Five Evil Leaders (Who Aren’t Adolf Hitler)

[@alexamerling79]

Thank you for including Leopold II. Not enough people know about his atrocities.

[@borismuller86]

Which is wild, considering how barbaric his rule over the Congo was.

[@sergeanttentacles1359]

Yeah well it’s almost all BS. He didn’t commit or order any atrocities, and most of the whites people administering his territory did not either.

[@vincesega6885]

Don’t act like we don’t all know why that is

[@ImperiumMagistrate]

No this video is a lie. The 1905 Bulletin Commission showed no Belgian officer ordered limb mutilation that was a tradition of africans. And the 10 million number is based on poor census data and lies spun by communist Adam Hochschild

[@ImperiumMagistrate]

@@borismuller86Except it wasn’t. Those are lies spun by UC Berkeley communist professor Adam Hochschild and his garbage book “Ghost of King Leopold” which is not a scholarly book even lacking footnotes/endnotes.

[@TheMILVSCR]

"Grand Master of Education, Science, and Culture...because he never met me." Best line from ALL Simon's channels, hands down.

[@MAJmuslim]

I had to do a replay for that line.

[@afischer8327]

Yes, that was a funny and ironic line. I noticed it too. How dare these people belittle themselves to criticise me, the intellect of the ages! I am second to none. Why, I enquired of a cockroach - dear fellow, what is your name? He replied, 'None'.

[@taylor-t1y]

Here just the first five i could think of. churchill, blair, LBJ, bush sr. And let's not forget truman , the only piece of shyt to used nukes on other people.

[@guohongli5727]

@@taylor-t1yThe Nuke saved more lives than it killed though, America and the Soviet Union would have been forced to engage in brutal warfare on the Japanese Homeland if not for the two nukes.

[@taylor-t1y]

Nice paraphrase of the victor writes the history books.@@guohongli5727

[@polly_sacharride]

Years ago I had a coworker that had purportedly been a fighter pilot in the Iraqi Air Force and had defected some time shortly before the Gulf War. I never had any reason to disbelieve him. He was a very quiet man and would only talk about his past if asked. He told us that even as a flight officer that he'd just sometimes be randomly dragged from his barracks in the middle of the night, beaten and locked in a cell for days or weeks at a time and then released without explanation. He said this was "normal" and they would do this to everyone to keep them in line out of fear. He said he was constantly terrified of the day he would be killed. Apparently during a patrol he noticed that while normally his plane would have barely enough fuel for the patrol itself this time he had just enough to cross the border and so he did. He said he had a sister but had never heard from her afterwards and that he knew she was probably dead because of him. But he also said he was certain that if the day came that they ever did kill him that they would kill the rest of his family too. I didn't keep in touch with him after I left that job but sometimes I do wonder what ever happened to him.

[@sonomacalendar9949]

Makes perfect sense to Beat highly trained air force pilot as if they did not have anybody else to beat. Also he is very honourable man. Defected for no particular reason apart from ostensibly beaten and leaving his family to suffer. And where exactly did he fly to? Syria? Iran? Nearest US aircraft carrier? What a bullshit.

[@sonomacalendar9949]

They did it to everybody? Let’s say there were 500 pilots in Iraq airforce. So 500 of them would receive regular beating? Was there a special pilot beating unit in Iraq air force?

[@the_local_bigamist]

@@sonomacalendar9949 This is the kind of question I was asking myself when reading that. Randomly dragging fighter pilots from the barracks, locking them up and beating them for days doesn't seem "normal" even for a bastard like Saddam Hussein. Sounds like a targeted campaign and the original comment doesn't do the alleged fella any justice, assuming that this information was actually shared to this person by an actual former Iraqi fighter pilot.

[@polly_sacharride]

This very video mentions the Mukhabarat. Beating random people was kind of their thing... Now, was the guy I knew full of shit? Maybe. I don't know. He could have actually been from Minnesota for all I know. I'm just saying what he told me and I have no real reason to disbelieve him.

[@the_local_bigamist]

@@polly_sacharrideThe point is that this was simply an anecdote which just doesn't read right.

[@srblackhat1]

As a Dominican, I'm glad the Trujillo Horrors are getting addresed. My great-grandfather lost his job due to his discontent with the regime, making life way harder for my grandfather until Trujillo's death.

[@tomorrow4eva]

Vietnam usually fights wars when someone is invading them. But they made an exception for Pol Pot, and I have deep respect to them for that.

[@PRANAV737]

They intervened when Cambodians of Vietnamese origin were killed,

[@JohnSmith-rw8uh]

pol pot invaaded vietnam first didnt they?

[@S4ltyTar0]

Cambodia did invade Vietnam, that's why Vietnam retaliated.

[@JohnSmith-rw8uh]

@@S4ltyTar0 Kampuchea..

[@S4ltyTar0]

@@JohnSmith-rw8uh Kampuchea is the Cambodian name, I'm speaking English, Cambodia is the English name.

[@chrisalexanderwalker2727]

My great-grandfather's best friend was Trujillo. When Trujillo went to kill my grandfather, he didn't only because of the friendship he had with his father. My mother still tells me stories of the terrible things he did to the island and the people who even spoke a word of betraying or revolting. Truly some terrible things went on during my Grandfather's life.

[@Gr3m7]

What island?

[@Postaldude2002]

Damm

[@JeffreyDeCristofaro]

Wow... just WOW! All those complaining about how their individual family lines are haunted by a curse NEED to listen to you and realize how grateful they should be that they don't carry THAT kind of ancestral baggage!!! You have my total sympathies.

[@chrisalexanderwalker2727]

Dominican Republic @@Gr3m7

[@chrisalexanderwalker2727]

I had a co worker who's grandfather was Rudolph Hess of the 3rd Reich. We just see it as a chance to be better and not live in the shadow of our ancestors. @@JeffreyDeCristofaro

[@miguelm6794]

So glad to see Leopold II on history’s sh*t list. There is no hell deep or dark enough for him.

[@007Julie]

And yet he’s not known that well, he should be in every history book. I hardly knew who he was until very recently, his murderous depravity should be well known and movies and documentaries made about this psychopath. History needs to be remembered and victims honored.

[@jacob4920]

He's the forgotten dictator of Europe. I blame Hitler and Stalin for completely overshadowing him.

