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5 of the most controversial choices for Time magazine’s Person of the Year

By John Haltiwanger 

Many criticized the fact Donald Trump was picked as Time’s Person of the Year in 2016, for example, after running an extraordinarily divisive presidential campaign and ultimately winning the US election. But those who did so seemed to misunderstand how Time comes to a decision and perhaps weren’t aware of some of the more dubious people who received the title in the past.

Time bases its choices on the person or thing that had the “the greatest impact on the news, for good or ill.”

Sometimes the most newsworthy person or thing might also be widely despised, so popularity is not necessarily a prerequisite in terms of Time’s ultimate choice.

The choice to name 16-year-old Greta Thunberg as 2019’s Person of the Year is less controversial than past choices, but still won’t please everyone.

Here are some of the most incendiary picks Time has made since it first started naming a “Person of the Year” in 1927.

Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler, among the most infamous and reviled leaders in world history, was named Time Person of the Year in 1938.

“Hitler became in 1938 the greatest threatening force that the democratic, freedom-loving world faces today,” the magazine said in early 1939 as it explained the choice.

Adolf Hitler Hulton Archive / Stringer / Getty Images

The Nazi leader’s aggression in Europe in the late 1930s shocked the region and the wider world, which was still weary from World War I.

In 1938, European leaders sought to appease Hitler as he pushed the region toward another major conflict by allowing him to annex the Sudetenland, a region in what was then Czechoslovakia. Hitler had already annexed Austria earlier in the year.

The efforts to quell Hitler’s imperialistic ambitions ultimately failed, and he launched World War II with Germany’s invasion of Poland in September 1939.

Joseph Stalin

Joseph Stalin was chosen as Time’s Person of the Year in 1939 and 1942.

Joseph Stalin. AP Photo

The Soviet leader is often pointed to as one of the most ruthless authoritarians in history.

Stalin was an influential figure of the era between his brutal, bloody rise to power in Russia as well as his central role in defeating the Nazis during World War II.

“The year 1942 was a year of blood and strength,” Time said of Stalin in early 1943. “The man whose name means steel in Russian, whose few words of English include the American expression ‘tough guy’ was the man of 1942. Only Joseph Stalin fully knew how close Russia stood to defeat in 1942, and only Joseph Stalin fully knew how he brought Russia through.”

The latter half of 1942 and the early part of 1943 was a major turning point in the war due to the Soviet victory in the Battle of Stalingrad. Many historians consider it to be the greatest battle of World War II, as it stopped the German advance on the Eastern front and changed the entire outlook of the war for the Allies.

Read more: 5 of the most controversial choices for Time magazine’s Person of the Year

Source: Business Insider

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