The “Playbook” Comparison: Hitler vs Putin
| Tactic | Hitler (1930s) | Putin (2020s) |
|---|---|---|
| Historical grievance | Versailles Treaty “humiliated” Germany | Collapse of USSR “humiliated” Russia |
| Moral high ground | Protecting Germans, restoring order | Protecting Russian-speakers, “denazification” of Ukraine |
| Demonising the enemy | Jews, Communists, Poles, and the West | Ukrainians, NATO, the EU, “fascists” |
| Seizing territory as protection | Austria, Sudetenland, Poland (“lebensraum”) | Crimea, Donbas, potentially all Ukraine (“Rus’ unity”) |
| Propaganda control | Goebbels’ Ministry of Propaganda | Kremlin-controlled media, censorship laws, state narrative |
| Creating false threats | Gleiwitz incident to justify invasion of Poland | Fabricated Ukrainian threats and NATO encirclement narrative |
| Pretending defensive war | “Germany was being provoked” | “Russia is defending itself from NATO/Western aggression” |
| Claim of ethnic unity | All ethnic Germans must be united | Russians and Ukrainians are “one people” |