[@nobbynobbs8182]

As a Belgian, I agree

[@ZechsMerquise195]

@@007Julie Indeed. Even here in Belgium most people don't know or don't like to think about the atrocities he commited.

[@RageyRage82]

Historical revisionism as a result of colonialism, is the reason many people do not know. He surely was particularly brutal and evil, but in reality, if european nations were to highlight this, they would also need to start admitting to their own colonial wrongs, and how they still be edit from it to this day. Because they're complicit, and not so innocent themselves.

[@deionfrancis6715]

This man has more channels than I have kids. Granted, I have 0 kids but he still has a lot of channels

[@1dvs_bstd]

I'm always so confused. How the hell does he remember all the channels or have the time to create contents for all of them? A real Jack of all trades!

[@bradenr867]

@@1dvs_bstdeveryone else does the real hard work, he just reads the scripts. I’m not saying his job isn’t hard but the he has people to do the really hard work, like writing and researching.

[@1dvs_bstd]

@@bradenr867 True but the same is true for news anchors, actors, etc

[@bradenr867]

@@1dvs_bstd of course,but not always because some of the news anchors are also meteorologists and have to explain the radar data to the layman. And sometimes actors have to prepare for roles for months or even years like Bob odinkirk training for 2 years to prepare for nobody. And again I’m not saying that Simon’s job isn’t hard, I mean I probably couldn’t do it. I’m just saying that the people that works for him are doing even more than that.

[@frididjurhuus]

​@@bradenr867 do you know if his job is hard or not?

[@diegoferreiro9478]

Trujillo was so petulant, that when he came to Spain in an official trip, he addressed to the Spanish people in the following manner: 'Spaniards! In 1492 Columbus arrived for the first time to what was going to be the Dominican Republic. Today I return you the visit!' 17:32 Fun fact about him: during his reign of terror he left and retook the presidency several times, but he always remained in control.

[@henrymanzano2201]

Add to that,his 3rd wife was a Spanish woman, something he saw as an "accomplishment" (he probably saw that as having made him a "Spaniard by extension")

[@saraseifert6005]

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote Crime of the Congo…I recommend it for a real look and real accounts of the absolute disgusting crimes against,not just the inhabitants of the Congo, but of people from outside the Congo that peacefully traded with them for many years only to be executed by Leopold’s lackeys. It’s a difficult read, due to the atrocities, but very accurate and explains how intricate the network was.

[@nicolavanrhyn1726]

It really is sickening, for sure. 'Civilize the darkland'. It is really such a disgrace to put it mildly. The hacking off of hands is something I cannot begin to understand. How can people be so evil?

[@ImperiumMagistrate]

And I recommend reading the 1905 bulletin report that actually investigated the claims and showed it was the african soldiers who went against orders and mutilated africans they tried to kill. Also African Laborers were compensated for their work but they paid taxes with rubber and were forbidden from working more than 40 hours per month.

[@ImperiumMagistrate]

Arthur Doyle also noted how it was Belgian officers who brought peace and ended slavery in Africa

[@rsr789]

Also Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness (1899).

[@ImperiumMagistrate]

@@rsr789 Or read the 1905 commission

[@nomohakon6257]

Where the hell is Stalin?

[@sydhenderson6753]

He wanted lesser known evil overlords. Stalin and Mao's crimes are too well known.

[@donbrashsux]

Totally Stalin was Evil

[@8bitorgy]

Bro the kids love Stalin now.

[@AdamOBrien29]

Stalin was just misunderstood

[@Wreckz_Tea]

This is supposed to be a chance to hear about people not everyone knows about

[@artistwithouttalent]

Let's be real, Simon, the West _absolutely_ knew that Trujillo was a vile dictator, they just didn't care because he wasn't a communist and thus was politically convenient.

[@ultracapitalistutopia3550]

That's why putin is still getting so many bootlickers in the west, Japan and India. He is white and not communist.

[@littledudefromacrossthestr5755]

True

[@leomcmlx]

Like Josip Broz Tito & Nicolae Ceaușescu

[@arthursahakian2122]

Like Aliev right now

[@notmytruthTHEtruth]

There should be some US presidents on this list for sure

[@Kaltagstar96]

I'd honestly be interested in seeing an 'Into The Shadows' or Biographics on Nguema and Trujillo, at least.

[@pyromania1018]

Trujillo does have a biographics video

[@PrimericanIdol]

My goal is to make it to an Into the Shadows video. 🤣

[@andrewthorpe3219]

Hitler wasn't in the same league as Stalin or Mao who win on total numbers. Pol Pot, however, does win on percentage of population.

[@duncancurtis5971]

Been done already by Ravens Eye.

[@robertmason8297]

New Channel, Dark Biographics !!! Biographics blended with Into The Shadows and a hint of Casual Criminalist.

[@bb-double-yuh]

Honorable mention: Leopold III of Belgium, son of Leopold II, and his cowardice actions in WWII, where he refused to lead Belgium into battle, surrendered the country, and fled to England to start a new political movement there. He attempted to rule Belgium again upon returning years after WWII, in which riots ensued upon the news (as well as its economic downfall) and the rest of the house had to decide whether Leopold continuing his reign is neccessary. This would infamously be known as "The Royal Question." Ironically, Belgium went from having one of the most badass kings in modern times (Albert I) to the most cowardly kings in modern times (Leopold III) consecutively.

[@podco9973]

Finally someone gives credit to albert I, he has perhaps the bravest leader in world war 1

[@quirijnv6793]

Do not honorable mention anyone while writing such misinformation. He was Albert I's son for one. Leopold did in fact lead the Belgian army in WWII, and he did surrender, but let's be real what else was he going to do? Defeat Hitler? His entire point was NOT leaving the country and people, against the wishes of the government, which went into exile in England. He was imprisoned by the Germans and tried to negotiate with Hitler, which was not well received by the mostly liberal francophone government (who were still majority nobility back then), but to little avail as Hitler pretty much ignored him throughout. The Germans took him and his family with them during retreat, but they could not return immediately after the war, as Belgium had 10 governments in 5 years. In 1950 he was invited back after the Christian Democrat party decisively won the elections with the return of the king as it's driving point. After protests by liberal ministers a plebiscite was held, which ended with 57% in favour of the king, even 72% in rural and poorer Catholic Flanders. Massive riots in Walloon industrial cities against the outcome escalated and threatened civil war, upon which Leopold III abdicated in favour of his son. The Royal Question was a communal political struggle foreshadowing those that would follow in the sixties and seventies, it had little to do with the war. In fact Leopold's impact versus what would've occurred had he not been there is near nothing. With today's sensibilities it can even be argued that his father (and really any military commander during WWI) is a much worse war criminal, having caused many, many more lives to be lost. For some, like Haig and Foch, this seems to have caught on, others remain out of shot.

