Quote:

"They each thought the other guy was a homicidal maniac"

Actually, that's not true. At least Stalin admired Hitler's leadership qualities, and I think it's a safe bet that Hitler felt the same way about Stalin.



To the extent that Stalin warmly approved of Hitler's liquidation of Roehm and the SA at the Night of the Long Knives ("Some fellow, that Hitler,") and went on to exceed him during the purges, you are correct. Hitler never had one kind word for Uncle Joe, though.