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The National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP), better known as the Nazi Party are well known
for their many atrocities committed against the human race. Led by Hitler, they believed that Germans
were the “higher race } ^ {2¿ and to ensure no “defilement of the blood} ^ {2¿ that anyone labeled as
lesser was to be killed. The Nazis killed millions in a concentrated effort to rid the world of anyone they
found to be undesirable. While the vast majority of those killed were murdered due to being Jewish,
other groups were also targeted including: the Roma and Sinti, captured Soviet soldiers, the educated
and upper-class Polish, Jehovah’s Witnesses, religious leaders, political oppositionists, homosexuals, and
anyone with (or alleged to have) a mental or physical disability. Despite their extreme reaction against
anyone with differing views, the Nazis had some ideals in common with those whom they persecuted.

While Nazis considered socialist and communist philosophies “to be dangerous ideologies that
threatened their traditional political and economic control, } ^ {5 ¿ not all of their beliefs were in total
opposition. To say that the two solely contrast each other in each and every ideal would be foolish. No
two views are ever solely opposite in totality, the world is not in black in white, but rather in shades of
gray and politics reflect this. Nothing in politics is solely one way or the other, though it is typically
discussed as such. Chimamanda Adichie discusses this overlap, or spectrum, well in her TED talk The
Danger of a Single Story. Using her life story she talks about the necessity of different and whole
viewpoints when determining a view concluding with, “when we realize that there is never a single story
about any place, we regain a kind of paradise. } ^ {1¿ This applies to the Nazis as well. Though they did
horrific things, they too were people and as such led complex lives. Therefore, their beliefs did not and
could not entirely contrast those that they opposed.

“The simple man should work honestly and pay his taxes; in return a responsible state should take away
his financial worries! That is the very least it should do. } ^ {6 ¿ This is a quote directly from Adolf Hitler
in Timur Vermes’ novel Look Who’s Back. This also is very similar to a view shared by socialists and
communists, that citizens shouldn’t need to worry about their fundamental needs being met. Both Hitler
and those he detests believe that a government should care for its people. That the government should
care for its people is the main basis of both socialism and communism. While these stances are the same
when looked at generally, when researched you can find a key difference. Nazis only believe that the
government should care for those that are found to be of value. While the Nazis were in power they
killed many religious, non-German, disabled, and poor people in an attempt at mass eugenics.

Additionally, Vermes’ depicts Hitler as against the mass commercialism that has spread across the world.
He states, “The diversity of bakeries had gone, a chain of butchers was everywhere… The houses, too,
were built to a very unimaginative design. } ^ {6 ¿ This vast spread of commercialism also goes against
Hitler’s hated leftists. As mass corporations go hand in hand with capitalism, it is understandable that
neither side approves as they both dislike capitalism. This distaste for capitalism is prevalent throughout
the book, most often found in comments on the quality of modern goods. Due to the mass production
of goods and companies trying to maximize profits by minimizing costs general item quality has been
steadily decreasing. This is found in both businesses such as Starbucks with overpriced mediocre drinks
and in general objects. For example, clothes were previously made to last many years of wear. Today on
the other hand, due to fast fashion, clothes are only meant to last for as long as they are considered
fashionable. Though there are these few similarities in opinion, that does not change the fact that Hitler
had a fundamentally different philosophy.

In actuality, socialism and capitalism rarely share any ideals with the Nazis. Racism and classism are key
elements of Nazism, while the lack of equality directly contradicts the views of socialism and
communism. Despite this, uninformed claims from those against socialism, such as that “Adolf Hitler
was a far-left socialist, } ^ {4 ¿ still persist. This is likely due to the NSDAP containing the words socialist
party despite the massive discrepancy in actual socialist views. On the other hand, anti-socialists could
be attempting to use the knowledge of the widespread hatred of Nazis, therefore if Nazis’ views are
brought into association with those of political rivals, they will lose both public trust and support. These
uninformed claims are likely to persist both due to the aforementioned reasons as well as the fact, to
quote philosopher Lee McIntyre, “Skeptics usually have different standards of evidence for theories they
want to believe. } ^ {3 ¿ If Hitler was a far-left socialist, it would be good persuasive material for anti-
leftists and anti-socialists. Due to this, despite reliable evidence presented stating contrarily, any sources
stating so are labeled as the truth.

1
Adichie, Chimamanda. “Tedtalks: Chimamanda Adichie--the Danger of a Single Story.”
TEDGlobal,
https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story/
transcript.
2
Hitler, Adolf. Mein Kampf. Institut für Zeitgeschichte, 2017. Page 286.
3
McIntyre, Lee. “The Price of Denialism.” The New York Times, Nov. 2015,
https://archive.nytimes.com/opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/11/07/the-rules-of-
denialism/.
4
Talgo, Chris. “Was Hitler Really a Socialist? Yes!” Stopping Socialism, 28 Jan. 2022,
https://stoppingsocialism.com/2019/06/hitler-was-a-socialist/.
5
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum,
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/communism-1.
6
Vermes, Timur. Look Who's Back, MacLehose Press, New York, 2016. Pages 63 & 188.