[@JCesarH]

Where did you get this idea? it's just factually inaccurate and to then go on to mention him as an evil leader...? What are you smoking? He wasn't Leopold II's son, he did lead the army (against the governments wishes), he surrendered after holding the germand back as long a possible (which might not have been as long a england or france wanted, but what was the belgian army going to do against the german juggernaut of early WWII?) He was captured by German forces because he stayed in belgium and the king's question was more of a political "game" because he went against the will of the government.

[@Palimbacchius]

And how is that remotely comparable to any of these?

[@ImperiumMagistrate]

@@podco9973You mean for standing in the back and doing nothing?

[@jasonweber753]

The parsley massacre bears mention as an ethnic cleansing campaign and something that still resonates culturally. Trujillo’s henchmen would force people to say ‘parsley’ in Spanish, and those who grew up speaking creole had the most difficult time pronouncing the word properly. If someone said the word wrong, they would be killed by machete- machete because bullets could be traced and Trujillo wanted to retain deniability vis a vis the international community.

[@henrymanzano2201]

Exactly

[@whyjnot420]

The 2009 documentary Enemies of the People is one of the most chilling things I have ever seen. The most chilling parts are candid conversations with Nuon Chea where he casually describes the horrors he personally inflicted. (this was Pol Pot's second in command) I cannot recommend this documentary enough, but be warned. What they did in Cambodia back then ranks amongst the worst things man has ever done to fellow man. So it can be very hard to watch or even listen to.

[@CAP198462]

Idi Amin Dada is probably the only ruthless leader who’d want to be number one on this list. He carried out many of the sadistic acts attributed to his regime personally. If Hannibal Lecter wore a cookbook, Idi Amin would not only have a copy, he’d have favourite recipes marked.

[@Damoinion]

I was actually expecting his name to come up in the top 5. Oh well, maybe the top 10.

[@johnransom1146]

Roasted people alive over coals suspended by fishing hooks

[@aadagger]

And Bokassa, who literally ate some of his rivals

[@garymaidman625]

​@@aadaggeras did Amin.

[@ksworldnow7799]

I think Idi would have his own cookbook that Hannibal references for exotic meats.

[@drpapa26]

On Christmas Eve 1969, Francisco Nguema had 186 suspected dissidents executed in the national football stadium in Malabo. While the executions were going on, amplifiers played Mary Hopkin's song "Those Were the Days". 150 were shot or hanged with the remaining 36 being ordered to dig ditches in which they were buried up to their necks and eaten alive by red ants over the next few days.

[@chopsticksandchappedlips9734]

Don't forget the executioners were dressed in santa outfits.

[@rossicourvosi218]

I'd pick a bullet

[@jacaredosvudu1638]

Man was metaphorically The Joker

[@anupamsatpathi2071]

Same thing did agutoo Pinochetee in chille.

[@Genesh12]

@@chopsticksandchappedlips9734 NEVER READ ABOUT THIS BEFORE. WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO POST A HYPERLINK TO WHERE WE CAN READ ABOUT THIS?

[@muntyal-bazaz2663]

As the son of Iraqi immigrants, my father and mother lived through Saddam’s terror and fear when he reigned Iraq. What was not mentioned was Saddam didn’t just target Kurds in the north, but as well as the majority Shias in the south. They faced gruelling treatment, extreme starvation, mass execution and had no freedom to practice their sect of Islam under Saddam’s Secular Government. On top of the constant wars Iraqi people had to live through, Shias lived in so much fear that they would be too scared to speak against Saddam even in their own homes because they said “the walls had ears and under Saddam” they faced the brunt of the sanctions during the 90’s where people had no food to eat and tens of thousands died of extreme starvation. Prominent Shia scholars were tracked down and either jailed or executed in the most disturbing ways, the most prominent example was of Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, where Saddam had him killed by nail gun to his head. After 2003, several mass graves in Iraq’s south were dug up which contained hundred and even up to thousands of bodies at a time

[@Famous_Athlete_Hashimoto]

An interesting fact about Macias Nguema: his daughter Monique Macias was raised in North Korea. When she was 7, she was sent to Pyongyang with her family to study there. Her father was killed 7 months later while they were all still in North Korea. Kim Il Sung chose to take her in and look after her and was kind of a second father to her. She eventually left North Korea and published a memoir about her experiences there. Very fascinating stuff

[@alexandsimba]

Kind of disappointed you folks didn't mention the brutal killing of the Maribales sisters with Trujillo. It's rumored to have been the reason why he was assassinated.

[@srblackhat1]

It's one of the numerous reasons he was assassinated, since those sisters were a big thing for the oppresed population. Yet they are still widely remembered in the country. 🇩🇴

[@henrymanzano2201]

@alexand it was basically the last straw for the Dominican people. The US government had already begun distancing itself from him after his incidents with Venezuela's Romulo Betancourt

[@henrymanzano2201]

@srblackhat1 Yes! I love how they've renamed a province after them in the northern part of the country,by Salcedo,where my father was from

[@Monatio79]

Good video. Since Simon touches on how each of these nations have tried to recover from their respective nightmares, it may be fitting to see how they are all doing today. Iraq: After Saddam's despotic rule and subsequent US invasion and sectarian violence, Iraq is gradually recovering. The country is still a dangerous powder keg, but there appears to be light at the end of the tunnel. Cambodia: Anything which came after Pol Pot's murderous Khmer Rouge is, in itself, an improvement. For all his faults, Hun Sen has brought peace and development to the country. Nevertheless, with his son recently succeeding him as the next prime minister, it is clear that corruption and authoritarianism will, for the forseeable future, be part and parcel of Cambodian politics. Expecting transparent democracy is like expecting a former cripple to run a marathon. DRC: Like Afganistan, the country never seems to catch a break. From Leopold to Mobutu to the present, the country has seen nothing but ongoing brutality and conflict, with the fourth largest IDP crisis in the world. The worst country on this list. Equatorial Guinea: A historic carbon copy of Cambodia. Crazy dictator Macias was overthrown and replaced by a corrupt autocratic. Macias' nephew, Obiang, has managed to remain in power since 1979. The discovery of oil reserves has led to development despite continued widespread poverty and corruption. Dominican Republic: Trujillo's terror may well have left its mark, but compared to neighboring Haiti the country is currently a success story.

