They were certainly very different in many deep fundamental ways, but I can't agree with totally different. All human societies have many basic things in common, such as for example both the Soviets and the Nazi did their best to rewrite history. Perhaps as the EU is today.

@powder I do not think it is ever quite that simple, after all A Hitler was for years a speaker for the communist party, and the Nazis believed in creating full employment by increacing public spending, which is about as left wing as you can get. The left right spectrum is a nonesense really it never really works for anyone, not even A. H.

@Fernapple I stand with my prior comment. This is an area in which had an interest in graduate school, and which I studied in detail. My comment dealt with the ideologies themselves. Your deal with side issues irrelevant to ideology and to to my comments.

@powder As i say, one of the few things that all totalitarian governments do have in common is that they all try to rewrite history. Whether the EU is trying that or not I do not know. But I do think that the so called liberation of Poland is certainly questionable. It is a funny liberation which does not even talk to the counties government in exile, and ships off large numbers of its senior army officers, who had been fighting the Nazi to be killed on mass.

@wordywalt I am sure that they are very different in many ways. But there are no side issues. Quite the contrary it is the things which all societies and cultures have in common which are the most fundamental and important.

Including and especially the things which they have in common when they break down into totalitarianism, such as a total disregard for human life. Are you going to tell me that the forty milllon or so who died under those political systems are a side issue.

@Fernapple I said in the beginning was that the only ideology they share in common is that both are totalitarian in structure and effect. What is your problem?

@wordywalt My problem is that I have a knee jerk to anything that looks like an over simplification. Sorry its just the deep pedantic bore in me.