Others defend Stalin’s greatness on the basis of his role in repelling the Nazi invasion and ultimately defeating Hitler. Yet Stalin’s purge of military leaders during the Great Terror critically weakened the Red Army, his signing of the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact in 1939 paved the way for the start of World War II, and his blindness to the Nazi threat in 1941 left the Soviet Union unprepared to resist Hitler’s attack.
也有一些认为斯大林是伟人的人说他抵挡住了纳粹的入侵并最终打败了希特勒。但斯大林在大清洗时期所杀害的军队领导人削弱了苏联红军，他在1939年所签订的纳粹-苏联互不侵犯条约为二战的开始扫平了道路，而他在1941年对纳粹威胁的视而不见让苏联对希特勒的攻击措手不及。