While studying in France, Pol Pot became influenced by the movement of the anti-French protestors. After returning to Cambodia, Pol Pot had been greatly influenced by communism and had also learnt about the glory of the Angkor civilization. This combination of political ideology and the knowledge of the power wielded by the ancient civilization made him passionate about restoring Cambodia to its former glory in the days of Angkor. In Pol Pot’s own words, he wanted to “Revive this glorious period of Cambodian history”. One of Pol Pot’s greatest communist influences was Mao, who managed to make China a communist country. Many historians believe that communism is not a bad idea. However, it is the way in which Pol Pot went about trying to enforce this idea and achieve his goal that cannot be comprehended. Pol Pot is not the only leader to try and enforce his communist views on the country; people like Stalin and Mao have also made the same mistakes. Pol Pot believed that the greatest advantage that Angkor had was the amount of rice it grew. The only way he could recreate a civilization like Angkor was to become the leader of the Democratic Kampuchea (DK), as Cambodia was known then.
