To what length did the idea of totalitarianism exist in the Soviet Union under Stalin and Nazi Germany under Hitler? What would be a sophisticated...

A thesis statement for this particular topic should focus on human rights abuses committed by both of these regimes.  Hitler and Stalin perpetrated some of the worst human rights abuses in history on their own people in an effort to secure absolute control.  While Stalin and Hitler did not agree on fundamental political and economic philosophy, they had strong agreements on strategies for achieving control.  The worst human rights abuses of both dictators were the imprisonment and execution of citizens without due process of law.  Hitler and Stalin utilized secret police forces to crush dissent.  Citizens could be arrested or executed for simply disagreeing with the party.  Many different groups were targeted by both leaders.  In this way, people became fearful to take a stand against the policies of either leader.  The number of people that were treated this way was staggering, with millions dying at the hands of these despots and their secret police.  I would focus the essay on research concerning the Gulags in the Soviet Union, and the concentration camps in Germany.