[@6thwilbury2331]

This post deserves more likes. Granted, it has only been half a day since it went up, but it's an important way of considering these historical assclowns.

[@misterdudemanguy9771]

Have you ever *been* to Cambodia? I would venture to say that it is run by gangs, the remnants of the Rouge, rather than by their government.

[@Monatio79]

@@misterdudemanguy9771 I have lived in Cambodia; my landlady was, herself, a former Khmer Rouge. I may venture to add that most of the current senior government members were, in the past, Khmer Rouge turncoats who defected to Vietnam in 1978. Others were integrated into the Cambodian military when the KR collapsed in 1999. If you equate corrupt politicians w/ ''gangs'' then you are correct.

[@therealjaystone2344]

Afghanistan also earned its nickname: the graveyard of fallen empires

[@versanilty]

cool

[@Bubbaist]

Pol Pot wasn’t just a communist. I don’t say that out any sympathy for communism, but he was also a fanatical nationalist. He believed that communism would restore the glory days of the Angkor Empire. He believed that the Vietnamese had contaminated Cambodian blood, and that Vietnamese plots were responsible for all Cambodia’s problems. When the people couldn’t meet their insane rice quotas, Pol Pot believed that it was due to a massive Vietnamese plot in which people were intentionally not working hard enough. He responded by having the hands of every Cambodian examined. If they had smooth hands, they were Vietnamese traitors and killed. But the Khmer Rouge didn’t kill many Vietnamese, because most were dead by the time they took power. The previous far-right regime led by Lon Nol committed atrocities that would be remembered today if Pol Pot hadn’t had his turn. It tells you something about the Khmer Rouge regime that they had a lot in common with their supposed archenemy, Lon Nol. Lon Nol also blamed everything on the Vietnamese, and massacred nearly all of them before Pol Pot came to power.

[@donbrashsux]

Very interesting info

[@opg1987]

Interesting. Thanks.

[@darthracer777]

communists can be nationalists.

[@Bubbaist]

Maybe, but not real Marxists. Marx was crystal clear that nations, ethnicities, tribes, races and so on were invented by the bourgeoisie to keep the proletariat divided. Of course, that didn’t work any better than the rest of communism.

[@Memento_Mori_Morals]

​@@darthracer777i think the point was nationalism is the true evil. Communism is not a bad idea on paper, humans always corrupt and ruin it thou, which is why until AI rules us, it will never work.

[@lilraider22]

I went to the genocide museum in Cambodia and it was heartbreaking to hear the stories. I'm ready a book from one of the survirors who is 90 years old now. It's unbelievable what Pol Pot did to his own people for absolutely no reason. His ideology made absolutely no sense. They are still suffering today from the effects of his reign. Cambodia could be so much further than they are today if he hadn't taken over. It's a shame he never faced any real punishment for his actions. He was able to die naturally as an old nan with absolutely no regrets about what he did to his own people. Why has Europe paid back the billions they stole from African countries. Their wealth was built from blood and they've done nothing to make amends besides saying our bad but we'll keep all your artifacts, art, and precious minerals we stole for decades.

[@MachetesAreFun]

The Cambodian genocide hits kinda close to home for me. The church I went to as a little kid (and the community I lived in as a whole) sponsored many refugee families, and while I was too young to really understand what it all meant, it was clear that their lives were just completely upended. Even knowing them, I can't imagine what it must have been like to go through something like that.

[@BigBlackCantonese]

It's the CCP, pol was Chinese, the Chinese are just as bad as the whites don't forget it.

[@jakdee1295]

My grandfather is a Cambodian refugee who I never met until I was 16 years old (I’m 24 now). That to say that I didn’t grow up with the culture, or the language. He doesn’t speak English super well and he has a very thick accent so the few times I have spent time with him, he can be hard to understand. Whenever this topic comes up though, it’s devastating, despite the language troubles we sometimes have you can see in his face the change and emotional toll something like this can take on you. His parents and most of his siblings were killed or starved during this time and his entire hometown was bulldozed. He said even if he wanted to today he couldn’t go to his parents grave to pay respects to them because their bodies were never found and everything is unrecognisable. Truly heartbreaking.

[@iPwnMETALLICA]

@@jakdee1295i feel you man. Both my grandparents and parents were so lucky to survive and come to the states. Unfortunately many of my aunts and uncles didn’t survive. My dad doesnt even know what his real dad looks like, and I remember back in 2013 when we went and visited my dad reunited with his long lost uncle. He asked his uncle if he had any pictures of his dad and his uncle told him they all got burned. Been to srok khmer 3 times, was even blessed to meet my great grandma. We plan on going back again next year.

[@Swiss_femboy]

It’s not on Europe to shoulder that cost, by that logic half of Eurasia can demand reparations from mongolia. Half of Europe could demand reparations from Hungary and the Germany had to pay some of the Baltic Peoples reparation and Arab countries would need to pay reparations to India and half of Europe etc etc etc etc… Doesent make any sense. Europe is paying a lot of money to many former colonies of colonial powers and many former colonial powers even lend economic aid to countries they themselves didn’t colonize. Demanding reparations is weak rhetoric. You cannot condem a people eternally for the sins of distant ancestors and blame old injustices for many countries not being able to fix their issues despite in some cases over 70 years of independence.

[@CaptOrbit]

This needs a part II.

[@tootallforyou112]

He didn't add Mao Zedong or Kim il sung because each of them could fill a video alone.

[@pyromania1018]

Which they did.

[@tootallforyou112]

@@pyromania1018 that only serves to prove my point because they also did a video on Pol pot

[@athosdalvarek918]

​@@tootallforyou112 and to be fair they're probably way more known as well

[@BaddeJimme]

He could fill a video with any of the tyrants mentioned here. The real reason is that, sadly, there are far to many evil leaders to cover them all.

[@stevenbaksh5545]

Kim Jung ill might fit more than his father but we dont know the true scale of the Kim regime's crimes yet

[@kadourimdou43]

For every dictator, there are people who carry out their wishes. If it wasn’t for that, then there would be no one on these lists

[@memofromessex]

This is a cheerful thing to watch before I go to bed...

