Hi, I have a degree in history. I specialized in 20th century history. My father fought in WWII. I grew up in Brussels and spoke with a lot of people that were alive during the war when I lived there. I visited East Berlin before the wall came down. I visited other cities in East Germany as well.

I have read most of the major history books from the era.

The notion that the Nazis were socialists did not arise until the 21st century. If it were true, why would it take that long for the idea to be floated? The reason is that everyone who was there knew better and people had to wait for them to die to say something that ridiculous.

German names are often more like marketing ideas than reality. East Germany was called the German Democratic Republic. It was neither democratic nor was it a republic.

The Nazis wanted to attract the lower classes you know like Trump. In that day you had to say the words socialist and workers in your party name to get that done.

It was just another part of the propaganda. Trump and his crowd lies at a level the Nazis could only dream of. German workers were not as ignorant as Trump supporters.

UPDATE: 08/15/2025

I am getting quite a lot of responses to this these days. The ones from the right seem to all be making some similar mistakes in thinking. National Socialism as the Nazis practiced it is not the same thing as or even closely related to Socialism.

National Socialism, often associated with the Nazi Party in Germany, is a far-right, totalitarian political ideology that combines elements of fascism with racist and antisemitic doctrines. It emphasizes extreme nationalism, racial purity, and the subordination of individual interests to the state.

Economically, while it maintained private ownership, it heavily controlled industries and directed the economy towards its political goals, often through state intervention and forced labor.

Socialism, on the other hand, is a broad political and economic theory advocating for social ownership and democratic control of the means of production, distribution, and exchange. Its core tenets include equality, social justice, and collective well-being.

There are many different forms of socialism, ranging from democratic socialism, which seeks to achieve socialist goals through democratic means within a capitalist framework, to communism, which advocates for a classless society with no private property.

The key differences lie in their fundamental principles:

• Ideology: National Socialism is rooted in racial supremacy, authoritarianism, and aggressive nationalism, while socialism is based on principles of equality, social justice, and collective ownership.
• Economic System: While both involve state intervention, National Socialism maintained private property with state control, whereas socialism generally advocates for social or public ownership of the means of production.
• Individual vs. State: National Socialism prioritizes the state and the “nation” above the individual, often suppressing individual liberties. Socialism, while emphasizing collective well-being, generally aims to empower individuals through economic and social equality.
• Goals: National Socialism sought to establish a racially pure, expansionist empire. Socialism aims to create a more equitable society, often through the redistribution of wealth and resources.

I hope this addition helps to keep people on the right from posting the same errors in thinking over and over.

If you would like to respond that socialist countries did not implement Socialism in a way that lines up with its ideals, I would agree. I would also add that Christian countries have not acted like Jesus.

FAIR WARNING: I am happy to hear what you have to say. Disagree all you like. Please bring some facts to your post. Fact-free insults will be deleted. People engaging their feelings instead of their brains will be blocked. Your feelings are not facts. I understand that many of you have been taught some very different things.

Please check the facts before you post. Be aware that you might have to question a lot of things you currently believe if you demand facts instead of assuming that the things you were taught when you were young are true.

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There is a very simple explanation why the right wing want to claim that nazis are left wing:

1: Everyone knows the nazis were evil.
2: Virtually no one wants to be seen as aligned, even slightly, with nazis.
3: Right wingers still want to be seen as right wing.

Result: right wingers have to lie and pretend that the nazis are left wing to 1: make themselves look better, 2: stop people seeing that some of their policies are actually close to fascist/nazis, and 3: make the left wing look bad.

The problem for them is that anyone who has studied actual history, and not lies and propaganda, understands that the nazis, and fascism in general, is a right wing ideology.
People have studied the nazis, and other fascist regimes, and developed a list of common features of that sort of ideology.

Laurence Britt’s list was displayed in the holocaust museum.

Umberto Eco’s list is a little different, but along the same lines.