Was Hitler a socialist?

Philosophy Forums Society, Government, and Economics
1

There is a common argument that Hitler was a socialist and that a common leftist tactic is to accuse you of something they are well known for, saying that Trump, for example, cannot be a fascist.

Of course, there are similarities between all authoritarian regimes. But while extreme right-wing and extreme left-wing ideologies have been associated with significant suffering and damage in the 20th century, they have different ideological foundations, methods, and goals.

Beginning with ideological foundations, extreme right-wing ideologies often emphasise nationalism, authoritarianism, traditionalism, and social hierarchy. They tend to advocate for a strong central government and strict social order and often promote ethnocentric or xenophobic views.

On the other hand, extreme left-wing ideologies typically prioritise egalitarianism, social justice, and collective ownership of resources. They often advocate for the abolition of social hierarchies, redistribution of wealth, and extensive state intervention in the economy.

With regard to methods and goals, extreme right-wing parties often seek to preserve or restore traditional social structures and power dynamics through authoritarian means. They may advocate for excluding or suppressing certain groups deemed threatening to the established order.

On the other hand, extreme left-wing parties typically aim to challenge existing power structures and promote societal transformation through revolutionary or reformist means. They may advocate for the overthrow of capitalist systems and the establishment of socialist or communist societies.

Regarding their attitudes toward individual freedoms, extreme right-wing ideologies may prioritise order and security over individual freedoms, often justifying authoritarian measures for national security or cultural preservation.

Extreme left-wing ideologies may prioritise collective welfare over individual freedoms, sometimes restricting personal liberties in pursuing social equality and justice.

They also differ in economic policies. Extreme right-wing parties often support free-market capitalism, privatisation, and deregulation, viewing government intervention in the economy as undesirable.

Extreme left-wing parties typically advocate for state control or ownership of key industries, redistribution of wealth, and extensive welfare programs to ensure economic equality.

As far as social issues are concerned, extreme right-wing ideologies may oppose progressive social policies, such as LGBTQ+ rights, feminism, and multiculturalism, viewing them as threats to traditional values and societal stability.

Extreme left-wing ideologies often champion progressive social causes, advocating for gender equality, minority rights, and multiculturalism as essential components of a just society.

So, from the above, it is clear that Hitler was not a socialist and in fact, Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime in Germany targeted socialists and communists as part of their efforts to consolidate power and eliminate political opposition. Even before coming to power, Hitler and the Nazi Party viewed socialists and communists as significant threats to their goals. The Nazi Party’s ideology was vehemently anti-communist and anti-socialist, portraying these ideologies as enemies of the German nation and the Aryan race.

2

Why don’t we ask Hitler?

Hitler, were you a socialist?

Hitler: calls his party the national socialist party

What is socialism:

#1 A political affiliation, that is, an idea on what government is and how it should be run,

#2 The idea that what matters is a society, not an individual, on a transcendental level and that the role of government is to protect that society against any threats, including the very idea of an individual.

#3 The idea that, since there are no individuals, but only a society, all property should either belong directly to the government, pay a significant portion of its winnings to the government, and/or be allowed to exist only if they follow government priorities. Conversely, providing heavy government favours to any institution that does follow government priorities.

#4 The idea that there is a reduced group of people who secretly control and own everything, who purposefully and maliciously poison and rob the masses, and who, on behalf of the masses, must be destroyed or at least liquidated.

#5 The idea that the individual is evil, prone to evil and that a constant and powerful government is needed to keep them as good particles of the mass rather than egoistic evil parasites.

#6 Since the individual doesn’t exist, excellence or profit also do not exist. Therefore, all excellence is evil voodoo and all profit is theft.

#7 Since there is no individual, and the only important thing is the society, and government’s role is to protect that society, government must be given absolute power over every conceivable sphere of human thought, action and life.

Since the answer to “did Hitler adhere to every single one of the above points” is “yes,” Hitler was obviously, as Hitler himself said, a socialist. Since the answer to “would Trump even vaguely agree with any of the above” nis no, Trump is evidently not a socielist.

How does a socialist leader arise?