[@michaelp7617]

Than don’t, you muppet.

[@MarkNewberry-n2f]

Thanks for sharing this warm, uplifting and positive segment. I now feel refreshed and optimistic about life on our wonderful planet.

[@Eversogladucame]

Thank you for including Leopold. Just sinister his conduct in present day Congo

[@Erik_Ice_Fang]

Very interesting video. If I may make a small suggestion, it would have nice to hear a quick blurb on how each of these men came to power

[@patrickjane2024]

Saddam hussien was supported by the CIA.

[@BatCaveOz]

Pol Pot was a pseudonym, he was born as "Saloth Sâr". In a similar way that other communist leaders took on new names, such as Lenin (meaning Man Of Iron), or Stalin (meaning Man Of Steel) Pol Pot is actually an abbreviation on "Political Potential".

[@aadagger]

Lenin doesn't mean "man of iron", it just means "Lena's" or "Lena's son" (Lena is Russian short for Helena), it was one of his pseudonyms, while underground. It was a common practice among not only communists, but all enemies of Tzar's regime. Definitely not every such pseudonym was something intimidating like Stalin, many of them were pretty neutral. (I'm native Russian speaker)

[@ASlickNamedPimpback]

Why would he have an abbreviation in english?

[@garymaidman625]

Pol Pot actually means the original Cambodian, in other words, first citizen, in the same way that the Roman Emperor Augustus claimed himself to be the first citizen.

[@samgyeopsal569]

@@ASlickNamedPimpback it’s Politique Potentielle, so it’s French not English

[@ASlickNamedPimpback]

@@samgyeopsal569which doesnt quite matter given his named meant "The Original Cambodian" and not some meaningless "political potential"

[@Nathan-vt1jz]

I think Mao holds the top spot with Stalin and Hitler tying for second place. At the same time, these guys were equally monstrous they just held less power.

[@philiphumphrey1548]

In terms of numbers killed, both Stalin and Mao are well ahead of Hitler, and they were both every bit as ruthless and brutal. Which rather begs the question why is Hitler the byword for ultimate evil?

[@richardmann145]

Never understood how Mao gets overlooked as the evil git he was, along with his wife.

[@JamesWilliams-en3os]

If the benchmark for evil is the total number of human lives extinguished, Stalin and Mao are the top two.

[@ProffesionalZombie12]

Mao and Stalin are on a level that really requires their own video. I think what this video was trying to do, was shed light on less well known dictators. The final guy, for example, I didn't even know existed.

[@lazarskrbic]

​@@philiphumphrey1548because people don't see communism for just how evil it is. Also Stalin won the war, that can boost your reputation

[@truckinconvoy7312]

Simon's next channel: Grand Master of Education Science and Culture

[@luyandzabavukiledlamini4693]

Thank you for including Lepold III his name here in most African countries is synonymous with terror and the evil of Colonialism

[@stevehill4615]

Good video Simon & team, you could probably do a series on autocrats/dictators and their abusive rules (Pinochet, Franco, Mugabe etc).

[@SuzysRedStripes]

Agreed

[@99EKjohn]

Not much to say bad about Pinochet, only 4k people disappeared or killed over 30 some odd years, a strong economy that brought everyone's quality of life up, and consistent government. It'd be a praise video and not a video like this.

[@lazarskrbic]

​@@99EKjohnb...b...but helicopter go vroom 🚁

[@mikesiciliano210]

Pinochet and Franco were great rulers and benefitted their countries immensely.

[@SuzysRedStripes]

@@99EKjohn 4k disappeared/killed isn't a very good track record.

[@michaelevans1193]

How about the other end of Hispaniola and include Papa and Baby Doc?

[@6thwilbury2331]

Somewhere, Tojo and Pasha are going, "Oh cool, we escaped mention on yet another video..."

[@seafoxx777]

Thank you for including Leopold!

[@phantomhiphop]

life truly isnt fair the fact that these leaders werent tortured and thrown into a lake is insane

[@Suffer.FE.17]

A world run by evil will not punish evil individuals for being evil

[@oxcart4172]

Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely

[@littledudefromacrossthestr5755]

💀

[@briandstephmoore4910]

This truly needs to be expanded. You could list the top 50 worst rulers of a country or continent and #50 would be committing atrocities

[@RayS696]

The funny thing is Saddam said his son Uday is "too evil" to be put in charge of Iraq. The irony.

[@SwedishDrunkard5963]

yes but i think that was becouse he was evan worse then him

[@trevornorfolk3103]

Saddam kills for the "stability" of his nation, while Uday kills because he can and likes it.

[@gabrielruiz3221]

Worst of all is that these people don't achieve such horrors by themselves. Monsters live among us, only waiting for an opportunity.

[@Evs78101]

“You can’t combine 5 Biographics videos in one” Simon: “ holy my beer”

[@Foxiz]

What comes to my mind is Idi Amin. Straight away.

[@castleanthrax1833]

Yes, he would've held his own among these guys.

[@LethalJizzle]

I thought of Bokassa, certainly one of the lesser-known crackpots of recent history.

[@Monatio79]

Idi Amin was a brutal dictator but nothing compared to the truly crazy Macias Nguema.

[@Foxiz]

@@Monatio79Sure, now I became interested -:] Much of thing with Amin, for me, is that he had absolutely no mercy when he just felt like k!lling. His underdogs. must have been scared sh!tless if you didn't let Amin win a competition or the likes. Or if you breathed too lightly, pretty much. Anything was an excuse to k!ll. In that sense he almost was like a blend of the Kiim-Jongs and Put!n...

[@midnite_rambler]

@@Foxiz Or if he was feeling a bit peckish. He was apparently rather fond of human flesh.

[@rohitdeb6664]

Milosevic and Franco of Spain deserve spots on this list too.

[@PrimericanIdol]

George W Bush was MUCH worse.

[@jacob4920]

Shoutout to Chairman Mao, seeing as Mao's legacy CONTINUES to haunt China, through the actions of his "fanboy" Xi Jinping.

