Was Hitler a Liberal or conservative?

Question

My teacher says he was a conservative, I'm trying to come up with some counter points to debate him with. help me please.

Answer 1

He was a conservative. The nazis were/are known as national socialists. National socialists are far right wing extremists Many say the far right in the US are National Socialists. Certainly one of the right wing talk show hosts is. he held a Nazi rally in summer of 2006.

Answer 2

Hitler Liberal

Answer 3

In terms of American politics, asking if Hitler is a liberal or conservative is like asking if a duck is an aircraft or a submarine. A duck can swim, but it is not a submarine. It can fly, but that does not make it an airplane. In terms of German politics, he positioned himself in such a way that he could be either or both as needed for political expedience (though he favored what were largely conservative issues-slightly). As to the statement that "all totalitarian govennment is conservative" look at The Terror in France, Stalin, Pol Pot, North Korea, Castro, etc. All were totalitarian and all leftist.

Answer 4

Anybody who thinks Hitler was a conservative is a FOOL.
1st. Facist are not defined by ideology. It's a dictator controled by an oligory. 2nd the political spectrum is Big Government Far Left( Communisum, royalist, Dictatorships) and Republicsm and Anarchist the far right with Less or no government. NOW.
Hitler was an vegitarian artist painter dog lover who believed in abortions, euthenasia, who came from the WORKERS PARTY. The workers party adaped National Socialsm. That's what NAZI means.Through Nationalism (which is BIG GOV ) the Nazi pushed program to the public. ABORTION, EUGENICS which is social engineering, NATIONAL HEALTH CARE, PUBLIC HOUSING, WEALFARE, National SCHOOLING, GUN CONTROL, NATIONAL POLICE FORCE (Gestope ).The word National keeps coming up because it means NATIONALISM which is Big Government (far left wing) and Socialism which is Social engineering again far left wing. NAZI even Inturned Citizens like FDR did here in the U.S. Ever notice how the NAZI Agenda matches the
American Democratic Party Agenda which is LEFT WING POLITICS ?

Answer 5

Totalitarianism is ALWAYS conservative in nature. As you said, "...look at where the ideology (not necessarilly the reality) places the political power. The fewer hands it is in, the more conservative, the more hands the more liberal." Who ever heard of a totalitarian government forcing the masses to take power away from the few?

What Steven and Don fail to understand is that dismantling the government, as they would like to do, would create a power vacuum into which corporations would flow immediately. The result would be far greater restrictions than governments would normally enforce. Corporations are not voted into power and make no pretense of being republican or democratic in nature.

The proper purpose of government is to prevent the powerful from trampling the weak. There are those who call that a bad thing.

Answer 6

Modern conservatism is classic liberalism i.e. minimal gov't to protect property and person, and free markets. So from this perspective Hitler was not a conservative. Hitler's national socialism was more authoritarian than communist, so it was a far right wing ideology. Your teacher is a moron who doesn't understand political ideology.

Answer 7

It completely amazes me at the misinformation and blind adherence to the belief that Hitler was conservative. He was a complete and total progressive by today’s standards. The following are all regulations passed by Hitler to improve the quality of the German worker. They are real, not made up.
1) At Hitler's direction his finance minister Hjalmar Schacht instituted Keynesnian policies with large deficits and low interest rates combined with stimulus programs of public works to reduce unemployment.
2) Hitler revamped Germany's healthcare system and made it truly universal as well as state subsidized.
3) Hitler and the party considered healthcare to be the right of all Germans, and there were numerous public-health campaigns in Nazi Germany urging healthy eating and exercise, and even no smoking campaigns at a time when cigarettes and cigars were being puffed with abandon worldwide.
4) Water supplies were cleaned up, lead and mercury were removed from consumer products, and women were urged to undergo regular screenings for breast cancer.
5) Hitler enacted the Weapons Law in 1938 under the pretense of ending crime and unrest, effectively disarming almost all of Germany's private citizens from owning firearms except under strictly limited circumstances.
6) Hitler enacted strong environmentalist legislation, such as the 1935 "Reich Nature Protection Act" which sought to control air and water pollution, reduce the use of coal and promote forest management and preservation.
7) Hitler saw to it that extensive animal rights laws were passed, and even made an effort to ban hunting.
8) Hitler deviated from the progressive ideal in that he was not a feminist, although he employed women as secretaries and was universally remembered by all of them as an ideal, courteous and sympathetic employer.
9) Passed legislation for a 40 hour work week.
10) Over time concept was initiated in Germany for all hours over 40 worked per week
11) Cafeteria and gyms to be provided for factory workers.
12) Eliminated Religious Instruction for Children.
13) Hitler Restructured the Family through Daycare for working parents.
14) The list goes on……
The only place were Liberals and National Socialists differ is in the hatred of Jews, which is now the 1% of income earners.
The area were Hitler was conservative was in the Anti-Gay, Pro-Marriage and Anti-Pornography stance.

