What are the differences between: Communism, Leninism, Marxism, Stalinism (!), Marxism-Leninism, Maoism etc?

There is no 'nutshell' answer for this one. It would take a book to reply to it. But I can recommend some books for you.

'Revolution Besieged' Tony Cliff 'Russia' From Workers State To State Capitalism' Cliff, Binns, Harman 'Arguments for Revolutionary Socialism' John Molyneux 'International Struggle and the Marxist Tradition' Tony Cliff 'The ABC of Socialism' John Rees 'Marxism and History' Chris Harman 'Socialism: Utopian and Scientific' Frederick Engels 'Left Wing' Communism' An Infantile Disorder' Lenin 'State and Revolution' Lenin 'The Revolution Betrayed' Trotsky And of course, the old standards. 'Communist Manifesto' Marx, and The History of the Russian Revolution' Trotsky Sorry but cannot think of any on Maoism, I'm not a Maoist. I suggest you read some of these books in order to find out the true nature of the philosophies.

Most of the answers you've recieved so far are downright bizarre. For example, Lenin and Stalin were ideological opposites, there is no philisophical ... more.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.