Was East Germany worse than Nazi Germany?

[Calimera II]

No

[Shilya]

I genuinely don't understand, even as someone who dislikes East Germany, how it's "just as bad" as the totalitarian racist militarist sexist state that made war on most of Europe and committed genocide.

I was talking about for those in Germany, for the world at large Nazi Germany was far worse than East Germany. Having heard how the Stasi operated they sound far scarier than the Gestapo.

Honestly... the Gestapo was, at the end of the day, worse. The Stasi relied far more on paranoia and its public image. Everyone knew the Stasi is everywhere so everyone was afraid. Realistically speaking, you can be pretty confident that they had no way to process the mountains of unreliable data from snitches. They were still a secret police that could end up dragging you out at night, but on that regard, they weren't Gestapo-level and they also had no particular interest in you ending up dead - your long-term labour was more valuable. The GDR used its prisons to produce, not to kill, as such the environment wasn't exactly concentration camp levels of bad.

So, while the Stasi was scarier, the Gestapo was worse.

[Benierra]

how did he fuck russias economy? did you miss the part where russia went from a practically feudal shithole that couldn't fight for shit and sent painting of the czar to ease the pain of not having bullets or food to an industrialized state capable of taking out the majority of the german forces and into becoming the second largest economy in the world?

i hate to just c+p wikipedia, but "Yet despite the turmoil of the mid-to-late 1930s, the Soviet Union developed a powerful industrial economy in the years before World War II." come on

Russia only became a economic power because of the economic reforms of Alexander ll / lll. The idea that it was because of Lenin's or Stalin's leadership is wrong.

Also the Russian army under Stalin was far worst than under the Nicholas II, as the German army never even reached Stalingrad (or Leningrad) in WW1.

[Herargon]

Both suck at civil rights, economic and political freedom. Both are horrible. 'nuff said.

[Herrebrugh]

Both suck at civil rights, economic and political freedom. Both are horrible. 'nuff said.

Well, no. Firstly because the question isn't "Were East Germany and Nazi Germany bad?", it's "Was East Germany worse than Nazi Germany?", and secondly because it's not that black and white. When posed with the question which one was better, it's obviously the former GDR.

[Benierra]

Both East Germany and Nazi Germany were bad.

However to claim that one is worst than the other is hard because they both were good in some areas of life and worst in other areas

E.g the Stasi was far bigger than the Gestapo ever was. However you were less likely to be executed by the Stasi as they usually sold prisoners to the West for money (after torture). So both were pretty bad.

[Herrebrugh]

Both East Germany and Nazi Germany were bad.

However to claim that one is worst than the other is hard because they both were good in some areas of life and worst in other areas

E.g the Stasi was far bigger than the Gestapo ever was. However you were less likely to be executed by the Stasi as they usually sold prisoners to the West for money (after torture). So both were pretty bad.

You're going to tell me that it is hard to claim that a state which committed genocide and launched the country into a war costing the life of millions is worse than a state which, though oppressive, was very much livable?

[Fascist Russian Empire]

Does RSSS do anything in his threads other than call all Germans Nazis who love Hitler? #Germanophobia

Either way, the answer is no.

[Russian Socialist Soviet States]

Does RSSS do anything in his threads other than call all Germans Nazis who love Hitler? #Germanophobia

Either way, the answer is no.

I criticize a lot of stuff.

[Fascist Russian Empire]

I criticize a lot of stuff.

If by "criticize a lot of stuff" you mean "call a lot of stuff Fascist/Nazi" then you'd be right.

[The Southerner States]

Both are practically Police States where people are lied to and oppressed.

[Herrebrugh]

Both are practically Police States where people are lied to and oppressed.

But that's not the question, is it?

[The Southerner States]

Both are practically Police States where people are lied to and oppressed.

But that's not the question, is it?

I’m saying they’re both pretty bad.

[The Rhomaion]

But that's not the question, is it?

I’m saying they’re both pretty bad.

Yes, but the question is "Was East Germany worse than Nazi Germany?"

To which the answer is obviously "No, Nazi Germany was considerably worse".

[The Fascist American Empire]

Yes and no.

For people not on the Nazi hit list, Nazi Germany would probably be a nicer place to live than East Germany. Or amy Soviet State for that matter.

But overall, Nazi Germany was much worse as a whole.

This.

[Korigador]

East Germany tried to starve west Berlin and kill everyone there unless they joined the rest of Eastern Germany. And Stalin killed 28 million people tried to kill the Jews as well he also had a game where he would pretend to choke and when a someone came into the room to save him he would shoot them. Stalin and Hitler were both horrible but Stalin was far worse.

[The Rhomaion]

East Germany tried to starve west Berlin and kill everyone there unless they joined the rest of Eastern Germany.

This was prior to East Germany actually being a state. At the time of the Berlin airlift, it was still administered by the Soviet Union. East Germany as a country is not responsible for the Berlin Airlift in any way, shape or form.

And Stalin killed 28 million people

Debatable. Lots and lots and lots, yes, but not 28 million, I don't think. Unless we're counting Soviet soldiers in WW2 as well, which would be ridiculous. An absolute maximum of 20 million.

tried to kill the Jews as well

He might have tried to kill a few prominent Jewish people had he not died. We're not exactly talking Holocaust 2.0 here.

he also had a game where he would pretend to choke and when a someone came into the room to save him he would shoot them. Stalin and Hitler were both horrible but Stalin was far worse.

Source this ridiculous tale.

Your point is in the case of the anecdote probably false, in the case of him being worse than Hitler complete bollocks, and even if both were true it'd be wholly irrelevant, because Stalin was not the ruler of East Germany.

[Segland]

Nazi Germany certainly committed more atrocities than East Germany, but for the standard Aryan, living under Hitler would've been far better.

[Sturmtiger]

Why was this obvious troll thread bumped?

[The Rhomaion]

Nazi Germany certainly committed more atrocities than East Germany, but for the standard Aryan, living under Hitler would've been far better.

Unless that Aryan was left-wing, gay, a working-class person (arguably), mentally or physically handicapped, a Jehovah's Witness or a woman. Or serving on the Ostfront.

So basically Nazi Germany was absolutely great compared to East Germany if you were a rich white male Christian straight physically able pro-Nazi civilian. That's not really that many people.

[Segland]

Nazi Germany certainly committed more atrocities than East Germany, but for the standard Aryan, living under Hitler would've been far better.

Unless that Aryan was left-wing, gay, a working-class person (arguably), mentally or physically handicapped, a Jehovah's Witness or a woman. Or serving on the Ostfront.

So basically Nazi Germany was absolutely great compared to East Germany if you were a rich white male Christian straight physically able pro-Nazi civilian. That's not really that many people.

Actually, quite a few ethnic Germans did possess those characteristics, so it was a lot of people. Granted, almost all other groups were persecuted by the Nazi government, but there was still a higher standard of living for the "master race" than in East Germany.

[Cuprum]

No man, in the DDR the jews weren't killed and they had the Trabant.

[New Waterford]

It depends on for whom it was worse. Nazi Germany would've been better for a typical 'Aryan' person, whereas a Jewish person would probably have been better off in the DDR.

[Themiclesia]

It all depends on who and where one was.

If one were a communist, then obviously East Germany would be a better place to live in. If one were a Nazi, then, well...

If I had to choose, I'd live in neither because I don't find the totalitarianism in either place appealing.

[Bolnoa]

I dunno, neither sides seemed to acknowledge the free arabia legion.