Edit: Adding a disclaimer is probably a good idea:
This thread was started because i see a new argument occurring in my countries politics as well as all over the world and recently also here on MMOC. This thread is not about saying every right winger/conservative is a Nazi. Far from that. But as i see its used all of the time against socialist ideas i want to point out, that originally the nazi party was considered right wing and was always deeply opposed to socialism. Seeing new right-wing parties rise that have the same strong nationalism as the original nazi party, it seems hillarious to me that these new parties use the socialism in national-socalism to attack socialist parties.
Granted that this doesn't fit the modern perception of right/left, which is problematic in itself (as often pointed out in this thread), but historically speaking them being on right wing is much more true than them being left wing.
After reading this misconception again and again on this forum, i feel the need to set something right. I often read that the Nazis were in reality left-wingers, because they had "socialist" in their name. Now this thought-process isn't entirely new, it has been used for a decade by the alt-right wing in europe (and i really speak about alt-right (not FPÖ, FN, AFD) but propaganda outlets (politically incorrect, unzensuriert) by linking Nazis to the left because of "socialism").
Now thats a nice idea, but it couldn't be any more wrong. Lets start by a definition: National socialism is by definition facist. The whole party was built up under the ideal of Mussolinis Italy as a facist regime.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism
Facism in europe at least at the time of the second world war was always right wing and opposed to democratic/republican ideals (not saying these are left ideals; facists also fought against right wing democrats)
So what about the socialism in National socialism? Populist policies!
Basically the same how a specific american individual won his election recently:
Promising the majority what they want:
Jobs
Social Security
Perspective
Fighting against the "biggest evil" in the world
Not saying trump is a Nazi or Facist (time has to show that), but a populist, who used the same populist ideas which the Nazis used to get to power. Let me get a bit more in detail:
Jobs
Germany/Austria was still struggling from the great depression. The regime basically created new jobs on debt, which would only work out by the spoils of war. Thats bad, but not how most people think about the world. My grandmother was 18 when the Nazis rose to power here in Austria. For her, though being on the other side of the political spectrum, that was great news, because she immediatley got a job after being 3 years unemployed. This worked not only by creating jobs on debt, but also by getting rid of undesireables (gays, sick people, women). "Produce Aryan, Buy Aryan" - seems familiar?
Social Security
Now thats a speciality in germany: Nearly every big socialist improvement was being done by anti-socialist to take the drive from the ever growing support of socialist parties. This has a rather funny tradition in Germany. Pensions and healthcare weren't introduced by socialist parties, but rather by the national and right-wing chancellor of Germany Bismarck to decrease the influence and approval of socialist parties. The Nazis just built up on that, as the socialist parties were on of their last remaining foes (Conservatives helped Hitler grab power - though in their defense they gambled on Hitler being ousted in a short time ... that didn't work out)
Fighting against bad people
Now thats a populist classic:
Catholics/Popists in England have been the source of all evil in England for centuries, and punishing Popist always had a huge support in the population.
Jews have been the source of all evil in Europe. Progroms against jews had a huge support in the population.*
Muslims...
Now all this is not really new, and its the same basic principle used since the old greeks to win democratic elections. My point on this: Populism isn't really left or right, there are examples for both, but just because you take some socialist ideas on board it doesn't make you left or right, its the intention thats important. Facism in Europe has always been on the extreme right side of the political spectrum.
Again, there is also a long list of shame for the left side, but somehow constructing national socialism to be on the left side of the spectrum is just hillarious.
*Funny thing, this was actually invented by the english king Edward "Longshanks" (Braveheart) who was the first who used populism as a policy (He and his wife had a ceremony where the made a procession of the perceived skulls of King Arthur and his Queen to show the people how deeply routed english they were (or at least as english as frenchmen can be). He united the population by fighting against the "english" enemies: scots, french and of course jews (After he had collected horrendous taxes on them they couldn't pay any more, so hey decreed that every jew has to leave england or convert, otherwise the would be executed - which had a staggering support in the population). Needless to say that this backfired later on spectacularly because the rise of national identity in England gave way to the rise of national identity in Scotland and gave the needed impulse to get rid of the "english" (which were of course norman/french nobleman, EXACTLY like their scottish counterparts (William Wallace (Braveheart) as well as Robert the Bruce were originally from norman families who came to the isles together with William the Bastard)