[@youknowme1475]

by the worst dictators i think those aren't amongst them, Franco was responsible for between 100,000 - 200,000 if we add wartime killings, forced labour, concentration camps and executions together. Milosevic caused 200,000. they were terrible but not as terrible to make it to the list

[@yJamalz]

comparing franco with these monsters is hilarious

[@sl_721]

This is about evil people, not honourable and great

[@brandonlm0125]

According to KZbin comments, saddam was a saint who was reading his Koran when America came to martyr him.

[@GeorgieB1965]

Don't forget his son's too.

[@KingJohnMichael]

Well it is a known fact that the internet is full of idiots

[@trevornorfolk3103]

Saddam's evil outweighs his good deeds no doubt. Uday has no good deeds.

[@alexanderl.6207]

Good thing america only supported saddam when he was a good guy right

[@michaelp7617]

@@trevornorfolk3103Good dead’s? 🤣🤣🤣🤡

[@33Astrologer]

Your channel is one of the most interesting one. Thank so much for your hard work

[@shahzenanakai2499]

my mum’s older brother was forced to serve in the iraq-iran war and he went missing a week before the war officially ended. we still don’t know whether he’s dead or alive since we never actually got confirmation of either.

[@ghostirq]

Yeah I bet Saddam got blamed for it right? Because everything bad is his fault

[@multiyapples]

Rest in peace to those that passed away.

[@hughsmith4236]

I’m surprised Idi Amin wasn’t on this list. What he did in Uganda was equally horrific to Nguema.

[@chesterdonnelly1212]

I'm guessing Nguema was chosen because Idi Amin is already well known.

[@hughsmith4236]

@@chesterdonnelly1212 fair, but so is Pol Pot

[@michaelp7617]

@@chesterdonnelly1212more well known than Pol Pot? 🤣🤣🤡

[@chesterdonnelly1212]

@@michaelp7617 about the same I would say.

[@orangegalen]

We can talk all we want about the high profile evil people, but we often forget that it’s not just them: it’s everyone that follows them. One person cannot maintain such a grip unless there are others just as twisted and vile as them willing to carry out such acts under their name. Unfortunately, they go unnoticed and uncovered because they weren’t as high profile.

[@Excremental_Discharge]

I blame the invention of colored chalk......it over stimulates the mind

[@kirdot2011]

Exactly which is why it makes me wonder how exactly they managed to do this in the first place.

[@kirdot2011]

Lol

[@havocgr1976]

What I wanted to post.I can maybe get Leopold II, but the rest were all kept in power by people killing their own people.I saw a video once of Pol Pots death squad members, now old who were alive and well pretty much bragging about the crimes they committed.

[@teubert2]

I think it's important to know that those people you refer to can actually be ordinary people. That's probably another reason why they go unnoticed; they are ordinary people. Don't believe me? Look up the "Milgram experiment" and "Stanford prison experiment"

[@quirijnv6793]

9:30 Very straightforward interpretation of history there. Britain and France would not tolerate each other getting Congo and through shrewd political maneuvering Leopold managed to worm in and get in a bargaining position where he seemed the better alternative to the greater powers, rather than one of them getting it over the others. 10:28 This is a very disputable claim as well. There were never more than a handful (

[@thedecolonialcentre]

Very fascinating content! Thank you for creating this content.

[@Speeder76]

Interesting: I'm reading right now "The Feast of the Goat", by Mario Vargas Llosa. Although some parts are ficcional, the description of the killers of Trujillio and their fate - one of them survived and lived until well over nineties - it's disturbing, at least.

[@riversguy92]

Excellent book! Hope you’re enjoying

[@Speeder76]

Loved it,@@riversguy92. It might become one of my best books I ever read. But I have to say that I love latin american literature.

[@riversguy92]

@@Speeder76 aunt Julia and the scriptwriter by the same author is v good. Also most things roberto bolano has done, but specifically the savage detectives. Fernanda Melchior writes about contemporary mexico very well, hurricane season and paradais

[@Speeder76]

Hurricane Season is my next book to read@@riversguy92. Also have The Savage Detectives (and 2666) on my shelf, but I need the courage to grab those bricks ad read them. Aunt Julia? I love it. Have you read anything about Jorge Amado?

[@candicemirisha912]

This makes me sad for all the people who suffered

[@Jayjay-qe6um]

"Let them hate, so long as they fear me." -- Caligula

[@HKUriah]

You ought to rename this "Five Evil Leaders (Who Aren't Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin or Mao Tse-Tung)

[@nolancain8792]

12:15 that shade throw.

[@jrmckim]

I can't believe the horror that went on in Congo... I read the caption about the man's family murdered, cut up and eaten..... my heart aches for them...

[@kevinmcqueenie7420]

In secondary school I had a friend who was an Iraqi Kurd whose mother had fled with her kids after his father and uncle had been taken, tortured and killed by the Mukhabarat (nicknamed "the White Socks" apparently). Hearing about the things Saddam's monsters did always makes me shudder.

[@rumelahmed4539]

It's a misnomer, Iraqi Kurds dont exist and never have.

[@A_foranonymous]

​@@rumelahmed4539really since my family are one and I'm living in iraqi kurdistan right now

[@rumelahmed4539]

@A_foranonymous kurdistan in not a real place. You are in Iraq.

[@A_foranonymous]

@@rumelahmed4539 I know it's not an actual country but the kurds in the North do have their own regional government

[@rumelahmed4539]

@A_foranonymous the same could be said about Ukraine.

[@EAcapuccino]

Actually Simon, some of us do! For example, you did Biographics on many all of these dictators

[@DaveSCameron]

Biased Biographics too 😂

[@EAcapuccino]

@DaveSCameron This guy liked 👍🏻 his own comment and speaks for himself 🤣 I did/do not like any mine should he like

[@DaveSCameron]

@@EAcapuccino I always hit the##LIKEbutton but where have I hit my own kid?

[@EAcapuccino]

@DaveSCameron I have no idea wtf you're talking about on that last part 😅 But your 1st comment means nothing to me as does your opinion 🧁

[@DaveSCameron]

@@EAcapuccino Cheers, I appreciate your letting me know, Erm.. nothing.

[@toby1439]

Finally glad that someone is actually mentioning Saddam Hussein.

[@Clippidyclappidy]

Surprised Queen Victoria wasn’t on here

[@jovanweismiller7114]

You might ve mentioned that Equatorial Guinea is still a brutal dictatorship under the nephew of Francisco Macías Nguema who overthrew him in 1979 & has been president ever since.

