Alright so let me first tell you that I am not looking towards defending the National Socialist party, their ideology, or their actions.
It is for this reason as well that I don’t ask this question in one of the relevant ideological subs, although this is most likely a unfounded paranoia.
To explain the question a bit more in detail:
the nomenclature of Socialism seems, at least to me, opposite to the historical ‘cleansing’ of communist elements. This is why I ask the question.
I am interested in what the elements of the ideology or party were that made their leaders opt for this name.
if there are actual elements in the party and their ideology which could be (historically) connected to Socialism, what would be the “real” socialism of the party? What did they do in Germany and beyond that could fall under here?
Thank you and please let me know if you have any critiques of the question or it’s formatting. I understand that this is a sensitive topic and want to treat it as such.
We have some great answers to this question in our FAQ including this one by u/G0dwinsLawyer. Mostly the term was a relic from some of the movements that had come together to form the Nazi party, which was retained out of political opportunism, but meant nothing by the time Hitler came to power.