Question about Robespierre and The Terror

[fromrequired.livejournal.com]

 I don't have much knowledge about the French Revolution (as you can tell by looking at my userpic, I'm more of a WWII fangirl) but I'm greatly interested in it. 

So in my AP Euro History class, we had to watch this documentary about the French Revolution. I'll post a part of it below:

I'm sort of lost because I thought Robespierre originally was for the rights of the poor and the ordinary people? It doesn't seem plausible to me that he can just turn into a sanguinary dictator overnight. Even in my textbook it says that Robespierre killed everyone whom he deemed unfit for his "Republic of Virtue," but history is never that simple. I know, I study WWII ;)

Anyways, can y'all people enlighten me about the cause of The Terror and Robespierre's role in it? Sorry if I'm asking too many questions.


EDIT: Here's the part that succeeds it. It basically describes the fall of Robespierre and says he inspired later dictatorships and revolutions. 

Comments

[victorian-fox.livejournal.com]

fromrequired, yes, initially Robespierre was for the rights of the poor and the ordinary people. And of course, he didn't turn into a dictator overnight.
But: Robespierre said, that Virtue couldn't exist without Terror - like, if you don't execute everybody who isn't virtuous (in a revolutionary meaning) enough, you can't have a virtuous republic, which they wanted to create. It was a very idealistic vision.
Also, Robespierre and his faction were forced to open the Terror by counter-revolutionaries and because of the pressure from countries (monarchies) in neighborhood.
Robespierre is considered being the most important person of the period of Terror (and they always go together, him and the Terror :( )

(Actually, your WWII studies could help ;) "later revolutions and dictatorships": their stories are, in some parts, somewhat similar)

[fromrequired.livejournal.com]

"(Actually, your WWII studies could help ;) "later revolutions and dictatorships": their stories are, in some parts, somewhat similar)"

Hmm I don't know, are you suggesting that Robespierre was similar to der Führer?

[victorian-fox.livejournal.com]

Well, I can see some similarities... (both wanted to create an ideal society, for example)

[fromrequired.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I can kind of see that...

[lauraohlaura.livejournal.com]

I think some of his political views were certainly similar to Lenin's (and maybe also Stalin's) - first USSR leaders were very much inspired by Jacobins and generally French revolution (even if they called it "French _bourgeois_ revolution")