Cywilna kontrola nad armią w ZSRR i III Rzeszy do 1945 roku
Civilian Control over the Army in the USSR and the Third Reich until 1945

Summary/Abstract: The purpose of this article is to synthetically analyse the evolution of the mechanisms of civilian control of the army by the ruling parties used until 1945 in the totalitarian political systems of the USSR and the Third Reich. The author centres his analysis on the circumstances of the establishment of armies in the two countries under study and the extent to which the traditions and continuity of the respective armies have been preserved, as well as the organisational and personnel changes implemented in the command structures, the extent of political control and involvement of officer cadres in the Soviet and German armed forces, and the degree to which instruments of violence were employed. The analysis leads to the author’s conclusion that, despite the differing circumstances surrounding the formation of the armies studied and the diversity of the instruments used, in the end civilian control assumed a similar character.

• Details
• Contents