The Bloodiest Dictator You’ve (Probably) Never Heard Of
The story of Pol Pot, the evil dictator who destroyed Cambodia
Communism and fascism were rife throughout the twentieth century. Though different from an ideological standpoint, both of these political doctrines were at the heart of the most infamous regimes in human history. Hitler’s Germany, Stalin’s Russia, and Mao’s China are still considered by many to be the ultimate dystopian nightmares.
But Pol Pot’s tyrannical regime in Cambodia isn’t particularly well-known. Heavily inspired by the totalitarian models in Russia and China, Pol Pot and his fellow party members murdered millions of Cambodian citizens during their reign of terror.
Young Revolutionary
Pol Pot (whose real name was Saloth Sâr) embraced radicalism at university. After gaining a scholarship, he left Cambodia in 1949 and went to study Radioelecticity in Paris.
He stayed in the French capital for four years, and during this time, Pol Pot formed a leftist clique with other students who opposed capitalism and imperialism. Their young minds were inspired by the rising popularity of the Communist Party in France and the leftist revolutions in other countries, particularly Russia and China.
