The Nazis were not Conservative

Thanks Con. I would note that I am not just arguing for minor elements of non-Conservatism here, but that the Nazi party, were not Conservative at all--thus Con will be arguing the opposite.Now, onto my opening arguments. C1.) Socialist policies of the Nazi PartyAs stated in the definitions, economic policy (along also with political viewpoints) is to be included and weighed on in this debate, and used a significant example in determining on whether the Nazi were Conservative; or at least 'Conservative' enough to be referred to as such. ***********************After 15 long years of WW1, Germany had inevitably been left in a state of economic depression and decline; this being one the key factors as to why Hitler had such mass appeal in the first place. Hitler's policies in combating this depression and rejuvenating the quality of life in Germany--which had obviously suffered--were, largely speaking, very socialist and certainly not did correspond with usual conservative handling of economics, which is generally to maintain the status-quo, privatize, and cut public expenditures. On the contrary, Hitler adopted very non-Conservative approach when he became chancellor of Germany. From 1933-1945, Hitler made these key steps: •Introduced public work schemes•Enhanced worker benefits •Introduced state-funded childcare •Further nationalized the health care system•Built new schools and hospitals Starting with the public work schemes and benefits, Hitler devised a strategy to diminish the high unemployment rates in Germany, and actually give people advantages for their labour; these would include a regular weekly wage, a detailed plan of activities--including trips to the cinema/theatre, picnic outings, evening classes, and free holidays...which I'm sure as Pro is aware, is a particularly socialist concept and practice *and* that would be ideologically compatible with a Conservative government. German youth was particularly emphasised on; they partook in trips, club activities, youth groups, etc. Governmental help was also given to farmers, enabling them to produce more (1.) http://www.bbc.co.uk...Regarding the Nazi party as a whole, and not just its leader, there were some members (such as Gregor Strasser) who were explicitly socialist and not afraid to admit so. In the early years Strasser played a key part the management of the Nazi party; he was eventually killed in a purge as Hitler felt threatened by him, but nevertheless, he said this to say in an extract from 'Thoughts and Tasks of the Future': 'We are Socialists, enemies, mortal enemies of the present capitalist economic system with its exploitation of the economically weak, with its injustice in wages, with its immoral evaluation of individuals according to wealth and money instead of responsibility and achievement, and we are determined under all circumstances to abolish this system! And with my inclination to practical action it seems obvious to me that we have to put a better, more just, more moral system in its place, one which, as it were, has arms and legs and better arms and legs than the present one!'Further stating: 'We have to learn that in the economy of a people it is not profit, not gain, which are important – but only satisfying the needs of the members of this people! This and nothing else is the task of a national economics! We have to learn that the ideas 'world trade', 'balance of trade'--'export surplus'--are ideas of a declining epoch which have in the end reduced themselves ad absurdum, because they violate the eternal law of organic life and were born out of speculation, not out of necessity, not out of the soil! We have to learn that it is a betrayal when speculative production, with all its means of touting and advertising, creates an artificial need, a betrayal of human labor, of human life!'In essence, this is basically a summary of the 'Nationalsozialismus' (National Socialism) ideology that was held by the Nazis, which, was of course not a form of Conservatism. (2.) Gregor Strasser and the Rise of Nazism, by Peter D. Stachura, p. 54C2.) Political Ideology and PracticeNazi political ideology is of course heavily related to their economic policies, which in terms of relation to socialism, has already been covered in some detail. However I will look at some of the less economic areas of their politics. Firstly, I'd note that Adolf Hitler, who was primarily responsible for the Nazi party, was a very creative and unpredictable man who absolutely despised the idea of submitting to authority himself...in fact, he was a social outcast and a non-conformist. While living in his home country of Austria, he liked to visit art galleries, museums, the opera, etc. During earlier years, Hitler had virtually no responsibilities what so ever...a few years later, he would make a small living by selling his art on the streets but