Page "State terrorism" Paragraph 7

Later examples of state terrorism were the police state measures employed by the Soviet Union beginning in the 1920s, and by Germany's Nazi regime in the 1930s and 1940s.

According to Igor Primoratz, " Both Nazis and Soviets sought to impose total political control on society.

Such a radical aim could only be pursued by a similarly radical method: by terrorism directed by an extremely powerful political police at an atomized and defenseless population.

Its success was due largely to its arbitrary character — to the unpredictability of its choice of victims.

In both countries, the regime first suppressed all opposition ; when it no longer had any opposition to speak of, political police took to persecuting “ potential ” and “ objective opponents ”.

In the Soviet Union, it was eventually unleashed on victims chosen at random.

" The bombing of Guernica has been called an act of terrorism, and other examples of state terrorism may include the World War II bombings of London, Dresden and Hiroshima.