Competing visions of anti-communism in interwar Germany: Catholic and Nazi portrayals of the 'Judeo-Bolshevik' threat

Abstract

This article explores the antisemitic and anti-communist ideas put forward by Catholic publicists and early Nazi activists in the aftermath of the First World War. The paper argues that one of the keys to the success of the early Nazi movement was its ability to weave together distinct, and potentially competing, strands of anti-Bolshevik imagery into a potent blend that appealed particularly to disillusioned Catholics in Munich, thus helping helping the movement survive its tumultuous infancy.