[@diegoferreiro9478]

And don't forget that Teodoro Obiang was one of Macías most willing henchmen and director of the infamous Black Beach prison. However, being Obiang a brutal and corrupt dictator Macías played in a much more terrible league.

[@ujustgotpwned2008]

Lol bonus points for Simon saying that if he mentions the name of that Austrian painter he'll get demonitized, and then saying Hitler later anyway lol

[@QBCPerdition]

he said mentioning Hitler early in the video would demonetize it. I'm not sure how long he needs to wait, but I'm sure he does. What I find odd is that apparently using the name in the title of the video is A-OK.

[@olencone4005]

@@QBCPerdition The weird and convoluted ways in which YT works could have a video series on its own hehe!

[@ujustgotpwned2008]

@@QBCPerdition Good point - I missed that. Yes, it's a weird system.

[@philodendron6]

Oliver Cromwell would be a perfect candidate.

[@Backpfeifengesicht45]

Oooh good shout.

[@paulwalsh598]

Yeap, I am not sure of anyone else who achieved a kill rate of 1/3 of an entire population in 2 years.

[@sharkchaos5160]

Great video.

[@buruzn09]

“Has he ever met me?” Well played, sir.

[@deaks25]

This would be a great intro/companion to a Biographics mini-series with these five getting a more detailed video on that channel.

[@Hadar1991]

With all due disrespect for the Austrian painter he is almost saint and voice of reason when compered to Pol Pot. He was exterminating his OWN nation faster than the Austrian painter could ever hope to exterminate other nations.

[@hgr.7857]

"I have built many fences, but does anyone call me a fence builder? I have painted many pictures, but does anyone call me a painter? I have sailed the 7 seas, but does anyone call me a sailor? But you FK just ONE sheep..." 😂 Let's not call sHitler "the Austrian painter". Let's instead call the Little Corporal what he was: a mass murdering cranked out narcissistic maniac racist who tore the world apart around him bc he couldn't handle having fought on the losing side in WWI. A stooge, surrounded and enabled by other stooges who were good at saying "YES!", whose glorious 1000 yr empire imploded spectacularly after 12 yrs (edit: 0.1% of goal 👏)...roughly a decade of needless fighting and brutal violence perpetrated by an army (also cranked out) against civilians. A bully who took the cowards way out in the end, when, due to his ego, Berlin had been reduced a smoldering pile of ash. By the very Slavic hordes he viewed as subhuman and sought to eliminate from existence. Bullies usually cave when they get hit back. If only he did not FLUNK OUT of art school, perhaps those roughly 100 MILLION humans who died due to WWII¹ may have lived fulfilling, natural lives. IF ONLY HE HAD BEEN A PAINTER... Call him histories biggest wanker. But don't call him a painter.

[@hgr.7857]

¹Here's where that casualty figure came from. Was not just a random large number: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eqiugXmKYrecpbcsi=wThUgCSj5SBT9bL6

[@ChrisJoestarr]

Trujillo i didn’t expect that naughty boy on here but it’s good to see him gets talk about from someone outside of my country, ( I do not agree with what he did he’s a horrible human being)

[@TurtleChad1]

Stalin isn't here because he was a hero

[@invisibleman4827]

I think Stalin, Mao, Kim Il Sung (& his descendants), Castro, Tito, Idi Amin, Seko, Ranavalona II and Che all deserve a spot on this list.

[@JuanChio77772]

They all in hell now

[@QBCPerdition]

"Hitler" early in the video demonetizes it, but "Hitler" in the title doesn't?

[@mystuff9999]

Fickle them KZbin gods be, lad.

[@AnotherPointOfView944]

Audio, not text demonetizes.

[@lornegreen412]

Hitler compared to Stalin and Mao was amateur at best . He just has better press.

[@biblical2699]

He also started a world war which is why he is so much more reknowned and hated.

[@johntakolander8613]

I would add Lenin, who wrote in his "What is to be done" a revolutionary handbook that: "The French revolution in the 1790s did not fail because they killed people, but because they did not kill enough". Stalin followed that order eagerly!

[@the_local_bigamist]

Lenin is nothing like these people. Read a history book and also read the theory that you're pretending to quote and understand.

[@SwedishDrunkard5963]

not exacly stalin was to roughless for lenin, lenin evan feared for what he would do if he became leader

[@invisibleman4827]

​@@SwedishDrunkard5963Lenin was pretty Cromwellian in his dictatorship, he was no democrat

[@SwedishDrunkard5963]

@@invisibleman4827 Lenin was still doubting Stalin

[@invisibleman4827]

@SwedishDrunkard5963 Perhaps, but it's not enough to redeem him of his own crimes, which were pretty hideous but got overshadowed by Stalin.

[@lennyvitale5346]

Such a good episode

[@avaevathornton9851]

Toedoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who overthrew Francisco Macías Nguema in 1979, is still the dictator, sorry, "president", of Equatorial Guinea to this day. And if he isn't as bad as his uncle, that's much more an indictment of the uncle than an endorsement of the nephew. As the video mentioned, Equatorial Guinea does have vast natural resource wealth in proportion to its population and this was exploited on a vast scale under Obiang, for a while giving it a higher GDP per capita _than the United Kingdom_ however this wealth was gobbled up by the president with ordinary Equatoguineans being left in grinding poverty and child mortality running rampant. He would probably rank among the top 5 most evil current leaders.

[@FedeHardy36]

Simon "forgot" about stalin and mao zedong. How odd

[@michaelp7617]

It’s not odd at all. It’s literally a topic of lessor known mass murdering leaders. Life must be rough for you.

[@lukeallen9980]

Not so fun fact, the US is 100% complicit with Saddam Hussein rising to power AND exterminating the Kurds. Then, decades later, the US abandoned the Kurds (for the 4th time) surrounded on three sides. I hope they never forget our treachery. Hazam Al Kurdistania.

[@boristhedespot3473]

Roger casement helped expose the belgiums , in doing so he realised the brutality of all colonial powers , he was murdered by his former masters and today is one of Irelands heros of Easter 1916

[@danielabbey7726]

Yes indeed. Hanged on a comma...

[@philodendron6]

Indeed, one cannot have a 'Paddy' being a hero. Same history washing with Mother Clare Moore, replaced with Florence Nightingale.

[@christopherjustice6411]

Nguema is what would happen if the Joker somehow managed to take over Gotham City.