#1 He is from a poor background, with few achievements.,

#2 He takes part in syndicalist or unionist activities,

#3 He becomes a pamphleteer and agitator,

#4 He attempts a coup d’etat, fails, and is imprisoned,

#5 In prison, he is given basically a small office where socialist intelligentia visit, confer, and instruct,

#6 He is released from prison as a political attack by an opposition faction to a ruling faction.

#7 By professing a mellowed down version of what he used to agitate on, telling almost everyone that he agrees with everything they want, and taking a vague moralistic stance, he manipulates current ruling and opposition factions into giving him power to break a political stalemate.

#8 Takes power, instantly but gradually begins to eliminate any and all dissidents from government or civil life,

#9 Instantly but gradually eliminates current legal framework and institutes a new legal framework, which includes unquestionable dictatorial powers for him,

#10 instantly begins “expropriating” (stealing) property from citizens, and redistributing it among himself and those most loyal, using whatever is left to print money and temporarily boost what remains of the economy,

#11 the list keeps going, of course, but it exists and theree is almost no deviation in every instance of a socialist revolution.

Did Hitler fit every single one of these?

Yes.

Did Trump even vaguely?

Obviously not.

3

I thought I’d catch an enabler.

I’ve already compared socialism/communism with fascism and you haven’t addressed that but come along with your propaganda which compares apples with oranges, and has no serious historical bearing.

You’re like those people who make up statistics that aren’t really statistics, just to make it look good.

After Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in 1933, the Nazi regime swiftly moved to suppress and persecute political opponents, including socialists and communists. This included arrests, imprisonment, and executions of individuals associated with leftist political parties, trade unions, and other leftist organizations.

One notable event was the Reichstag fire in February 1933, which the Nazis falsely blamed on communists. This event provided a pretext for the Nazis to implement emergency measures and crack down on political opposition, leading to the suspension of civil liberties and the targeting of communists and other left-wing activists.

The Nazi regime also established concentration camps, where political prisoners, including socialists and communists, were incarcerated, subjected to forced labor, torture, and often executed. The most infamous of these camps was Auschwitz, where millions of people, including political prisoners, were murdered during the Holocaust.

Overall, Hitler’s regime systematically persecuted and targeted socialists, communists, and other political opponents as part of their efforts to establish and maintain totalitarian control over Germany.

4

Bob, if this was 1933, you would be running down the streets with your pants down spilling beer everywhere that your fuhrer finally arrived to put an end to the evil and the greed.

All socialists regimes do this, and they always include competing branches. There was no party but the soviet party in soviet Russia either, including many socialist parties that existed before its members were sent to concentration camps to die.

5

As much as socialists hate individualists, they in the end think of us as unilluminated idiots, to be exterminated as rats or insects, without real hate.

The real hate they reserve for competing socialists.

Of course, they are all the same trash. But a socialist scheme is authoritarian in nature, and you can’t have two bosses giving two different orders.

6

A strong state

No property but state property

Moralism above law

No individuals, only a collective

This is socialism. Yes, Bob, including national socialism.

7

The amazing thing about many Americans is that they have a Hollywood history book rather than a real one. These people also ignore historical facts and imagine things based on their political leanings. The story of the NSDAP isn’t even that long ago, and most Germans are warned of what happened in the Weimar Republic that put Hitler in power. Essentially, it was the in-fighting between Social Democrats and Communists and the inability to form a stable Government that allowed the Zentrumspartei to help Hitler to power.

The Zentrumspartei, with its broad base, managed to garner support from a wide range of social classes. Its appeal was particularly strong among Catholic voters and institutions like the Catholic Church. However, it also found followers among industrialists, nobles, and the wealthier sections of society. This diversity was reflected in its membership and voter bases. The party, while representing a conservative political line, also championed social and economic reforms, thereby attracting support from various segments of the population, including parts of the economic elite.

Hitler was able to use the common feeling that the Reparations after WWI were unjust, and there were people in Britain and America who agreed, but France had suffered two wars with Germany in succession and was able to push the draconian demands through. His idea was that there was an internal parasitic influence in Germany that was eating it from the inside out and he identified the Jews, but also the socialism and communism, which he saw as Jewish ideas, as the problem.

