Dictators in History: Power, Fear and Control!

#82 Week 17

Author

Sigrun Sørumgård
April 24, 2025

How well do you know history’s most infamous authoritarian leaders?

  1. What was the name of the leader of the Soviet Union who ruled with an iron fist from the 1920s to 1953?

  2. Who was dictator of Italy at the same time as Hitler?

  3. What is the name of the dictator who ruled Spain from the civil war to 1975?

  4. Which country did António de Oliveira Salazar rule as a dictator?

  5. Which Libyan leader was overthrown and killed in 2011?

  6. Who was the leader of the Khmer Rouge guerrilla group that ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979?

  7. Which Iraqi dictator was overthrown during the 2003 US invasion?

  8. Which country did Josip Broz Tito rule?

  9. What was the name of Uganda's notorious dictator in the 1970s?

  10. Which Chinese leader was behind the "Great Leap Forward" and the Cultural Revolution?

The Wonder Wall

  • One of the cruelest dictators in history, Adolf Hitler, had a peculiar dietary preference. He was a staunch vegetarian and strictly abstained from consuming meat. Hitler became vegetarian, partly because of his health issues and partly because he believed in the cruelty of animal slaughter.

  • North Korea’s “Dear Leader,” Kim Jong-il, was notorious for his fear of flying. Despite being the supreme leader of a country, he rarely traveled abroad by air. Instead, he used a luxury armored train for his foreign visits, equipped with lavish amenities and a mobile entertainment center.

  • Enver Hoxha, the authoritarian leader of Albania from 1944 to 1985, was notorious for his extreme paranoia about foreign invasions. To safeguard himself and his regime, he embarked on a massive bunker-building project. Throughout his rule, more than 700,000 concrete bunkers were constructed across Albania, creating a surreal landscape dotted with these military structures. To this day, Albania holds the world record for the highest number of bunkers per capita.

Yesterday´s Questions & Answers

  1. What is the name of the flag of England?

    St. George's Cross

  2. Which famous prehistoric monument is located on Salisbury Plain?

    Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument in Amesbury about 8 miles (13 km) northwest of Salisbury in Wiltshire, England. It consists of a circular megalithic stone circle, surrounded by a ring moat and a circular earthen mound. The stone circle was probably erected between 2500 BC and the 2nd century BC, that is, in the Bronze Age, while the mound and the mound date from around 3100 BC, that is, in the Neolithic Age.

  3. What year did the Battle of Hastings begin?

    The Battle of Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between King Harald Godwinson of England and Duke William of Normandy. It took place at Battle northwest of the town of Hastings in present-day Sussex.

  4. What was the name of the English wife of Henry VIII who survived him?

    Catherine was Queen of England from 1543 to 1547 through her marriage to King Henry VIII. She was Henry's sixth and last queen, and the only one of his wives to survive him.

  5. What are the two houses of Parliament in England called?

    House of Commons and House of Lords

  6. In which city is The Shambles, a medieval shopping street with crooked half-timbered houses, found?

    York

  7. What is the name of the ancient Roman wall that stretches across northern England?

    Hadrian's Wall is the common name for a chain of fortifications that the Roman emperor Hadrian built in England between 122 and 128 AD.

  8. Which city is known as the "Steel City" and was central to the Industrial Revolution?

    Sheffield. The production of egg steel, which would give Sheffield world fame, began as early as the 14th century. The city still has a large production of special steel; it is particularly known for its production of knives, cutlery, alloys, tools, medical equipment and forgings for the nuclear industry.

  9. Which bird is described as the guardian of the Tower of London, and is said to bring bad luck if it disappears?

    Ravens

  10. What is the name of the street where the pedestrian crossing that The Beatles walked on a famous album cover is found?

    Abbey Road, which is a road in north-west London that houses one of the world's most famous recording studios, as well as the famous "Beatles zebra crossing".