How 'socialist' was National Socialism?: A consideration of the ideology of the NSDAP in Germany

There has long been a debate in academic circles and in the media concerning the ‘socialist’ aspect of Adolf Hitler’s National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP). Most commentators place the Party and its ideology on the extreme Right or ‘fascist’ end of the political spectrum, but the voices of those who see the Nazis as a party of the Left are just as insistent that the NSDAP had more in common with Soviet communism than at first meets the eye. Hitler certainly perceived himself to be a socialist, and although he despised Marxist socialism as wasteful and disorganised, he recognised that its ultimate goal of a unified, harmonious society was in keeping with his own vision of a German national community. This 'Volksgemeinschaft' would not be united by absence of social class, but by a common ancestry; it was to be a socialism based on cultural and familial heritage. This paper offers a contribution to the debate by examining the historical roots of National Socialism through the prism of other socialist variants, utilising the theories and models discussed by 19th and 20th century writers, and also historical and contemporary commentaries on the Nazis right through to the present day.