Joseph, thank you for engaging me further in a civil manner. First, I think it would help to start with a definition of fascism and socialism.

Socialism- a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production & distribution of capital, land, etc. in the community as a whole.

Fascism- a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition, and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc. and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism.

While the Weimar Republic took control of industries during the Great Depression, the Nazis reversed that when they came to power in 1933, privatizing many industries. The German people (of Aryan descent) owned their capital and land, (and often their ownership came from the seizure of non-Aryan businesses--Jews and other ethnic minorities). The Nazi economic policy was focused on rearmament, a return to greatness as seen through military might. In some cases, the state interfered with industry if it benefitted rearmament efforts, but it primarily protected privatization as long as they supported the government’s military efforts. Thus, this economic snapshot is a narrow view of Nazism.

Here is an excerpt from Kershaw’s book: “Hitler had, in heated discussions among his comrades, voiced support for the Social Democratic government against that of the Communists. There were even reported rumors—though without any supporting evidence—that Hitler had spoken of joining the SPD.”

If I had cherry-picked that one sentence from Kershaw’s book it would seem that Nazism was socialism, but you have to read the book and understand history, Hitler and the Nazi party for the complete context. Reading further, Kershaw states, “the evidence of his early Pan-Germanism sympathies, antagonism towards Social Democracy, belligerent militarism, and aggressive xenophobia rules out any genuine attuning to the aims, policies, and ideas of the SPD after 1918.”

While the Nazis did reluctantly institute social welfare programs (lest the general public rise up and revolt in hard economic times), it was funded primarily through “persuading” private donations and only for racially pure Aryans.

As I stated in the article I referenced earlier, Nazism was based on race not economic or political ideology, and thus bringing the term socialism into their party name was opportunistic--an appeal to the broader masses to grow their party so they could institute their fascist ideology. Hitler’s idea was to win the workers (the left) to nationalism by appealing to a “national community”, the Volksgemeinschaft, based on a shared concept of struggle and racial purity. They all struggled from the reparations imposed against them. The Jews who were scapegoated for signing the Treaty of Versailles, were then viewed as a threat to the German race.

So, while Nazism had aspects of socialism, to understand Nazism, you must look beyond economics. Nazism laid total claim on the state. The Reichstag fire occurred the month after Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany in January 1933. It was this crisis that allowed Hitler to persuade Pres. Hindenburg to declare a state of emergency and suspend all civil liberties.

Then parliament passed the Enabling Act which gave Hitler, as Chancellor, dictatorial powers. Soon after that Hitler began the process of installing a fascist regime. He started with issuing a decree defining a “non-Aryan” and thus separating a segment of society for discrimination, oppression, and eventually extermination.

After defining non-Aryan, the “Aryanization” of businesses began– basically ownership was taken away from Jews and other minorities and given to Aryans. Nazis stripped Jews and other minorities of their citizenship. This was just the beginning of their oppression. The Nazis slowly stripped them of all their rights over time, issuing decrees weekly and forcing reporting requirements on a German public that kept them so busy they failed to see the threat until it was too late. The Nazis eventually stripped Jews of all rights and required them to wear the yellow star. They had no legal representation/rights and no one to turn to when criminal acts were inflicted upon them.

In May 1933 the Nazis began burning books, signaling the silencing of intellectuals--primarily Jewish and others deemed inappropriate for German consumption – F. Scott Fitzgerald, Huxley (that Brave New World he wrote about might put the wrong idea in the minds of Germans) and that “horrible pacifist” Hemingway, among others.

By mid-year 1933 all other parties except the Nazi party were outlawed (thus the Nazi party had complete control of the government). A year later, the Nazi party purged any opposition (murdered hundreds) from within their own party during the Night of Long Knives. Then Hindenburg died and Hitler became Fuhrer.

The Nazis seized control of the press and manipulated media to brainwash the masses and instill an ultra-nationalist fervor (Germany is special, Germans are the chosen people), demonizing the Jews and other minorities by continuing the big lie that a Jewish controlled government (in reality it was only about 2% Jewish) stole victory from the German people when they signed the Treaty of Versailles to end WWI. They said the Jews were responsible for the reparations imposed on Germany and the economic hardship forced on the German people which only further enraged their anger at the Jews or allowed them to remain silent at the increasing oppression of Jews.

The Nazis violently suppressed any opposition. Intellectuals—scholars, professors, newspaper editors, etc. who spoke out were jailed, and sent to concentration camps where most died.

Then the Nazis passed the Race Laws which focused on the racial purity of the German people and oppressed all who did not meet the genetic requirements. Forced sterilizations occurred to try to root out any deformities or impurities. Those with mental disabilities were sent to “schools” that were said to benefit them but they mysteriously passed away from unknown illnesses. Devastated families later discovered they had been gassed. This is where the idea of mass extermination through gassing began.

The Nazis withdrew from the League of Nations reinforcing their nationalistic views and a Manichaean world view of us vs. them, good vs. evil, Germany vs. the world.

So, a broader study of Nazism, clearly indicates that it met the definition of fascism: all powerful dictator, violently oppressing opposition, regimenting industry, and enforcing nationalistic and racist views.

Thank you for the book recommendation. I’m curious as to how Fayek represented this era. I hope you look into the broader view of Nazism as presented by the world’s leading expert on Hitler and Nazism, Ian Kershaw, in his many books about the time.