8

Well, you can insult me and ignore the things I say however much you want, but that doesn’t make them less true, or you any less of a dirty communist. No different than a nazi.

9

Who is insulting who? I have delivered historical facts and you have taken from some propaganda leaflets or videos, and accuse me of what, “Communism”? You are clearly out of your mind and have nothing but idiotic accusations left. Your pseudo-intellectualism is astounding.

10

Bob’s right. The Nazis called themselves socialists because socialism was popular in those days. That’s all.

11

Lol, I’m delivering propaganda, but you admit that you took all your perspective from some school textbook.

I attack precisely and with clarity, all of what I say can be checked against the historical record.

You? You wish it away and bemoan the deaths of your communist comrades.

Filth.

Attack it. Go on.

Fool.

12

Bob doesn’t know his ass form his elbow.

And a bland statement does not an argument make.

That’s socialism, though. “Don’t worry about making a case, just repeat the stupidity a million times as an assertion. It’ll stick.”

Decrepit fucks.

13

They called themselves socialists because they liked socialism and met every condition for it.

That’s why they called themselves socialists.

14

Maybe this will help: October 1923 Interview with Adolf Hitler by George Sylvester Viereck in The American Monthly

“I met Hitler not in his headquarters, the Brown House in Munich, but in a private home - the dwelling of a former admiral of the German Navy. We discussed the fate of Germany over the teacups.

“Why,” I asked Hitler, “do you call yourself a National Socialist, since your party programme is the very antithesis of that commonly accredited to socialism?”

“Socialism,” he retorted, putting down his cup of tea, pugnaciously, "is the science of dealing with the common weal. Communism is not Socialism. Marxism is not Socialism. The Marxians have stolen the term and confused its meaning. I shall take Socialism away from the Socialists.

"Socialism is an ancient Aryan, Germanic institution. Our German ancestors held certain lands in common. They cultivated the idea of the common weal. Marxism has no right to disguise itself as socialism. Socialism, unlike Marxism, does not repudiate private property. Unlike Marxism, it involves no negation of personality, and unlike Marxism, it is patriotic.

“We might have called ourselves the Liberal Party. We chose to call ourselves the National Socialists. We are not internationalists. Our socialism is national. We demand the fulfilment of the just claims of the productive classes by the state on the basis of race solidarity. To us state and race are one.””

1 Like
15

During the Nazi era, many Social Democrats were persecuted and imprisoned by the Nazis because of their political activities. After the end of the Second World War and the restoration of democracy in Germany, some of these former prisoners were elected to the Bundestag.

Fritz Erler was a prominent German politician of the SPD and a leading representative of the Social Democrats in the post-war period. He was arrested during the Nazi era and deported to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp.

Kurt Schumacher was an outstanding social democratic politician and the first chairman of the SPD after the Second World War. He was a staunch opponent of National Socialism and spent several years in a concentration camp.

Herbert Wehner was an important SPD politician who later played an important role in German politics. He was also imprisoned during the Nazi regime and survived the concentration camp.

16

This is a Nazi strategy to dehumanise your opponents, call them names and accuse them of what you are yourself doing. Repeat it as often as possible so that in the end you believe it yourself.

17

Right, lol, competing factions.

Thanks for finding in what is admittedly a propaganda piece anyway corroboration of every single thing I said lol.

Maybe Hamas are the true socialists, eh dakat?

18

Bob, what is Nazi strategy is to ignore intelligence and truth, and just bleat out emotional statements mixed with quotes from, at most, textbook level literature.

You are an idiot and a buffoon, and would have embraced Hitler totally if you had lived in his day.

I know because he stood for everything you moan for.

19

Clowns.

20

One good thing one can say about the national socialists is that they were so shoddy and disorganized that people did manage to survive their concentration camps.

Nothing of the sort can be said of soviet institutions. When they wanted someone gone, they made them gone.

Same trash, only difference is how organized and serious they were.

I think, Bob, given your level of ridiculousness, you would have preferred the Nazis to the Soviets.

They both would have given you the thing you pray for most: the right to continue in complete ignorance. Lol social democrats.