Evaluating National Socialism as a “True” Fascist Movement

Angelo Nicolaides

HOD Department of Hospitality, Tourism and PR Management, Vaal University of Technology, Vanderbijlpark, South Africa.

DOI: 10.4236/ahs.2013.21004                

Abstract

The terms “Fascism” and “Nazism” are often linked, and at times they are regarded as one and the same ideology. The question raised is what is the distinction between Fascism and National Socialism or Nazism? A closer look at the ideas of fascism and National Socialism reveals certain affinities and overlaps with other ideologies, like Socialism, Liberalism and Conservatism. Fascism had many contradictory strands and despite deep unresolved tensions between ideas of race, nation and state in both National Socialism and fascism, the former is regarded as a “true” fascist movement. This article strives to ascertain the main differences and similarities between National Socialism and fascism and to ascertain if National Socialism could be considered to be a “true” fascist movement.

Keywords

Fascism; National Socialism; Totalitarianism

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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