I’ve often wondered: did Nazi ideology inculcated in the youth generation during the Third Reich carry forward after 1945, or was it mostly forgotten in the postwar era?
Nazis were national socialists. Their political philosophy is a collectivist philosophy which desires a powerful central state and ignores many individual rights. During the 1920s and 30s, the national socialists and the communists competed with each other for the support of the “downtrodden masses”.
After the Nazis were defeated, the communists came to power in East Germany and the Democratic Socialists came to power in West Germany. Andrea Merkel was born in East Germany and today leads a re-unified Germany.
In my opinion, the socialist philosophy which promotes collectivism and desires a powerful central state and ignores many individual rights has always been on top since Hitler won election in 1932. The people expect that kind of government. It’s how they’ve all been brought up.
For the easterners, one can see how that part of it dovetailed into communism quite nicely. And it explains a lot of the EU kind of behavior too.