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The Nazi Party used the term "Socialist" in its name primarily for propaganda purposes to attract votes from the working class and to co-opt a popular political term in post-World War I Germany. In practice and ideology, Nazism was a far-right, racist, and anti-Marxist movement that brutally suppressed actual socialists and communists once in power.

But lets not let facts get in the way of things shall we?

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I always cringe when I hear the word "Nazism." Because the first time I heard it, it was when Putin said it in a speech after invading Ukraine. And indeed, if you check Google Trends, you'll see that the term had its peak around that time and has had an increased usage ever since. Nazism is not a word known in German either. We purposefully call it national socialism. And to be honest, I think it makes sense to be national socialism. Because it is nationally socialist. Meaning it is social towards the nation. Which is also a reason why there is the "Internationale." Because to me socialism that is constraint to a nation is inevitably nationalist, I mean how else could it not be?

“Nazism” with the capital N represents a specifically German instance of “national socialism”; to whit, the instance that reflexively called Adolf Hitler’s assassin “Mein Fuhrer”. Nazism modeled itself, in turn, on a specific instance of “fascism” which took its class name from its basal instantiation, Italian “Fascismo”, to whit the instance that reflexively called the man ultimately responsible for the death of Benito Mussolini “Il Duce”.

The main lesson of history is that personality cults are a very bad idea.

The Nazi doth protest too much?

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