What were Hitlers Political views?

Question

Ok daft question you may think, but I have been baffled for a few years now. We all know about the mad mans policies towards ethnic groups and military aggresion but what exactly was a National Socialist?
The name implies that they were left wing but we all hear about the far right Nazis?
He obviously created nationalised industries (VW being a famous example) but also left private companies to run themselves (Mercedes & BMW to use another car manufacturer example).
So what exactly were his political views and where would they slot in on our right to left political scale?

Answer 1

The National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP) existed before Hitler and was a mixture of left wing (socialist workers) and right wing (national German) political ideals. Sounds odd today, but in the desperate state that Germany was in after the 1st world war this was not uncommon.
Hitler effectively hijacked the party and used it to further his own extreme patriotic and xenophobic ideals. The 'socialism' exemplified itself in public health initiatives (Strength through Joy) and care initiatives(subsidised holidays), but its only purpose was to make Germany a stronger nation. Any vestiges of 'real' socialism where snuffed out when the SA and Rhom where destroyed during the 'night of the long knives'
Of course as the war went on these initiatives changed. Himmler was obsessed with 'breeding' the perfect Aryan, and was head of the Shutzstaffle (SS). As Defeat loomed this army of Aryan warriors turned into a foreign legion of volunteers from occupied territories, and by the end of the war had a majority of non German troops, even Muslims from Croatia who wore a fez with the deaths head on it.
In the end, like all politicians he was a chancer who soon abandoned his ideals on the alter of necessity

Answer 2

Fascism or Nazism is based on far right politics. NSDAP (National Sozialistiche Deutche Arbiter Partie) were about as right wing as you can get. Nationalism is a hard right patriotic movement that believes in putting it's citizens first and all else follow.
National companies like the ones you have mentioned were heavily backed by NSDAP financially and politically. All other political parties were made illegal and support for them was made a capital punishment.

Answer 3

You have only mentioned his domestic political views and left out the most important-the elimination of groups he opposed-Jews, Gypsies, political dissidents.

The important thing were his foreign policy political views which were to use military force or threat of force to gain "living space" for the expansion of Germany. This is what led to war. He was a fascist so he would be to the right of our political views.

Answer 4

You cannot place Nazism or better yet "Hitlerism" in the context of right or left politics. Hitler altered his views to suit the opportunity. There are elements of socialism and capitalism in his movement. Although his party was called a "workers" movement it was more a party of lower middle-class merchants, ex-army veterans, and farmers. It was to them really the Nazi party found it's strongest following. later when Hitler needed cash and rearmament he dropped many of the leftist elements from his program. For Hitler his ends justified the means.
The shift to the right by Hitler caused a rift in the party causing many leftist Nazis to quit, among them the Otto and Gregor Strasser. Dr. Goebbels for a time was one of the leftist Nazis.
The NSDAP did not firmly stay in the right until after the blood purge when Hitler eliminated the extreme leftists and homosexual cliques from the party.
Elements that did not change and were consistent from 1923-1945:
Anti-Communism
Anti-Cosmopolitanism,
Anti-Semitism
Pro-expansionism "Lebensraum"

Answer 5

Hitler glorified Germany above all, however he denied everyone else, so he tried to conduct his idea of world through concentration camps and other forms of horror. Hitler might be easily defined as a menace to the mankind and a denial of all human values. It seems that Hitlers political orientation was just a mask enabling him and his followers to conduct crimes against humanity , thus it is neither left nor right, just a destructive creation of a dangerously sick mind.

Answer 6

DONT READ MIEN KAMPF! All you will do is lose hours of your life! I spent years doing the reasons for WW1 and WW2, Hitlers views on everything and how these ideas and view were shaped. In short all Hitler ever did was copy the ideas of others and pass them off as his own. "Mein Kampf" is very like Henry Fords. Hitler was not a great man. He only had very clever people behind him, kind of like George Bush. Hitler ran a way he was younger to avoid war. They are not to differnet in many ways. Both have killed millions and are both admired and hated by as many.

Answer 7

Hitler really had only one fundamental political view, his unshakable belief in Germany and its People.
His remaining political views were effectively policy statements together with some background and where appropriate, justification.
A great patriot who sadly failed in his objectives and created a backlash that the world still has to bear.

Answer 8

Read Mein Kampf, it was written by Adolf Hitler in two volumes. The second was the ideology's of National Socialism, the first was how he came to form those ideology's.

Answer 9

To further understand Adolf Hitler's views, why not read the book he wrote - "Mein Kampf"...? It should answer your questions, and explain many of his political views.

Answer 10

He wrote a book about his political views. I can't remember the name of it now though. The only answers you're gonna get from here is probably watered down, media-based responses form ingnorant Americans