In recent years, a debate has occupied a lot of space when the subject is Nazism: Was this movement from the right or from the left? The intention of this text is to raise some questions regarding the historical facts and the debate that exists on the subject among historians as a way to clarify the subject. Regarding the differences between right and left, we suggest reading this text: difference between left and right.
Was Nazism on the left or on the right?
The academic consensus, that is, the consensus among historians, is that Nazism was a movement located in the far right across the political spectrum. The argumentation of historians uses the analysis of the discourse of the hitler and the ideology of the Nazi Party, as well as historical facts and groups supporting the Nazis, which were right-wing political and paramilitary groups.
Claiming that Nazism was a far right regime does not mean to deny that they existed dictatorial movements of the far left, as was the case with the government of Stalin, in the Soviet Union, or from Pol Pot, in Cambodia.
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In the case of Nazism, the prevailing concept among the greatest historians in the world is that it was a regime of far right, since, as mentioned, the support of the party occurred through the support of conservative and paramilitary groups of the German right. With a detailed analysis of the features of the Nazi Party, it is possible to better identify these issues.
The entire bibliography used in the preparation of this publication can be found at the end of the text. |
A central feature of Nazi ideology was the attacks on marxism and soviet communism. the contempt for communism it was a central element of Nazi ideology. The fear of communism is even raised by historians as one of the factors that leveraged Nazism in Germany.
In Germany during the 1910s and 1920s, communist ideas were very influential and had many adherents. Regarding this issue, historian Ian Kershaw mentions the fact that the writings of hitler denoted that he had not studied Marxism1and yet Hitler aspired to be the destroyer of marxism2.
The result of Hitler's quest for the destruction of Marxism, represented in Soviet communism, gave rise to a generation of Germans who, Starting from an extensive indoctrination, he saw in communism and in the Jews two things that should be destroyed, as evidenced by the historian Max Hastings.
O anti-Marxism of the Nazis echoed in part with the anti-Semitism. This is explained by the fact that the Nazis believed that Soviet communism was part of a jews' plan of international domination. This conspiracyist idea towards Jews was heavily influenced at the time by an anonymous publication called The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
In the case of anti-Marxism, we can also cite the freikorps, the paramilitary groups that supported Nazism during the 1920s and carried out attacks against its ideological opponents. Thus, cases of paramilitary groups that persecuted and attacked social democrats (center-left) and marxists/communists (left) were common.
See too: Totalitarianism: what it is, origin, characteristics
Was Nazism liberal or anti-liberal?
On the issue of the economy, there is a lot of confusion, especially because Nazism was a party illiberal. This is because Hitler only accepted a capitalist economy that was under the power of the state, denying that capitalist development took place on the free market. In any case, the right to private property was guaranteed within the Nazi state and, as Ian Kershaw points out, Hitler distinguished “industrial capital” from “financial capital”. The first was seen in a positive way, and the second, in a negative way, since it was supposedly in the hands of the Jews, the group seen as responsible for all the evil that German society faced.
Why National Socialist German Workers Party?
Another important point is the confusion about the name of the party: National Socialist German Workers Party. This nomenclature was part of the party propaganda to attract people. In this sense, terms were used from two very popular movements at the time: the nationalism it's the socialism. Both movements had numerous supporters in Germany at the time.
Until party colors were thought by Hitler as a way to attract people to Nazism. This type of propagandism based on nomenclature was used by other parties throughout history. An example that is widely considered today is the case of the Democratic Republic of Korea or, simply, North Korea, which, despite its name, we know has nothing democratic about it.
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Finally, it is important to specify that this debate about Nazism being leftist it does not exist among academic circles, since its legitimacy in historical facts is not proven by studies carried out on the subject.
What was Nazism?
O noAzism was a political party that emerged in Germany in 1920 and quickly rose to power taking advantage of the despair of German society, which was devastated as a result of First World War and of the great depressionsto the. The Nazis managed to come to power in 1933 and started a totalitarian regime that led Germany to Second World War and to commit the greatest genocide of humanity: the burnt offering.
The Nazi party is the result of ideals that were in evidence in German society since the 19th century and that gained a new dimension after the First World War. In the 19th century, the region corresponding to Germany underwent its process of unification (emergence of the Modern National State of Germany) around strong nationalist ideals. This process was conducted by Otto von Bismarck. The exacerbated nationalism that existed in German society was accompanied by xenophobic tendencies (contempt for the foreigner) that turned against other peoples (such as the Poles) and by the anti-Semitism (Aversion to Jews).
These ideals were supported by the ideologies of the time based on the social Darwinism who sought to scientifically prove the “superiority” of certain peoples in relation to others. In the case of the German, an ideal developed around the “Nordic” or “Aryan” as a superior people. This ideal of superiority was accompanied by an ideal of empire in which the Germans would form a “living space”, a kind of rural myth in which the Germans would occupy a vast territory and live off the work of the Slavs.
in addition to the nationalismextreme, gives xenophobia It's from anti-Semitism, German society also reproduced other ideals, such as the exaltationgiveswar as a way to achieve development and appreciation for strong leadership. All these values were carried into the 20th century and exported to the extremist movements of the 1920s, when German society was on the brink of collapse.
The rise of Nazism is directly related to the scenario in Germany after the First World War. The end of this conflict was marked by the surrender of Germany and the resignation of the country's leadership to take full responsibility for the conflict. This was seen by a considerable part of German society as a betrayal, and the country's surrender was seen in a conspiratorial, that is, elements of society came to believe that Germany's surrender had been the result of a conspiracy.
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To aggravate the situation, Germany faced the worst economic crisis in its history in the 1920s and 1930s due to the defeat in the war and the Crisis of 1929 (Great Depression). The economic crisis caused the German currency to suffer a brutal devaluation and unemployment to soar and reach almost half of the population of working age.
It was within this context that Nazism gained strength. The party officially appeared in 1920 under the name of National Socialist Party of German Workers (in German, the name of the party was Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, with acronym NSDAP). Hitler was involved in the emergence of the party on the aforementioned date and helped in the elaboration of the party's program.
Gradually, Hitler gained more importance in the popularization of the Nazis, mainly because of his excellent oratory, which drew people's attention. He became leader of the Nazi party in 1921 and was a central figure in the strengthening of Nazism throughout the 1920s, reaching power in Germany in 1933.
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1 KERSHAW, Ian. Hitler. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 2010, p. 84.
2 Idem, p. 171.
Theoretical framework used:
EVANS, Richard J. The arrival of the Third Reich. São Paulo: Planet, 2016.
EVANS, Richard J. The Third Reich in power. São Paulo: Planet, 2014.
GOLDHAGEN, Daniel Jonah. Hitler's willing executioners: the German people and the Holocaust. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 1997.
HASTINGS, Max. Hell: the world at war 1939-1945. Rio de Janeiro: Intrinsic, 2012.
HOBSBAWN, Eric. Age of Extremes: The Brief 20th Century 1914-1991. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 1995.
KERSHAW, Ian. Hitler. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 2010.
RICHARD, Lionel. The Weimar Republic 1919-1933. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 1988.
*Image credits: Everett Historical and Shutterstock
By Daniel Neves Silva
Graduated in History