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This article is about Nazism in relation to other concepts. Specifically, it discusses Nazism and socialism.
The topics Nazism and religion and Nazism and race now have their own pages.
Nazism and fascism
The term Nazism is often used interchangeably with fascism, but this usage is controversial. Some use the word Fascism (spelled with a capital F), only to describe Italian Fascism, while generic fascism (spelled with a small f) may include many different movements, in many different countries.
Nazism and Italian Fascism both employed a similar style of propaganda, including military parades and uniforms, and the ancient Roman salute. The ideologies of both ostensibly included an extreme nationalism and a rebirth of their own nation to some former, past state of national greatness. Both movements, when in power, also put in place authoritarian governments that pursued wars of territorial expansion.
There were also many important differences between the two movements. For example, racism (in the form of the concept of Aryan supremacy) was central to Nazism but played at most a minor role in Italian Fascism. Fascist Italy did not adopt anti-semitic laws until it followed Hitler's example.
See Nazism and Fascism for more details.
Nazism and socialism
Nazism is an abbreviation for "National Socialist German Workers Party", and Nazi leaders described their ideology as socialist. Thus, a number of people believe that Nazism was a form of socialism, or that there are similarities between Nazism and socialism. This correlation has been rejected to by virtually all who consider themselves socialist in any sense other than "national socialism", then and now.
It has for example been argued that the Nazi war economy, large public works projects, demand for total employment, and state interventions such as the National Labour Law of January 20, 1934 are indicative of socialism.
Much depends on the definition that one chooses to give to the term "socialism". Definitions of socialism can range from the very restrictive to the very broad.
Under a philosophical definition of Socialism - for example one stating that only a system adhering to the principles of Marxism can qualify as socialist - there is a well-defined gap between Nazism and socialism. Nazi leaders were opposed to the Marxist idea of class conflict and opposed the idea that capitalism should be abolished and that workers should control the means of production. For those who consider class conflict and the abolition of capitalism as essential components of socialism, these factors alone are sufficient to categorize "National Socialism" as non-socialist.
For socialists who consider democracy a core tenet of socialism, Nazism is often seen as a polar opposite of their views. Primo Levi argued that there was an important distinction between the policies of Nazi Germany and those of the Soviet Union or the People's Republic of China: while they were all arguably totalitarian, and all had their idea of what kind of parasitic classes or races society ought to be rid of, Levi saw the Nazis assigning a place given by birth (since one is born into a certain race), while the Soviets and Chinese determined their enemies according to their social position (which people may change within their life). There are many other philosophical differences betwen Nazism and Marxism.
There were however ideological shades of opinion within the Nazi Party, particularly before their seizure of power in 1933, but a central tenet of the party was always the leader principle or Führerprinzip. The Nazi Party did not have party congresses in which policy was deliberated upon and concessions made to different factions. What mattered most was what the leader, Adolf Hitler, thought and decreed. Those who held opinions which were at variance with Hitler's either learned to keep quiet or were purged, particularly after 1933. This is comparable to the behavior of certain Communist states such as that of Stalin in the Soviet Union or Mao Zedong in China.
Under an economic definition - for example one stating that socialism is any economic system based on extensive central planning of the economy and public ownership over the means of production - the distinction becomes less clear. Advocates of the view that Nazism was a typical instance of socialism often hold a broad definition of socialism; for example, they may argue that many forms of economic interventionism by the government necessarily constitute socialist policy.
Industries and trusts were not nationalised in Nazi Germany, with the exception of private rail lines (nationalised in the late 1930s to meet military contingencies). The only private holdings that were expropriated were those belonging to Jews. These holdings were then sold or awarded to businessmen who supported the Nazis and satisifed their ethnic and racial policies. Military production and even film production remained in the hands of private industries whilst serving the Nazi government, and many private companies flourished during the Nazi period. The Nazis never interfered with the profits made by such large German firms as Krupp, Siemens AG, and IG Farben.
Nevertheless, efforts were made to coordinate business's actions with the needs of the state, particularly with regard to rearmament, and the Nazis established some state-owned concerns such as Volkswagen. The Nazis also engaged in an extensive public works program including the construction of the Autobahn system. Independent trade unions were outlawed, as were strikes, much like the labour practices of State Communism.
Since the fall of the Nazi regime, many theorists have argued that there are similarities between the government of Nazi Germany and that of Stalin's Soviet Union. In most cases this has taken the form of arguing that both Nazism and Stalinism are forms of totalitarianism. This view was advanced most famously by Hannah Arendt in The Origins of Totalitarianism.
For more information see the articles on Totalitarianism and Fascism and ideology.
Reference
- R.D'O.Butler The Roots of National Socialism 1783-1933 ,Faber&Faber , London 1941
- Edmond Vermeil Germany's Three Reichs first published London 1944