The Correlation Between Nazism And Fascism In The United States

BIRTH OF NAZISM "Until the German people understand that one can conduct politics only when one has the support of power—and again power. Only so is reconstruction possible… It is not an economic question which faces the German people, it is a political question—how shall the nation’s determination be recovered?" (Bullock, 1962) Adolf Hitler posed this question to the German people in 1923. The face of post World War I Germany was truly battered, in all senses of the word. Germany had lost the war politically, which essentially meant emotionally. The country had no sense of leadership, and was suffering from many economic hardships. With the loss of the war, came the humiliation of the Treaty of Versailles.
Whether or not Nazism can actually be defined as a branch of Fascism is not entirely clear, but they share many of the same characteristics. When Drexler originated the German Workers’ Union, he intended to do so with set nationalistic goals, but then a racist tone was taken on. As the German Workers’ Union evolved into the National Socialist party, the racist tone became more blatant. Nazism stressed the superiority of the "Aryan" man, with the destiny of the Master Race to rule the world over the other races (Bullock, 1962). A violent hatred towards Jews emerged. This was partially due to the climate of the German Workers’ Union, but the very intent of this hatred can be attributed to Hitler,
They both share the major characteristics of strong nationalism, loyalty to a dictatorial power, anti-socialist views, and elitism. It is therefore certain that Hitler had some familiarity with the works of Hegel and Nietzsche. Hitler’s belief about himself as expressed in his autobiographical work Mein Kampf echoes of Hegel and Nietzsche. Cynical though he was, Hitler’s cynicism stopped short of his own person. Hitler recognized himself as a person taking the chaos and developing new order in Germany with the direction of reason, or Providence. He came to believe that he was a man with a mission, so marked by Providence, and therefore exempt from the ordinary canons of human conduct (Bullock, 1962). The years following the birth of the National Socialist party had their peaks and troughs. Hitler continued his bold and radical leadership, landing himself in prison for nearly a year. With the spare time on his hands, he put his ideas to paper and wrote Mein Kampf, or ""My Struggles." In this work, Hitler made no secret of how he saw the future of the National Socialism, nor where he intended to take Germany. (Bullock,