Communism

A political and economic ideology that advocates for a classless society with collective, public ownership of the means of production (land, resources, factories, mills, farmland, etc.), with the goal of an equal distribution of wealth and power among all members of society.

Essentially a form of socialism, communist ideas were popularized through the writings of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels (The Communist Manifesto, published in 1848) and spread rapidly throughout Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Communist and socialist political parties formed in every state across Europe, but achieved the most success in Russia under Vladimir Lenin, the leader of a faction of Russian communists known as the Bolsheviks, who led the October Revolution of 1917 to establish the Soviet Union.

In Germany, communist and socialist parties grew out of the trade union movement and began achieving electoral success in the late 19th century. By 1912, the German Social Democratic Party (SPD, Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands) was the largest party in the German parliament, the Reichstag by 1912. Conservative factions within Germany opposition to socialism and communism aided Nazi, and in 1933 Nazi party leader Adolf Hitler was able to become chancellor in part due to President Paul von Hindenburg's fears of communism, since the Nazi party was staunchly anti-communist, anti-socialist, and anti-Bolshevist.

In the Nazi world view, Jewish people were cast as the force behind socialism and communism. The concept of ‘Judeo-Bolshevism’ united the two main enemies according to Nazi ideology: Jews and communists (including Social Democrats and trade unionists). As soon as the Nazis seized power, they began targeting communists—as well as Social Democrats and trade unionists—both inside and outside Germany. Political opponents—perceived or real—were among the first prisoners of the Dachau concentration camp, which was established in 1933.