Athens had the strongest Navy and Sparta had the strongest Army.
This depends upon what time period. Yes.
In Russia during Communism yes.
During the Renninsance time period in Italy there were votes taken place.
But different skills had high positions, like metal workers, and other tradescrafts.
If you're talking about the holocaust, they hid in houses with secret rooms similar to where slaves hid and they fled the places of exile