John J. Ray has written a stunning essay entitled "Hitler was a Socialist" that is the best treatment of the subject I have ever seen. This goes well beyond the usual talking points noting that "Nazi" meant "National Socialist" into detailed exhumation of strands of Hitler's influences, practices, writings, and relationships of which I had heard little or nothing.   Like many people, I have read and pondered much in order to understand the rise of Hitler, and from where his thinking and mass appeal arose. But Dr. Ray (an extensively published Australian scholar) has pulled together a tremendous amount of material, including extensive original sources, to make a convincing case that Hitler was not just a dabbler in socialism (but primarily a racist/nationalist). He makes the opposite case: that Hitler began, came to power, and remained a leftist revolutionary.Even better, Dr. Ray demonstrates the linkages between contemporary leftism...(Read Full Post)