The subject of this article is controversial and content may be in dispute. When updating the article, be bold, but not reckless. Feel free to try to improve the article, but don't take it personally if your changes are reversed; instead, use the talk page to discuss them. Content must be written from a neutral point of view. Include citations when adding content and consider tagging or removing unsourced information.

Wikipedia is not censored. Images or details contained within this article may be graphic or otherwise objectionable to some readers, to ensure a quality article and complete coverage of its subject matter. For more information, please refer to Wikipedia's content disclaimer regarding potentially objectionable content and options for not seeing an image.

view · edit Frequently asked questions 1. Why does this article say that the Nazis were right-wing? Because that is the consensus of reliable sources, in this case historians and political scientists. Almost all historical and present-day academic literature places the Nazi Party on the far-right of the traditional left-right spectrum, which in turn is the most common short-form classification used in political science. The Nazis themselves attacked both left-wing and traditional right-wing politicians and movements in Germany as being traitors to Germany. While the Nazi regime's economic policies are very different from those of present-day right-wing parties that adhere to classical liberal or neoliberal positions (which advocate, e.g., a highly deregulated, privatized economic environment), Nazi economic policy was typical of the early to mid-twentieth century far-right, and indeed most political currents of the time, in that it embraced interventionist economics. The Nazi Party absorbed the far-right reactionary monarchist and nationalist German National People's Party into its membership in 1933. The Nazi Party also held good relations with openly right-wing political movements in Europe, such as the Spanish Confederation of the Autonomous Right, whose leader Gil-Robles was a guest at the 1933 Nazi Party Nuremberg rally and sought to model his movement upon the Nazi Party. 2. But the word "socialist" is right in their name! Many political entities have names that can be misleading. Consider, for example, the Holy Roman Empire (a confederation of mainly German territories during the Middle Ages and the early modern period) and North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (a totalitarian dictatorship). Historically, several right-wing figures used the term "socialism" to mean something very different from what would be understood by traditional left-wing socialism, referring simply to the broader concept of collectivism and anti-individualism. The prominent French reactionary monarchist Charles Maurras famously said "a socialism liberated from the democratic and cosmopolitan element fits nationalism well as a well-made glove fits a beautiful hand". Maurras's views influenced fascism. Oswald Spengler's ideal of "Prussian Socialism" directly influenced Nazism, and Spengler promoted it as a member of the far-right Conservative Revolutionary movement. The usage of the word "socialism" by the Nazis is different from the common usage of the term "socialism", which refers to an economic philosophy involving advocacy for social ownership of the means of production. In the case of the Nazi party, the phrase "national socialist" was a nationalist response to the rise of socialism in Europe by offering a redefinition of "socialism" to refer to the promotion of the interests of the nation, as opposed to ideas of individual self-interest. But there was no policy of social ownership of the means of production. The Nazis did talk about capitalism being bad, but they defined it as a Jewish-originated economic philosophy based on individualism that promoted plutocracy in the interest of the Jews, at the expense of non-Jewish nations and races. This was put in contrast to the Nazis' conception of socialism, which was done in order to win over people attracted to anti-capitalist and socialist ideas to their cause. They rejected ideas of equality and working class solidarity, instead advocating for social hierarchy and national strength. This article sums it up well. 3. Were the Nazis actually a capitalist movement? The answer depends on the context and definition of capitalism. Ideologically, Hitler in private was just as opposed to the ethos of capitalism as he was in public as a politician; he regarded the capitalist ethos as being self-centred individualism that was incompatible with nationalism. Furthermore, in both public and private Hitler regarded capitalism as being created by the Jews for their own interests. The Nazis in public and in private held contempt for bourgeois culture in liberal capitalist societies - as they associated such bourgeois culture with a cosmopolitan, liberal, and decadent lifestyle that was incompatible with the Nazis' ideal of a nationalist martial ethic of disciplined soldiers who were collectively committed to the Fatherland above any individual interest. So, ideologically, Nazism held strong antipathy to capitalism. However, at the same time, Hitler and the Nazis endorsed private property and private enterprise and did not challenge the market economy, which was important to their accrual of power because it avoided antagonizing industrialists and aristocrats. The Nazis themselves claimed that "true socialism" did not involve the Marxian opposition to private property. But if capitalism is defined in a minimum way as involving the support of the existence of private property, private enterprise, and a market economy, then from that minimum definition, the Nazis could be considered as endorsing a capitalist economy. 4. The proper English name for the Nazi Party is the National Socialist German Workers Party (German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP). "Nazi" is an abbreviated term, so why does the article not use the proper name? Because English Wikipedia uses the common name for things, and the common name for the NSDAP in English is the "Nazi Party". 5. I made an offhand comment about it and somebody just came along and deleted it! What should I do? Nothing. See this discussion where the community came to a consensus that we have entertained the numerous questions and claims about the Nazis being left-wing enough, and that continued engagement with people pushing this line of reasoning is not helpful to the article. 6. That doesn't seem very fair. Don't Wikipedia policies require editors to assume good faith? What if somebody posts that position here with a really good argument? See the following links, all of which are to discussions about this very question over time. Any argument someone thinks is novel has already been made, been responded to, and failed to convince anyone. [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13], [14], [15], [16], [17], [18], [19], [20], [21], [22], [23], [24], [25], [26], [27], [28] 7. But what if I find a large number of very reliable sources all claiming that Nazism is left-wing? Then you will be more than welcome to show them to us, so that we can see that they are very reliable and that they assert that Nazism is a left-wing ideology. If they are, then we will change the article.

