National Socialism, commonly associated with Adolf Hitler and theNazi Party (NSDAP), was a distinct totalitarian ideology that gained power in Germany in 1933.
Founded in 1919 as the "German Workers' Party" (DAP) before its name change in 1920, its doctrine differed significantly from other contemporary totalitarian movements like Italian Fascism.
National Socialism is fundamentally a form of socialism based on race, rather than class or nationality.
Origins and Ideological Foundations
The NSDAP was established much earlier than Mosley's British Union of Fascists (BUF), which was formed in 1932. The initial Fascist trade unions emerged in Italy in October 1914, with Mussolini joining in December 1914, but the National Fascist Party itself became a political entity in 1921.
National Socialism and Italian Fascism were created separately and at roughly the same time, National Socialism did not just derive from Mussolini's Fascism.
A core philosophical underpinning of National Socialism was Social Darwinism, the idea of "struggle" in an evolutionary sense, as encapsulated in Hitler's book title, _Mein Kampf_ ("My Struggle").
This philosophy, however, created an inherent ideological flaw within Nazism, as it contradicted its collectivist racial aims. While it advocated for the survival of the fittest individuals, National Socialism simultaneously demanded that individuals submit to the collective of the race.
This inherent conflict meant that if individuals competed for survival, they would not be working for the collective, making true "socialisation" of the race impossible. Conversely, if individuals submitted to the collective, they would lose their individuality, contradicting the Social Darwinist tenet of individual fitness. Hitler never resolved this fundamental contradiction.
National Socialism viewed itself as a revolutionary movement, rejecting existing political and economic systems. Hitler's approach to revolution was state-planned and "unbloody" during its takeover phase, distinct from the violent revolution advocated by some older socialist factions.
Economic Ideology and Policies
National Socialism's economic system was a variant of socialism, with elements of syndicalism. Hitler aimed for a "National Socialism," a "political theory of the national community" that fostered a sense of unity among all Germans linked by blood.
He intensely disliked both Jewish capitalism and Jewish Bolshevism (Marxism), viewing them as part of a Jewish conspiracy to achieve world domination and cause the downfall of civilisation. National Socialism positioned itself as a "Third Way" between Capitalism and Marxism.
Socialism is defined as the state control of the economy or "public-sector control of the means of production". National Socialism sought to implement this through comprehensive state intervention and control.
Key economic policies from National Socialists 25-Point Party Program:
##### - Abolition of Private Property Rights:
Articles 115 and 153 of the Weimar Constitution, which guaranteed private property, were suspended by the Reichstag Fire Decree of 1933. Property ownership became conditional on its use for Nazi goals, allowing for state nationalisation or seizure without compensation. All property effectively belonged to the State, with Germans effectively "leased" it.
##### - Centralised Control of Industry:
Nazi Party officials systematically took over factories and businesses from within. This process, termed "Gleichschaltung" (coordination or synchronisation), aimed to merge the economy and society into the State. Industries were reorganised into 13 administrative groups to enhance state control without necessarily acquiring direct ownership. Cartels were made compulsory to eliminate competition and stabilise prices. The state's economic administration gained unprecedented powers of national economic control, limiting the influence of big business.
##### - Nationalisation of Trade Unions:
Private trade unions were not abolished but were nationalised into the Deutsche Arbeitsfront (DAF), the German Labour Front, which boasted 32 million members by 1938. Any unions resisting this nationalisation were suppressed. The DAF enforced regulations, replacing "employers" and "employees" with "leaders" and "followers". Striking was forbidden as the state was theoretically working for the workers.
##### - Price, Wage, and Resource Controls:
A Price Commissar, Joseph Wagner, was appointed to fix wholesale and retail prices, forbidding increases and sometimes reductions. Price increases required special permits. Resources were centrally distributed via supervisory boards, which set quotas for essential materials like iron, steel, coal, textiles, and paper.