By no means am I promoting Hitler or support his reprehensible behavior. I am listing the truth of his policies. Just remember that the Victors write the history book and control their version of history.

Answer 8

Your teacher is right.

First, you cannot relate modern American notions of right and left to this question. We haven't the breadth of political difference in this country to do that. Add to this the modern notions of conservative and liberal have changed, particularly in the past 30 years.

Your teacher is speaking from the perspective of classical political theory and not American political experience:

Fascism is an extreme right-wing (conservative) ideology. People get sidetracked by the official name of the Nazi Party (The National Socialist Workers Party). The Nazi party was a very small Bavarian party in Germany that initially grew by promising many different things to many different people and absorbing other small parties and it's name is a product of that. Socialism (real Socialism) is extreme left-wing (liberal). Communisim is even further left.

Politics in the US exists on an exceptionally small sliver of the political spectrum. The principles of democracy and republicanism (little 'd', little 'r') are left of center.

One way to judge this for yourself is to look at where the ideology (not necessarilly the reality) places the political power. The fewer hands it is in, the more conservative, the more hands the more liberal. Monarchy (single person rule) is very conservative. Oligarchy (rule of the few) somewhat less conservative. Democracy, rule of the people is liberal. Socialism which extends this into the economic realm with the state owning the meand of production, even more so.

Fascism is even more conservative that monarchy--it places all the power of the state in the hands of one person in manner that verges on the religious worship. That's the basis of the Nazi concept of Furher.

Totalitarianism is not a political ideology, it's a method--Fascists and Communists are totalitarian, the former because that's the nature of it and the latter because only by totalitarian means can Communism be imposed and sustained.

Answer 9

he was a fascists because he believed the Aryans were the superior race... but he could also be a conservative for what the Axis powers did to The Independent State of Croatia (NDA), forcing anyone they didn't kill off already to convert to the Roman Catholic faith.

Answer 10

NAZI stands for National Socialist German Worker Party which by name would make them a far left wing party

Key words "Socialist" is a scary word for conservatives, but welcomed by many liberals. In Europe today there are still parties that call themselves "Socialist" these parties are all on the far left.

"Worker Party" is also a widely used Liberal phrase.

Answer 11

Your teacher is wrong. Hitler was a liberal. He believed in strong central government control (liberal). He labeled himself a socialist (liberal). He banned guns (liberal). He was NOT nationalistic, redirecting people's loyalty from Germany to the Nazi Party or the 3rd Reich. He was NOT religious. He ordered all Christian symbols removed from public schools and replaced with Nazi symbols. Many of his advisers were devout atheists and made people working for them denounce Christianity and swear loyalty to the Nazi party. His hatred towards Jews was class warfare gone horribly wrong (just look at hatred towards Jews in the Occupy Wherever movement). In fact, in Mien Kempf he wrote about being disgusted at the treatment of Jews in Vienna. Hitler was very much into Government funding of arts. He was very much into media censorship.

Many who would debate me bring up things he said in speeches. Well, like any good politician he told people what they wanted to hear. And when the people realized there was a problem, it was too late.