Nazism is a far-right ideology. The consensus of political scientists, historians, and other reliable sources is that Nazism is a far-right ideology and not a left-wing or far-left one. This has been discussed numerous times. Please see this FAQ and read the talk page archives. Please do not request that "far-right" be changed to "left-wing" or "far-left"; your request will be denied, and you may be blocked from editing if you persist in doing so.

"Nazi Party" is the English-language common name for the National Socialist German Workers Party. Per our policy, WP:COMMONNAME, English Wikipedia uses the common name in English for the titles of our articles, and in most references to that subject. Thus "Nazi Party" and "Nazism" are the names of our articles on those subjects, and in most instances the National Socialist German Workers Party is referred to as the Nazi Party, but occasionally, to avoid repetition, by the full English-language name, or by its German acronym, NSDAP. Please do not request that the name of the party be changed; such requests are routinely turned down.

	Nazism is a former featured article candidate. Please view the links under Article milestones below to see why the nomination was archived. For older candidates, please check the archive.
Article milestones Date Process Result August 6, 2004 Featured article candidate Not promoted July 11, 2005 Peer review Reviewed
Current status: Former featured article candidate

This  level-4 vital article is rated B-class on Wikipedia's content assessment scale. It is of interest to multiple WikiProjects.

Politics High‑importance This article is within the scope of WikiProject Politics, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of politics on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.PoliticsWikipedia:WikiProject PoliticsTemplate:WikiProject Politicspolitics High This article has been rated as High-importance on the project's importance scale. Discrimination High‑importance This article is within the scope of WikiProject Discrimination, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Discrimination on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.DiscriminationWikipedia:WikiProject DiscriminationTemplate:WikiProject DiscriminationDiscrimination High This article has been rated as High-importance on the importance scale. LGBTQ+ studies This article is of interest to WikiProject LGBTQ+ studies, which tries to ensure comprehensive and factual coverage of all LGBTQ-related issues on Wikipedia. For more information, or to get involved, please visit the project page or contribute to the discussion.LGBTQ+ studiesWikipedia:WikiProject LGBTQ+ studiesTemplate:WikiProject LGBTQ+ studiesLGBTQ+ studies Jewish history High‑importance This article is within the scope of WikiProject Jewish history, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Jewish history on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.Jewish historyWikipedia:WikiProject Jewish historyTemplate:WikiProject Jewish historyJewish history-related High This article has been rated as High-importance on the project's importance scale. Germany Top‑importance This article is within the scope of WikiProject Germany, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Germany on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.GermanyWikipedia:WikiProject GermanyTemplate:WikiProject GermanyGermany Top This article has been rated as Top-importance on the project's importance scale. European history High‑importance This article is within the scope of WikiProject European history, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of the history of Europe on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.European historyWikipedia:WikiProject European historyTemplate:WikiProject European historyEuropean history High This article has been rated as High-importance on the project's importance scale.

Section sizes Section size for Nazism (28 sections) Section name Byte count Prose size (words) Header Total Header Total (Top) 10,442 10,442 640 640 Etymology 5,056 5,056 393 393 Position within the political spectrum 18,105 18,105 1,796 1,796 Origins 1,306 44,719 135 2,467 Völkisch nationalism 18,136 18,136 296 296 Racial theories and antisemitism 13,644 14,794 1,086 1,199 Use of the American racist model 1,150 1,150 113 113 Response to World War I and Italian Fascism 10,483 10,483 837 837 Ideology and programme 2,722 100,644 255 7,623 Nationalism and racialism 2,346 29,511 300 1,549 Irredentism and expansionism 10,564 10,564 286 286 Racial theories 16,601 16,601 963 963 Social class 9,839 9,839 1,059 1,059 Sex and gender 12,425 14,275 625 779 Opposition to homosexuality 1,850 1,850 154 154 Religion 9,109 9,109 712 712 Economics 14,037 28,735 1,354 2,764 Anti-communism 5,410 5,410 560 560 Views of capitalism 9,288 9,288 850 850 Totalitarianism 6,453 6,453 505 505 Classification: Reactionary or Revolutionary 7,183 14,054 890 1,287 Contemporary events and views 6,871 6,871 397 397 Post-war Nazism 1,100 1,100 70 70 See also 412 412 0 0 References 17 32,872 0 0 Notes 24,970 24,970 0 0 Bibliography 7,885 7,885 0 0 External links 1,453 1,453 0 0 Total 228,857 228,857 14,276 14,276

Archives

Index 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30

Revolutionary not Reactionary Talk:Nazism and socialism

This page has archives. Topics inactive for 30 days are automatically archived 1 or more at a time by Lowercase sigmabot III if there are more than 3.

