Worst 20th century dictator?

[J. J.]

Franco and Mussolini weren't terrible, but I would have to go with Stalin or Hitler. Hitler was an evil genius, although his strategic hindsight sucked, and Stalin was an evil idiot. Who is worse? I can't decide.

Stalin was not as bloody as Hitler (even though the first 9 years of Hitler's rule was not particularly bloody).

[J. J.]

Hitler. He was worse than Stalin because his plans were much worse. Stalin was just more succesful. Hitler's true plans including exterminating 65 million people in Eastern Europe (not just the Jews, but just to make room for German settlers)

another candidate who should be on the list (in addition to Mao) is Enver Hoxha.

The number of Jews killed by Hitler is estimated to be between 4 and 6 million; the number of non Jews killed is estimated to be around 4 million.

[J. J.]

J.J.: This is what Hitler planned on doing once the war was hypothetically won. All of Eastern Europe would be turned into serfs for the German Empire, and those not fit to work would be exterminated to make room for German settlers. The planned number was 65 million.

Basically.  As a rule, prior to 1940 Jews (and Slavs) were not killed as a matter of course.  Deprived of their rights, robbed, abused, yes, but killed and not sent in large numbers to camps (many of 29,000 Jews arrested in  Kristallnacht were forced to sign over their property, beated, held for weeks, but not killed, for example).

Between 1940 and 1945 between 8 and 12 million civilians were killed by the SS (largely).  Most of these killing began in the summer of 1941, and didn't number in large numbers until mid-1942.  These civilians were not collateral casualties of war, nor resisters to the Nazis; these were people rounded up and killed by the Nazis (largely the SS).  You have the bulk of this staggering number killed in about three years, with resources going to the war as well.

You can do the math.  Hiter turned 50 in 1939; he could have had a another 15 to 25 years and might, had he won, had even greater resources to carry out the "cleansing" of non-Germans in eastern Europe.  You are talking about another 15 to 40 million people killed that were not combatants or collateral casualties.  Add to that the millitary casualties.

It makes Stalin look like a humanitarian.