During a livestream on social media platform X, comments made by Elon Musk and Alice Weidel, leader of the German far-right party AfD (Alternative for Germany), regarding Adolf Hitler’s political alignment sparked widespread backlash.
Weidel, speaking to over 2.2 million viewers, stated, “The National Socialists (Nazis) as the name suggests were socialists.” Musk agreed with her assessment, adding, “Yes, very much so. They nationalised industries like crazy.”
Weidel then went on to assert that Adolf Hitler was a communist, claiming he had been misrepresented as far-right and conservative. “He was a communist and he considered himself a socialist. They state-funded private companies and imposed huge taxes… The biggest success after that terrible era was to label Adolf Hitler as right-wing and conservative,” she said.
She further clarified that her party, the AfD, is the polar opposite of the Nazis, describing it as a “libertarian, conservative party.” She added that the only opposition to their proposed policies came from “leftist-Palestinians.”
Musk and Weidel’s comments sparked an outcry online
After the livestream, many users criticized Elon Musk and Alice Weidel’s claims as “propaganda” and questioned their “poor understanding of history.”
One user remarked, “Truly dystopian. the communists were the first people to be sent to concentration camps, even before Jewish people. Does the truth mean nothing to these people?”
truly dystopian. the communists were the first people to be sent to concentration camps, even before jewish people. Does the truth mean nothing to these people? pic.twitter.com/xyVuUGo10M
— hamza (@Hamzakk) January 9, 2025
Another user wrote, “Hitler probably hated socialists and communists more than he hated jews. He blamed them for Germanys defeat in ww1.This is such a poor understanding of history that I’d actually prefer it was intentionally misconstrued because if it’s not it’s a profoundly dumb take.”
