Ever wonder why the Soviets always referred to the Germans as “Fascists” and not “Nazis”? The Fascists were Italian.
Could it be because Nazi was short for “National Socialist”, and that would be admitting that they were fellow Socialists?
Nope.
Could it be because Nazi was short for “National Socialist”, and that would be admitting that they were fellow Socialists?
Yup.
though technically Mussolini’s fascists were also socialists
Funny thing is, even the Fascists were no different from the Bolsheviks ultimately, even being directly inspired by the same literature that Trotsky and Lenin were if Mussolini is to be believed.
In fact, the reason why it broke off from bolshevikism by supporting country was purely due to pragmatism since, Russia aside, none of the working class members in various European countries took advantage of the war to overthrow their landlords and if anything were more determined to defend their landlords, so Marx’s claim there evidently didn’t come to pass.
But yes, that definitely could have been a reason why the left goes by “Fascist” for Germany.