Napoleon, Stalin, Hitler

[Louis VI the Fat]

Napoleon was from Corsica, Stalin from Georgia, Hitler from Austria.

Coincidence? Or does this have explanatory relevance for the behaviour of these three?
Any links or thoughts?

[cegorach]

It is quite obvious that beeing more French/Russian/German than the 'natives' was one of driving factors in their behaviour, but it is not uncommon I guess there are many people like these who are famous or threated as national heroes in countries where they were not born. I can find several examples in Polish history right now if someone asks me.

[matteus the inbred]

in Napoleon's case he was actually quite a committed Corsican patriot before he decided France would be a better stage for his ambitions. in all cases it was probably a desire to achieve greatness for their respective adopted countries, personified by themselves. all three were from relatively poor backgrounds and had uncertain relations with their fathers, but where Hitler was a poor student, for example, Napoleon was extremely bright and hardworking.

Corsica was a fairly unregarded backwater, Austria an important country in its own right, Georgia somewhere in between...

i think someone once said about Napoleon 'he finds it so easy to shed French blood because he does not have a drop of it his own veins'.

Someone researching British Prime Ministers found that something like 25% of them had lost one or both parents before they were adults, a much higher proportion than normal for the population as a whole.
make of that what you will.

[hellenes]

It is quite obvious that beeing more French/Russian/German than the 'natives' was one of driving factors in their behaviour, but it is not uncommon I guess there are many people like these who are famous or threated as national heroes in countries where they were not born. I can find several examples in Polish history right now if someone asks me.

BTW
Stalin was as much Russian as Hitler was Korean...
He was Gergean...

Hellenes

[Rodion Romanovich]

Napoleon was from Corsica, Stalin from Georgia, Hitler from Austria.

Coincidence? Or does this have explanatory relevance for the behaviour of these three?
Any links or thoughts?

It would explain their eagerness to be nationalistic, but whether it has any connection to them so carelessly causing the deaths of so many is however difficult to say. Moving to another place can cause rootlessness, insecurity and fear, but I doubt it would have any crucial impact because there are so many other factors that can cause fear and uncontrolled unjustified hatred. And fear and determination doesn't necessarily lead to violence if you have firm moral principles and use your determination for something good. (Edit: we have the situation of a factor A not causing B always, and factor B also being possible to be caused by other factors than factor A). It's a complex matter, and it's probably impossible to find out the entire truth about those persons. Common recurring themes are poverty, insecurity, rootlessness, alienation, pushing people out of society and bad relations between parents and children, all of which may or may not have importance.

[ShadesPanther]

Hitler was ethnically German in a way. Napoleon and Stalin really weren't. IIRC Corsica was bought from Genoa not long before so really he could be considered in the same boat as Stalin. Georgia is a really nationalist area who aren't Russian at all so it is quite surprising that someone of his background could become the most powerful person in the world.

[Kralizec]

Hitler was ethnically German in a way. Napoleon and Stalin really weren't.

Indeed

[econ21]

I think in some sense, all three were fundamentally "rebels" in their character and it was partly this that drove them to capture powerful states so that they could rule them as they wished. Being something of outsiders in terms of origin[1] probably helped stirr up feelings of being outside the mainstream, encouraging rebelliousness and spurring them to the extremes of personal commitment needed to fulfill their ambitions.

[1]I suspect they were also "outsiders" in terms of social class - they were not born into the classes that typically ruled their countries.

[ShadesPanther]

Indeed

not that they were German. That they werent ethnically the same as the people they controlled

[Avicenna]

Trotsky wasn't a Russian either.

He was probably a better leader than Stalin, but he was murdered by one of Stalin's agents.

[Kralizec]

Hitler & Austria are a bit different, Hitler viewed Austrians as Germans and that was also the feeling of most Austrians at the time.