Thanks Coyoteman and all. I am sincerely indebted to you for references that I will read re: the actual nature of Nazism/Fascism. But what I am really interested in understanding it why the POPULAR PERCEPTION is that Nazis (who apparently considered themselves socialists) are almost uniformly labeled “right-wing” by those in the United States. Were liberals that effective in changing the labels? What is it that makes people associates “Socialists” with the “right wing?”
This may sound cynical, but I believe this is the simple truth:
As others have pointed out, socialists in the US thought that the Nazis were swell while Hitler had a non-aggression pact with Stalin. There were differences, but both were socialists. Then Hitler attacked Uncle Joe. So now the socialists in the West had to identify the National Socialists as being "on the other side", and so the Nazis were suddenly branded "right-wing socialists", which in my opinion, is a terribly stupid phrase. But it was adopted, and the Nazis designated as right-wing lunatics, just because they had to be portrayed as enemies of the Soviet Union's Bolshevik Revolution.
Also, as some have said, the old Left/Right terminology from the French Revolution is a rather bad fit nowadays. IMO, the most binary breakdown is: Collectivist vs Individualist. The Nazis, the Fascists, the Socialists, and the Communists are all Collectivists. America is Individualist (but the Dems are working hard).