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Discuss this article by Sarah Zama here
Considering how often one comes across the transparently disingenuous claim that the Nazis were somehow left-wing, even among fans of alternate history who really ought to know better, it's refreshing to see the NSDAP's reactionary ideological foundation described in dispassionate, objective terms.
Sarah Zama says it best:The Nazis were not left-wing but they were not reactionaries either. They were right-wing revolutionaries. Hitler hated the Catholic Church and monarchism, for example. He got rid of the DNVP as soon as he could. To him, the term reactionary was an insult.
These groups often considered themselves revolutionary because they hated many things about the old regime, but they largely were in agreement with the reactionary forces, including most keywords: order, discipline, people, nation, antisocialism and anti-Semitism.
Sarah Zama says it best:
They did share a lot of characteristics with reactionaries but they were not reactionaries, themselves.
Yeah but Hitler replaced the monarchy with an all-powerful leader whose legitimacy stemmed from his supposed superhuman abilities, which is basically monarchy but without hereditary succession (and even then the big reason hereditary succession was never considered was Hitler's lack of kids). Similarly, while his plan for dealing with the Church was never entirely clear it's obvious that whatever he was gonna replace it with would have served the same function of maintaining social control and upholding traditional values. Revolution is defined by the destruction of the traditional order, and the Nazis never tried to destroy the traditional order but merely tried to cover it in a National Socialist coat of paint.The Nazis were not left-wing but they were not reactionaries either. They were right-wing revolutionaries. Hitler hated the Catholic Church and monarchism, for example. He got rid of the DNVP as soon as he could. To him, the term reactionary was an insult.
Well, we are talking about the same people who claim with a straight face that the Alt-Right is not actually right-wing because, they allege, it really means "alternative to the right". (See Prager, Dennis)You do have to give credit where it is due though. Nearly 100 years on and people still twisted in knots by the rebranding from German Workers Party.
The Nazis used the term reactionary as an insult in propaganda. Meanwhile, the use of the term socialist is a different matter entirely. The Nazis used the term socialist but they always made it clear it was not in the traditional sense. I agree it's wrong to call the Nazis socialists. However, I also think it's wrong to call them reactionaries.They were reactionaries cosplaying as revolutionaries because revolutions are cool and they didn't like the existing reactionary leadership even if fundamentally they agreed with them 95% of the time.
Hitler could pretend not to be reactionary and dislike being described as such the same way he could pretend to be socialist and use the word in his party's name, it doesn't make either true. He was a self-deluded liar.
I would say those plans were actually revolutionary.Yeah but Hitler replaced the monarchy with an all-powerful leader whose legitimacy stemmed from his supposed superhuman abilities, which is basically monarchy but without hereditary succession (and even then the big reason hereditary succession was never considered was Hitler's lack of kids). Similarly, while his plan for dealing with the Church was never entirely clear it's obvious that whatever he was gonna replace it with would have served the same function of maintaining social control and upholding traditional values. Revolution is defined by the destruction of the traditional order, and the Nazis never tried to destroy the traditional order but merely tried to cover it in a National Socialist coat of paint.
The Nazis used the term reactionary as an insult in propaganda. Meanwhile, the use of the term socialist is a different matter entirely. The Nazis used the term socialist but they always made it clear it was not in the traditional sense. I agree it's wrong to call the Nazis socialists. However, I also think it's wrong to call them reactionaries.
I would say those plans were actually revolutionary.
Hitler even planned to eventually overthrow the reactionary Franco.
While Napoleon did implement specific policies that reversed social progress, such as the reduced status of women in the Code Civil and, unforgivably, the reinstitution of slavery in the French Caribbean, he did not base his rule on a reactionary worldview--and for good reason, the idea that some commoner could be in charge of a whole country was anathema to the reactionaries of his time. He did not appeal to some mythical golden age, nor did he entertain pastoral fantasies of a continent populated by happy farmers. His ideology, such as it was beyond "I'm in charge, deal with it", was based from the most part on the revolutionary heritage. New legal systems, new rights, new measurement systems, he endorsed the whole package and spread it beyond French borders.I wouldn't consider Hitler a reactionary so much as whatever Napoleon was. Which, granted some people consider reactionary, but I think is generally considered to be its own thing.