The Nazis Were Left-Wing

Nazis Are Left-Wing — On the Anti-Capitalist Tendencies of the Nazis

When Hitler first began his party activities, the Nazi Party was called the “German Workers’ Party.” Shortly after joining the Workers’ Party, Hitler transformed it from a secretive organization reluctant to engage in public activity into a loud, militant political party. As Hitler gained fame as a speaker and solidified his position within the party, he planned his first large-scale event less than half a year after joining.

At this event, Hitler argued that they should create a platform to make the intentions of the Workers’ Party known. The result was the “25 Points.” It is not possible to verify which specific items Hitler participated in drafting, but the slogans suggest his involvement in the editing process.

“The old nationalist ideology has arbitrarily combined with the current popular urge to protest and tendency to reject reality, producing an overall unity through emotional appeal… It is anti-capitalist, anti-communist, anti-parliamentarian, anti-Semitic, and emphatically rejects the end of the war and its consequences.”

– Hitler, Joachim Fest

What in the 25 Points is worth paying attention to?

11. We demand the abolition of unearned income and the destruction of parasitic landlordism.

13. We demand the nationalization of all trusts.

14. We demand profit-sharing in large enterprises.

These 25 Points became the party’s official platform when the party’s name was changed to the National Socialist German Workers’ Party. The platform was incoherent, and it was forgotten once the Nazi Party came to power.

However, important parts of the platform were implemented in the Third Reich, and the result drove tens of millions of people in Germany and beyond into misery.

– The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, William L. Shirer

Nazi Germany is commonly described as an extreme right-wing force. However, I would like to suggest a different perspective. Few regimes in history were as anti-capitalist and anti-liberal as Nazi Germany. I propose viewing the Nazis as a left-wing reactionary force of a different kind from communism.

230526 Bench Press

▶ Join the Liberalism Reading Group:

https://open.kakao.com/o/g4Nn1uud

---

Original title: 나치는 좌익이다

Author: Ja-yujuui Ipmun Dokseotoronmoim

Date: 2023-05-26

Source: https://www.cfe.org/bbs/bbsDetail.php?cid=reading01&pn=3&idx=25695