Life in a Totalitarian Country

Imagine...

When you get up in the morning, you get dressed quickly and leave the house before the sun rises. You go to your job, which was assigned to you by someone in charge of the area you live in. You work in a factory that makes the flag of your country. You only talk about how happy you are to be at work, and you tell the other people who work with you that you are grateful for the chance to help the country.

When you finally go home, you are tired, but you don’t tell anyone. You don’t want anyone to think you are complaining. At home, you watch television, and the show that night is a recording of a ceremony that took place when the Supreme Leader visited a village. Your mother gets very excited to hear him speak about how your country is the best in the world. You go to sleep after eating a simple meal provided by the government. You wake up and do it all again the next day.

Qualities of a Totalitarian Country

Did you like the life described in the first two paragraphs? The answer is probably a very loud “NO!” If you were a person who lived in a totalitarian country, your life would probably be a lot like what was described. A totalitarian country is a country where the government controls everything and requires all people to comply with strict rules. The citizens are oppressed and the rights they deserve as humans are not protected.

Totalitarian countries are usually ruled by a single very powerful leader known as a dictator. Sometimes the people in the country might call their leader “Father.” This leader gets to decide who else will help him run the government — usually he picks out people who he thinks are the most loyal.

You might think everyone who lives in these countries would leave, but they do not. They do not leave because the government will punish anyone who tries to flee. Anyone who tries to speak out against the rules created by the government is also punished — they might be sent to a prison camp and forced to work, or they might even be put to death. This creates fear amongst the people and discourages anyone from doing anything that could be seen as disrespecting government. Some people don’t even realize how bad things are in their country.

Examples of Totalitarian Countries

You might think that it would be impossible for countries like this to exist in the world, but there have been several in history. During the years of 1933 to 1945, Germany was ruled by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party, and this government had many qualities of a totalitarian government. The Nazis punished people who didn’t agree with their racist ideas, and they murdered over 10 million people who they thought were inferior. Even though the Nazis did terrible things, many people were convinced by propaganda to support the government.

An example of a totalitarian country that exists today is North Korea. North Korea is a small country that borders China and South Korea. All of the leaders of North Korea come from one family, and the current leader is Kim Jong-un. The government of North Korea tells everyone that they must work together so that their nation can be independent of other countries. By teaching everyone in the country to care about unity, the government has been able to convince the people not to trust the outside world. For example, children in North Korea are taught to hate the United States when they go to school.

Even though the people of North Korea might seem very united, there are some people who try to rebel against the government. These people sometimes escape the country and tell their stories, but other times they are arrested and then they “disappear.” People who escape from North Korea describe horrible things, like running out of food and not being able to speak freely.