##### - Collectivisation of Agriculture:
The "Erbhof" law of 1933 created a new category of hereditary farms, protected from debt and market forces, passed down within racially pure peasant families. Farmers' private debt was collectivised, with a state-sponsored mortgage bank assuming responsibility. Prices for agricultural produce were fixed, and farmers received subsidies. State regulations encouraged shifts in production, such as focusing on grain over meat.
##### - Forced Labour and Plunder Economy:
The state mandated and facilitated the use of slave labour, as seen with IG Farben's Buna factory at Auschwitz. This was primarily to reduce financial and resource burdens on the German economy, despite slave labour proving unprofitable. The regime sustained itself by plundering resources and wealth from conquered territories across Europe, exporting inflation and confiscating assets from Jewish populations.
##### - Welfare Policies:
The regime implemented populist social and tax policies that benefited families, low-income earners, and the poor. This included increased pensions, mandatory health insurance, family and child tax credits, and subsidies for daily needs. These programmes were largely financed by heavy taxation on businesses, corporations, and foreigners.
"Primacy of Politics" and the "Shrinking Markets" Theory
Hitler believed in the "Primacy of Politics," asserting that economics should be secondary to political goals. He was not driven by market forces but sought to manipulate the market to achieve objectives like autarky (economic self-sufficiency) and Lebensraum (Living Space).
Hitler's decision to pursue autarky and war was driven by his belief in the "Shrinking Markets" concept, a variant of the Marxist "Tendency of the Rate of Profit to Fall" fallacy.
This theory posited that industrialised Western nations traded manufactured goods for food from non-industrialised nations. However, as the non-industrialised nations industrialised themselves, they would no longer need Western goods or provide food, leading to a food shortage and class warfare in the West. Hitler believed this crisis would be exploited by the Jews, leading to a Marxist Revolution and the downfall of civilisation through racial dilution.
To counteract this perceived threat, Hitler believed Germany had to stop trading and become self-sufficient immediately. As Germany lacked sufficient land and resources for complete self-sufficiency, this necessitated the conquest of resource-rich territories, specifically the Soviet Union in the East, to secure "Living Space". This explains why Germany moved to a war economy as early as 1933 and pursued autarky, despite the economic difficulties it caused. The inability to achieve full autarky without conquest and the resulting economic strain eventually led to the war and the plunder of Europe to sustain the regime.
Comparison with Other Ideologies
While sharing some surface-level similarities with Italian Fascism and Marxist Socialism, National Socialism maintained fundamental differences:
##### - Distinction from Fascism:
National Socialism is distinct from Fascism, primarily due to its racial element. Fascism was not inherently racist , as evidenced by the presence of 10,000 Jews in the Fascist Party of Italy until 1938, and Mussolini's development of anti-Jew policy only in 1938 due to Hitler's influence. National Socialism's anti-Semitism was fundamental and racial, based on "blood". Fascist economics was primarily "National Syndicalism" with a philosophy of "Actualism," focusing on trade unionism integrated with the state.
##### - Distinction from Marxism:
National Socialism rejected Marxism, which it also considered a "Jewish concept". While both were socialist, Marxism was a "class socialism" (uniting workers internationally), whereas National Socialism was a "racial socialism" (uniting the German race).
Hitler believed Marxism, funded by "Jewish-capitalism," aimed to cause class conflict and seize control. Both ideologies, however, are ultimately discriminatory and result in collective totalitarianism, where one group is targeted for the benefit of another.
Totalitarianism and the People's Community
National Socialism, like Fascism, was inherently totalitarian. Totalitarianism requires "total-state control of the economy". The Nazi regime exerted monopolistic power and aimed for a "totalitarian state pervading all of public life" through "Gleichschaltung".
The goal was to create a "Volksgemeinschaft" (people's community), which aimed to abolish distinctions between classes and genders, fostering equality among all Germans. This process involved the "coordination" of all social institutions—from professional associations to youth organisations—into the state's control, effectively reducing society to an anonymous and undifferentiated mass reconstituted under Nazi authority. This new culture operated on a majority basis, allowing the tyranny of the majority over minorities.