Sturmgewehr 44 assault rifle (MP44) ... Date of design 1943 (GERMAN)
Ruski Mikhail Kalashnikov's AK47 ... Date of design 1947
Gee ... they look like twins. I wonder why?
They look similar for the same reason many pistols look similar. Design principals are similar. Those MP44s were used on the Russian front so maybe there was some influence in the design but it is pretty clear looking at them that the guts are significantly different. At least as different as they can be for both having the same general operating principle.