Why were the Nazi party called the National Socialist German Workers' Party when they were fascists?

Answer 1

Because at the time that the Nazis came into power, the German people were in a great state of despair. The name, as well as their early tactics to come into power were directed towards making the people feel that their party was there to help them, rather than harm them.

The idea of National Socialism was to foster a great love for the nation above that of the self. So that the people would be willing to sacrifice much for the state.

Adolf Hitler did actually come to power completely by the book. Infact origianally Hitler never wanted to become a leader just someone who had the power to voice his opinion

fascists was a decriptive term then to identify extream right wing political parties

Answer 2

In short, it was a marketing scheme by Adolf Hitler.

The longer version- in the aftermath of World War I, a lot of political parties sprang up in Germany. A lot of them had unusual names that didn't fit our modern perceptions. For example, take a look at this list of actual political parties that were active in Germany in the time between 1920-1924:

1. The German Socialist Party
2. The German Social Party
3. The German Workers Party (DAP for short, from the German version of its name)
4. The German National Peoples Party (DNVP for short, from the German version of its name)
5. The German Folkish Freedom Party

Now, you look at that list, and you probably think to yourself, "they're all probably leftist, maybe even Socialist or Communist." They all have names that we'd consider leftist today.

And you'd be wrong. Every one of them was an extremist right-wing party. The DNVP was a monarchist party- they wanted to have an emperor again! The rest were racist right-wing parties that eventually folded into the Nazi Party later in the 1920s.

Adolf Hitler took control of the DAP in the early 1920s. When he did, the Social Democratic Party was the largest and most popular party in Germany. So Hitler added "National Socialist" as a way to try to attract more disaffected ex-soldiers and others affected by the outcome of World War I, cheaply borrowing off their name. It was purely a marketing scheme, and had nothing to do with ideology- although he later backtracked and tried to make the case that "National Socialism" is this entirely new concept, with the focus on the "National" part, not the "Socialism" part.

Now, to be totally fair, in the 1920s there was a section of the Nazi Party that actually did believe in some Socialist ideas, mainly advocating for workers rights, and using mass action to gain power. These "Strasserites" (named after Otto and Gregor Strasser, the brothers who led the group) were not a strong force in the Nazi Party, nor did Hitler and other high-ranking Nazis subscribe to their beliefs. Furthermore, in summer 1934, Hitler had the Strasserites imprisoned and their leaders murdered so that they would not be a threat to him.

Answer 3

Nazi is a slightly derogatory nickname, that makes fun of the German pronunciation of "National".

The real name of the Nazi party was The National Socialist German Workers' Party.