Hi, I'm wondering why I can't find information on Wikipedia about the NS "Siedlungspolitik". This was a program in the mid- to late 1930s to settle parts of the urban populations in new suburban communities with organized community structures integrated into the "Gleichschaltung" policy, and with gardens around each house to allow people to grow their own food during the war that they knew was coming. I used to live in the Konradsiedlung in Regensburg, which was built as one of these and still has a "Siedlerverein" (or at least it did in the 1990s), with a little man who knocks on people's doors and tells them off if they're not growing potatoes properly, and you can't help noticing that all the roads are named after towns just outside the German borders that the Nazis wanted to "bring home" (heim ins Reich) - my favourite is a square still called "Danziger Freiheit". Anyway, I was just doing some editing at Gummiinsel, which is a terrible translation of the German article, and found I had no-where to link "Siedlung" in its specifically NS sense. I'm not sure that the half-paragraph on the NS period at Settlement archaeology is on quite the same topic. Am I missing something, or is this an article we should be creating? A quick Google search finds sources like this [29] or this [30] but there must be much better ones. Doric Loon (talk) 16:33, 17 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

De-wiki seems to also be absent an article on this specifically, though the word ("settlement policy") is used a lot in more modern contexts, mostly Israel. I find a search for "NS" "siedlungspolitik" is fruitful. --jpgordon^{𝄢𝄆𝄐𝄇} 03:16, 18 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@Jpgordon Yes indeed, but the Israeli situation is a little different. My question wasn't really asking for sources, because I'm sure I could trot down to the library and find good ones. The question is, do we want to be writing this up on Wiki, and if so, where? (And is there a historian specialized in the NS-period who is working here who would be competent to do it - I could try it, but not if there are people already here who are more expert.) Doric Loon (talk) 09:00, 18 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The penultimate paragraph in the "Position within the political spectrum" category mentions that Hitler praised Stalin and Stalinism on multiple occasions and was satisfied that Stalin had purged Trotsky, Zinoviev, Kamenev, and Radek, going so far as to desire an alliance with the Soviet Union. Footnotes (71) and (72) refer to François Furet's book "Passing of an Illusion: The Idea of Communism in the Twentieth Century." I have this book in its original French edition. The source Furet indicates for each of these points is Hermann Rauschning's book "Gespräche mit Hitler," which has been discredited for several years by historians as an unreliable source, Rauschning having presumably invented everything. I recommend deleting this paragraph. Cleonacio (talk) 18:51, 21 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= parameter to no to reactivate your request.

Please change "During Hitler's rise to power, it was frequently called Hitler Fascism and Hitlerism." to blank. The term "Hitler Fascism" is not sourced and does not appear in the body of the text. The term "Hitlerism" appears twice in the body of the text as a term coined by historians, no evidence it was used during Hitler's rise to power. The lede of a WP article needs to be accurate. ~2025-43423-41 (talk) 09:00, 28 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Not done for now, but leaving open. Which source are you referring to? "Hitlerism" is mentioned further down in the article, and makes a little more sense to retain. "Hitler fascism" does not, and shouldn't be mentioned without a source. But I'd still like regulars here to weigh in before changing that. –Deacon Vorbis (carbon • videos) 14:34, 28 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]

You appear to have missed my point. There is no source for "Hitler fascism" in the article, and it should be removed. Yes or no? Telling me that "Hitlerism" is mentioned in the article after I have already stated that it is mentioned twice is not helpful. It is mentioned twice as a term used by historians after WW2. The article states that the term was used during Hitler's rise to power - no source states that, so that should be removed. Yes or no? What we appear to have here is a WP editor in the past has pushed a POV without sourcing. ~2025-43423-41 (talk) 23:54, 28 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The term "Hitler Fascism" was used a non-zero number of times; whether "frequently" is appropriate is a fair question. Ngrams shows "hitler fascism" as maybe 2% as frequently as "hitlerism", and "Hitlerism" about half as frequently as "Nazism". I'd strike "frequently". --jpgordon^{𝄢𝄆𝄐𝄇} 00:17, 29 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Ngram doesn't even register "Hitler Facism" for me, though. FMRadio :3_{(chat | edits | she/her)} 04:31, 29 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]

yeah. Hitlerism v. Nazism is interesting; "Hitler Fascism" is background noise. --jpgordon^{𝄢𝄆𝄐𝄇} 06:17, 29 December 2025 (UTC)[reply]