Napoleon and Mussolini hardly deserve a place in that list... they were fairly harmless compared to those other fellas. For me the list is, in order of evilness/brutality

They're considered "tyrants" none the less. I included them just for "popular" examples. I was figuring the most popular vote would be:
1. Hitler
2. PolPot
3. Stalin
4. Mao
5. Other (please specify)
I really didn't have to even INCLUDE a poll, it was just for spice. There are too many to choose from so I picked well known bastards who were considered tyrants in their day.

 

[sydhe]

I voted for Pol Pot, who would have exceeded Stalin's and Hitler's totals if he'd had a bigger country.

Idi Amin deserves some consideration.

 

[warpus]

Does Gengis Khan count?

 

[dutchking]

Here's my take on him.
He destroyed a lot of crap, killed a lot of people, and conquered a lot of land. But he doesn't compare at all with Stalin or Pol Pot or Hitler.

 

[Adler17]

Interesting that no one voted for Mao and his 60-80 milion victims.

Adler

 

[Dann]

That's because he racked up that impressive body count through cluelessness, ignorance, megalomania, and way too many "oops..." decisions. Not through deliberate acts like Stalin or Pol Pot.

If there ever was a poll though for "most misguided dictator" I'm sure he'll be a shoo-in.

 

[luiz]

That's because he racked up that impressive body count through cluelessness, ignorance, megalomania, and way too many "oops..." decisions. Not through deliberate acts like Stalin or Pol Pot.

If there ever was a poll though for "most misguided dictator" I'm sure he'll be a shoo-in.

I believed in that too, but after some research it became clear that Mao in fact knew exactly what his policies would result in. During one of the greatest famines of history he actually confiscated the peasant's production and increased many times his export of food to the USSR, in exchange for weapons and financing for his industrialization plan. He knew millions would die, but as Mao himself put it, losing half of the population of China was an acceptable price.

Mao is one of those unique men who had absolutely no morals, no principles, no humanity. In this regard he is very different from Hitler, who was actually capable of showing affection to those around him. Mao mistreated his wifes, his kids, his most loyal servants. The man was pure evil, there is no redeeming quality about him. Even Stalin would, very very rarely, do a gesture that reminded us that he was a human after all (once he gave some money to some childhood friends who were going through a hard time, I recall reading about it), but Mao would never do anything like that. He was a monster if there ever was one.

 

[Traitorfish]

Pol Pot. In terms of uncontrolled lunatic violence, this guy has no equal.

 

[Azale]

I believed in that too, but after some research it became clear that Mao in fact knew exactly what his policies would result in. During one of the greatest famines of history he actually confiscated the peasant's production and increased many times his export of food to the USSR, in exchange for weapons and financing for his industrialization plan. He knew millions would die, but as Mao himself put it, losing half of the population of China was an acceptable price.

Mao is one of those unique men who had absolutely no morals, no principles, no humanity. In this regard he is very different from Hitler, who was actually capable of showing affection to those around him. Mao mistreated his wifes, his kids, his most loyal servants. The man was pure evil, there is no redeeming quality about him. Even Stalin would, very very rarely, do a gesture that reminded us that he was a human after all (once he gave some money to some childhood friends who were going through a hard time, I recall reading about it), but Mao would never do anything like that. He was a monster if there ever was one.

luiz, I think I might have to find a place in my top 3 for Mao. You kinda convinced me with that mini-psychoanalysis there

 

[#1 Person]

I voted for Mao, although thinking about it, and reading what others said, most deaths were not really intentional. A common expression in China is Mao was 70% right and 30% wrong. Despit the problems in the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution, Mao really wasn't too horrible.

Stalin in my mind was far worse, as i think it was obvious to him that millions were dying in the Gulags and assorted programs.

1. Stalin
2. Pol Pot
3. Hitler
4. Other (Like that crazy romanian dude who drank peoples blood)
5. Mao

 

[luiz]

I voted for Mao, although thinking about it, and reading what others said, most deaths were not really intentional. A common expression in China is Mao was 70% right and 30% wrong. Despit the problems in the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution, Mao really wasn't too horrible.

Did you read my post?
Mao was as horrible as it gets, a real monster. He knew exactly what would be the result of his policies, he just did not care.

And I think it is a disgrace that Mao is still officially revered in China, though it is easy to understand why. If the CCP was to admit that Mao was actually one of the worst tyrants of human history, their whole regime would become illegitmate. So they maintain that the abomination that was Mao was mostly right, even though they have abandoned most of his policies.