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James May did a series for the BBC, "Cars of the People" a few years ago that went into the history of some of the Nazi KDF programs based around savings plans

by MrFoof 10y ago

James May did a series for the BBC, "Cars of the People" a few years ago that went into the history of some of the Nazi KDF programs based around savings plans to allow the Germans to save for what would eventually be the Volkswagen Beetle, a radio... and also trips to Prora. One of the more interesting tidbits of automotive history, along with oft-forgotten plans (in this day an age) of the third Reich. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x24ifq1_james-may-s-cars-of-the-people-episode-1_auto?start=490 http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x24ifq1_james-may-s-cars-of...

sverige 10y ago
This is the socialist part of "national socialist German workers party." But heaven forfend we mention they had socialist aspects to their ideology.
- Swizec 10y ago
  I was recently talking politics with a coworker and his jaw dropped when I mentioned that the nazis were extreme left. You could see his world shattering at the realization that socialism and racism are not mutually exclusive.
  - tpeo 10y ago
    Frankly, "extreme left" seems far off. But I also find personally that whatever "left" and "right" mean nowadays cannot be extrapolated past 20 years or so. Prior to the 20th century, otherwise "right-wing" governments were perfectly comfortable with pursing interventionist policies, because "right-wing" back then meant pretty much "whatever will keep the monarch in power", and entailed a respect for tradition. Bismarck, for example, didn't see any problem in creating the first social welfare system in the world so long as it politically undermined the socialists and it made the monarchy popular [0]. The overwhelmingly mercantilist policies of the Ancien Régime, seeking to impose price regulations in order to improve it's trade balance or to keep the monarch popular (one of the possible causes of the French Revolution was the havoc created by the deregulation of the grain market by the classical liberal Turgot [1]), is another example. It's only during the 20th century that the left-right distinction seems to have mapped itself onto overwhelmingly economic rather than cultural issues. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Socialism_(Germany) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Socialism_(Germany) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flour_War https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flour_War
  - dllthomas 10y ago
    I was similarly stunned that North Korea was democratic. By typical definitions, the Nazis were not "extreme left". "Socialist" in the name preceded a dramatic shift in values (and of course they were very specifically anti-communist). FWIW, Wikipedia refers to them as "far right".

by MrFoof 10y ago

sverige 10y ago

This is the socialist part of "national socialist German workers party." But heaven forfend we mention they had socialist aspects to their ideology.

Swizec 10y ago
I was recently talking politics with a coworker and his jaw dropped when I mentioned that the nazis were extreme left. You could see his world shattering at the realization that socialism and racism are not mutually exclusive.
- tpeo 10y ago
  Frankly, "extreme left" seems far off. But I also find personally that whatever "left" and "right" mean nowadays cannot be extrapolated past 20 years or so. Prior to the 20th century, otherwise "right-wing" governments were perfectly comfortable with pursing interventionist policies, because "right-wing" back then meant pretty much "whatever will keep the monarch in power", and entailed a respect for tradition. Bismarck, for example, didn't see any problem in creating the first social welfare system in the world so long as it politically undermined the socialists and it made the monarchy popular [0]. The overwhelmingly mercantilist policies of the Ancien Régime, seeking to impose price regulations in order to improve it's trade balance or to keep the monarch popular (one of the possible causes of the French Revolution was the havoc created by the deregulation of the grain market by the classical liberal Turgot [1]), is another example. It's only during the 20th century that the left-right distinction seems to have mapped itself onto overwhelmingly economic rather than cultural issues. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Socialism_(Germany) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Socialism_(Germany) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flour_War https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flour_War
- dllthomas 10y ago
  I was similarly stunned that North Korea was democratic. By typical definitions, the Nazis were not "extreme left". "Socialist" in the name preceded a dramatic shift in values (and of course they were very specifically anti-communist). FWIW, Wikipedia refers to them as "far right".