... Poland and East Germany and literally rebuilding them on Russian soil. It was an amazing but devastating accomplishment. Part of his collectivization plan moved peasants and factories to the cities. The factory re-location created city slums in Russia and turned the buffer states of Poland and East Germany into agricultural states. Stalin felt that an agricultural state would not be a military threat. He created a very effective buffer zone out of Eastern Europe. Through collectivization, Stalin's armies starved, murdered, and raped more people than Hitler ever did. It was a horrible ordeal for those in Eastern Europe. However, the scope of the plan and its ruthless execution are truly admirable. Stalin's reign fell somewhere between reckless madman and ruthless genius. The first real conflict began in divided Berlin. The city had been split into occupation zones after the surrender of Germany. The Russians controlled West Berlin while Britain controlled ...

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