this was relatively it; he was by no means 'Conservative' with lifestyle, with belief, or with anything. This matters somewhat as this is a timeline of who he would become and what kind of beliefs he would adapt. Pre and in particular post-formation of the Nazi party, his beliefs were fantastical, unrealistic, spiritually and philosophically mixed--they cannot simply be defined 'as nationalistic' as what Hitler was a hybrid of various ideas, some of his own sand others from philosophers and groups that he'd been influenced by--and naturally this was injected into the core of the Nazi Party, as it was his project. In terms of similar ideology, the predecessor to Nazism was a movement in Austria and Germany in the late 1800-early 1900's known as 'Ariosophy', which incorporated elements of German paganism and mysticism, and spiritualised the concept of the Germanic race being the best and most purest. So, Nazis were not influenced by any particular conservative (political) beliefs at all; their leader spent his younger adults years as an artistic, ideologically impressionable man living without base in Vienna, and the ideology itself had roots in a mystic cult. Concerning the later practice of Nazism, this is also far from 'conservative', which as I pointed out previously, is really about maintaining the status-quo and resistance to change--everything the Nazis were not.After spending mid-late 1930's changing policies and laws within Germany, their next move was to invade Poland and enact the policy of 'Lebensraum' (living space.) for Germany. There was no legitimate defensive military reason for this, it was exclusively as a result of the desire to conquer and control. The eventual plan was to do this to all of Europe. Given how expensive war generally is and how little Germany gained monetarily from it (not speaking in germs of labour, etc.), there was no *conservative* motivation as such, Germany was unable to trade properly, had fantastical ideas, and wanted to establish a pure race across Europe...none of these ideas were practical or beneficiary in the long-term, and were neither conservative in ideology or in practice. Taking the example of invading Russia, once more this was largely ideologically-motivated, and with very little to gain as it would later transpire. There are also other viewpoints (such as Nazi attitude on abortion) that were not conservative; indeed the practice wasn't encouraged for German women, but for non-German women (I.E Jews, some Slavs, gypsies)...it was the rule. The Nazis strongly believed in sterilization, which from a purely politically-Christian perspective, is not a conservative practice. Hitler additionally encouraged the use of contraceptives in Eastern territories. Another non-economic and arguably liberal policy that was passed was the anti-hunting, known as the 'Das Reichsjagdgesetz', which sought to control how many animals could be killed per year. This was followed by the Reichsnaturschutzgesetz, which was a law specifically put in place to conserve and protect certain animals; this later even included the killing of fish. In fact, Hitler himself maintained a largely vegetarian diet. Anti-smoking laws were also passed, smoking advertisements were decreased, and an actual tobacco tax was introduced. (things that are still considered taboo and extremely debatable today) C3.) Social BeliefsThis too is well-connected to some of the political beliefs I've stated, but I'm aware that Con will be including the social beliefs of the Nazis as a main part of his case, so will review it briefly here. The social beliefs of the Nazis were grandiose at best. Once again, we have the desired dominance of the pure 'Aryan' race at centrefold, the belief that the very weakest in society should be removed or at best punished, and the belief that Germany genuinely could govern all of Europe. None of these ideals were based in reality and within 6 years of bloody war, were shown as impossible to achieve. Socially, the Nazis did not have a conservative vision--their beliefs were not practical or realistic, rather they were within the realms of an unreachable fantasy. And although Nazi social beliefs were indeed explicitly racist and discriminatory, this still doesn't effectively show how they were overall a Conservative party; as racism and discrimination aren't exclusive to Conservatism by any means. In fact, if you look at modern day Republicanism in the U.S; this pretty much promotes the inclusion of other races and people from varying backgrounds, providing that they adapt to a national way of life--and this is generally the outlook of Conservatve parties in Europe and other western countries. It is about proceeding with caution, both economically and in other respects, which, as I have well noted--is the opposite to what the Nazi party entailed, especially when it came to politics and social beliefs.