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the new techniques of propaganda, building upon notions of 'heroic' leadership widespread in right-wing circles long before Hitler's rise to prominence.

Mr. Kershaw calls himself a historian, and proffers *THIS*? He is as much an employer of propaganda as the late Shickelgruber was. And *BOTH* are/were left wing, to boot!

the infowarrior

Much of the nazi propaganda was pioneered by American progressive Edward Bernays and used extensively by Woodrow Wilson.

For those doubting the veracity of the linkage between American Progressivism and Nazi Propaganda, one need look no further than Woodrow Wilson and his “Committee on Public Information” or CPI.

“Karl von Weigand, foreign correspondent of the Hearst newspapers, an old hand at interpreting Europe and just returned from Germany, was telling us about Goebbels and his propaganda plans to consolidate Nazi power. Goebbels had shown Weigand his propaganda library, the finest Weigand had ever seen. Goebbels, said Weigand, was using my book Crystallizing Public Opinion as a basis for his destructive campaign against the Jews of Germany. This shocked me…” — Bernays, recalling a dinner at his home in 1933.

notions of 'heroic' leadership widespread in right-wing circles long before Hitler's rise to prominence.

Right wing circles as in prewar aristos and upper middle class types. The German master race sort.

The Nazis and fascists of various nations just do not fit easily into the Right/Left dichotomy. Hitler drew a great deal of his support from traditionalist nationalist circles, which by just about any standard should be called right-wing.

Of course, it was a blood-soil right wing, if not always church-crown, so it was the European variety of Rightist, going back all the way to the supporters of the old regime during the French Revolution.

What WAY too many American conservatives do is assume that the European Right of the 19th and early 20th centuries is similar to the American Right of today.

Nothing could be farther from the truth. What American conservatism is trying to conserve is the principles of the Declaration of Independence, the primary one being, "All men are created equal."

The old European Right, OTOH, was doing its very best to fight off this principle and maintain social stratification.

It's OKAY to recognize that the Nazis drew largely from the German right wing. We just need to recognize that the German Right had almost nothing in common with us. In fact, they despised America.