[@KawaiiKasai]

12:15 "Grand Master of Education, Science and Culture... Has he never met me?" 😂 Excellent easter egg ❤ 😂

[@lesleeherschfus707]

Idi Amin is missing from this video

[@theemissary1313]

A meme went about when a math teacher was called "Worse than hitler" and went on about how to quantify that. So after a brief history lesson on kill counts, the value of human life according to insurance companies, etc. It turned out the only two people in history worse than hitler were actually stalin and Ghangis Khan. Interesting little factoid for you there :)

[@lazarskrbic]

​@EducatedBrutemaybe they have different insurance premiums in China

[@tehfiredog]

@@lazarskrbic Nah, they just were told that insurance was a decadent western conceit and weren't allowed any.

[@PunkiBrooster]

This is a disingenuous and detached way of quantifying both the value of human life as well as the nature of atrocities. Hitler specifically targeted minority populations in utter contempt for their existence. The lives taken as a result of his ideology hold a greater weight than the lives taken by the conquests of Genghis Khan, and the revolutionary ambition of Stalin's ineptitude. Neither caused death out of sheer hatred the way Hitler did. Stalin was a tyrant who believed the ends justified the means, but whose ends were wholly facing the direction of good; peace, equality, and liberty. I find it hard pressed to label him "evil" in the same sense that Hitler was evil. Khan killed for kingdom, and in that sense is no more evil than that of the United States government, or the British empire, etc. Hitler is unique in light of the extent, and motivations of his crimes against humanity.

[@lazarskrbic]

@@PunkiBrooster Stalin killed because he was a psychopath who never cared for his people, idk how you can look at the damage that man caused and say he did it for a noble cause. By that logic everything Hitler did was because he loved Germany

[@detramwings6969]

​@@PunkiBrooster Stalin didn't kill for "The greater good" He killeded because he was Paranoid and also he was stubborn like when his plans failed in Ukraine and millions were starving he still stubbornly went with the plan even though he it would just make it worse

[@91ATLbraves]

How did emperor Palpatine not make this list?

[@michaelp7617]

Do your own video and stop squawking.

[@The_Architekt]

This guy talks fast through the interesting parts then slows down and dramatizes parts that are just essential to the story being told.

[@derptothemaxclearly]

Thank you for using the word crescendo correctly in a sentence.

[@michaelmayhem350]

Simon butchering Trujillo's surname was well worth watching the video but the island of Hispaniola is in the Caribbean not south America lol

[@pyromania1018]

It's strange that he got it right in the Trujillo video.

[@michaelmayhem350]

@@pyromania1018 right? I was almost certain I'd heard him do a video on Trujillo before lol

[@tedpop]

This is, obviously, the only correct response to this gross mischaracterization of the Dominican Republic. kzbin.info/www/bejne/pJXClKmGbdx5qMk

[@mangalover0149]

​@@pyromania1018When was that video done?

[@dragonofmordor]

Another one for the list: Rios Montt of Guatemala, who oversaw the three years of the indigenous genocide in Guatemala, aided quite a bit by the United States under Ronald Reagan.

[@chucku00]

As a French guy I don't know if Napoleon not being mentionned in this list is a nice move or the most obvious disdain mark from a British YT channel... just kidding, I know sexier Vsauce is always fair and balanced!

[@itslloyd123]

I visited Cambodia in 2014, the killing fields and Tuol Sleng (S-21) remain the most harrowing places I have ever been to. The horrors that happened in those places is unimaginable.

[@thejedicounciloffical]

Putin, Xi Jiping, and Kim Jong Un deserve to be on this list

[@dennispowers3798]

I would love to hear about thoughts of military personnel who were given evil orders and why they never turned on these horrendous people.

[@dennispowers3798]

I'm that guy who would sacrifice myself by killing a sick twisted ruler of my country if I had to. Let's see..I'm ordered to murder an entire village by king tom. Yup. I'd just turn my gun on him so fast.

[@weirdshibainu]

Research "The Milgram Experiment."

[@dennispowers3798]

@@weirdshibainu will do!

[@dennispowers3798]

@@weirdshibainu I am that one of the few people who do question authority and I follow my own opinions. I certainly would not follow an unethical order.

[@weirdshibainu]

@@dennispowers3798 In the real life scenario, you would follow the order, or you'd be shot and under people profiled in the video, they'd punish your family. Simple equation-follow the order or your family will pay the price.

[@Sknnypj]

What is the point of sending your kid to school when you can just send them to Simon 😂😂😂

[@olencone4005]

For many topics, it'd be a huge improvement over what Florida's offering atm! 😮

[@Sknnypj]

I agree 🤣🤣 I am from Florida also

[@o-hogameplay185]

for me it is definately Ghengis Khan, if we count the number of people killed, and especially compared to the earth's population at that time

[@robertstone9988]

A man of his times though really

[@stevenbaksh5545]

agreed but it happened so long ago that its hard to imagine the deaths and destruction he caused the funny thing is some people today look at him in a positive light

[@trevornorfolk3103]

Well for Genghis Khan, it did happen A LONG time ago, don't think there's anyone here in 2023 that has lived in that time (excluding time-travelling lizards)

[@o-hogameplay185]

@@stevenbaksh5545 true. tho estimates say he is responsible to the deaths of around ~10% of the human population at that time. also a big part of the worlds male population carries his genes today, which is not something other dictators could say.

[@o-hogameplay185]

@@trevornorfolk3103 yes. but a few more years pass, and this argument can be used on stalin, or the weird moustache man too. a few more decades and it is valid for mao, pol pot, saddam, and so on. even if some really bad acts happen thousands of years ago, it is not justified. ghengis led to ~10% of the worlds population's deaths, while the entire world war 2 with all of it's modern weapons, and fightings all over the world with awul crimes agains humanity killed 3%. can you imagine your argument to any of the dictators from the last 150 years, let's say in 3023? saying that "Mao/Stalin/Austrian Painter lived a LONG time ago, don't think there's anyone here in 3023 that has lived in that time (excluding time-travelling lizards)"? Tho the lizard people joke was good. maybe we should ask the Zuck what exactly happened there....

[@denizbluemusic]

nguema looks like gus fring without glasses

[@brianwelch-qq3ti]

Oliver Cromwell is missing. So are Caligula, Elizabeth Bathory, Vlad Dracula, and Ranavalona III