Nazi

Nazi (plural Nazis) is a derogatory term for a supporter of national socialism (better known as Nazism), a fascist movement which emerged in Germany during the interwar period. Post-World War II adherence to Nazism is often called neo-Nazism. Someone who supported Nazism before 1945 and continued to adhere to Nazism even after the end of the Second World War is sometimes referred to as an "Old Nazi" (Altnazi). Nazis themselves tend to reject the label due to the negative connotation.

Etymology and usage

Origins as a nickname

The term Nazi was already in-use in German-speaking countries long before the national socialist movement arose. It is a diminutive of Igna[t]z, the germanised version of the Latin given name Ignatius, which was historically common in majority-Catholic regions such as Austria, Bavaria, and Bohemia. This is also present in the Hungarian language (which was heavily influenced by German due to nearly four centuries of Habsburg rule), with the Hungarian form Ignác sometimes being shortened to Náci. Other similar versions are Nace (chiefly Slovenian), Gnazi (Swiss), Ignacy (Polish), Ignazi, and Nazrl. Examples of the word being used in this context include:

• The 1910 comedic novel Nazi Semmelbachers Hochzeitsreise ("Nazi Semmelbacher's Honeymoon") by Anton Noder (writing under the pen name A. de Nora) follows Ignatius "Nazi" Semmelbacher, a municipal councillor and gingerbread maker who leaves behind his wife in Munich to travel to Venice with the poet Franz Paul Müller.
• Ignaz Semmelweis, the Austrian physician famous for introducing the revolutionary practice of handwashing in medicine, was frequently called "Nazi" or "Semmel-Nazi" by his colleagues. This is reflected in the 1979 Hungarian drama Gyilkosok ("Murderers"), in which Semmelweis is referred to as Semmelnáci a total of 14 times.
• In a 1907 eulogy to Ignaz Auer (a prominent Social Democratic politician from Lower Bavaria), Eduard Bernstein affectionately refers to his deceased friend as "Nazi".
• The satirical magazine Kikeriki, which was banned under the Austrofascist regime due to its links to the Austrian Nazi Party, once told a short story called Der Kosename ("The Pet Name") about a married couple named Mr. Ignaz and Mrs. Klara. One day Ignaz headed off to work, forgetting to bring his eyeglasses with him. Klara, concerned, opened a window and shouted for her husband: "Nazi! Nazi! Nazi!", whereupon the man was immediately arrested as an enemy of the state (staatsgefährliches Subjekt; literally "state-dangerous subject").

Evolution into an insult

Given the nickname's popularity in Southern Germany, it was eventually picked up as a pejorative for Southerners, whom Northern Germans often viewed as backwards, foolish, conservative, and unsophisticated due to their rural background (comparable to "redneck", "hillbilly", and especially "Cleetus" in English). This lead to Nazi gaining a negative connotation, which some sources claim is the reason why opponents of Nazism favoured the term. The Nazi Party itself was founded in Munich and its leader was an Austrian, which may have played into this stereotype. Additionally, as is much more well-known, the term Nationalsozialist ('national socialist') could be shortened to Nazi, just as Sozi (also derogatory) was a clipping of Sozialist ('socialist') or Kozi was a clipping of Kommunist ('communist').

Classical Nazis almost always avoided the term Nazi, instead favouring "national socialist". One notable exception is the title of Joseph Goebbels' 1926 pamphlet Der Nazi-Sozi: Fragen und Antworten für den Nationalsozialisten ("The Nazi-Sozi: Questions and Answers for National Socialists"), in which he seeks to address common misconceptions about national socialist politics, though the word is not mentioned in the text itself. Hitler also used the term "anti-Nazi" on one occasion in reference to unfavourable coverage of national socialism in the international media, though likely in air-quotes. Otherwise, as William Shirer noted in his Berlin Diary in 1940, "For some time now our censors have not allowed us to use the word 'Nazi' on the air. They say it has a bad sound in America. One must say 'National Socialist' or avoid the term altogether, as I do."

Nazi was likewise intentionally eschewed in the Eastern Bloc. Communists view Nazi as a misnomer since, in all practical respects, Germany under national socialism was a capitalist-imperialist country. Therefore, in order to avoid any confusion, risk giving credence to the notion that the Nazis were authentic socialists, and damaging socialism's good name, the terms "German fascism" and "Hitlerism" were favoured.

Modern usage

Modern neo-Nazis continue to avoid the term due to the historical baggage associated with Nazism, as World War II and the Holocaust are still deeply ingrained in the Western psyche today. Instead, they often conceal their true beliefs in order to appeal to as wide a demographic as possible.

Today, the word Nazi is also synonymous with being needlessly strict, intolerant, or fanatical (see, e.g., "grammar Nazi").

Separate Swiss etymology

In Basel, Switzerland, the National-Zeitung (NZ), a liberal daily newspaper which ran from 1842 to 1977, was colloquially known as the Nazi-Zyttig, or the "National Newspaper". From 1950 until the paper's merger with the Basler Nachrichten in 1977, it also published a weekly children's supplement called Dr glai Nazi, or "The Little Nazi" in English. In this case, Nazi was just shorthand for National, and was used in reference to this newspaper specifically.

See also

• German Reich (1933–1945)
• National Socialism
• National Socialist German Workers' Party
• Sozi