Fact check: How bad was Communism actually compared to National Socialism if you put it on an side by side?

1. Summary of the results

The comparison between Communism and National Socialism is highly complex and cannot be reduced to simple metrics. While some sources cite that Communist regimes caused more deaths numerically (estimated 100 million across multiple continents) ^[1], others argue these numbers are inflated and methodologically flawed, noting that they incorrectly include deaths like Nazi soldiers killed in WWII ^[2]. Both systems are characterized as totalitarian ideologies that suppress individual liberties ^[3], but with fundamentally different core principles and objectives ^[4].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

Several crucial contextual elements need to be considered:

• Nature of Deaths: There's a significant difference between intentional genocide and deaths from failed policies. For instance, while Mao's Great Leap Forward resulted in 35-45 million deaths, these were largely due to failed economic policies and famine, not systematic extermination like the Holocaust ^[5].
• Theoretical Foundations: Communism, as theorized by Marx, was meant to progress through stages toward a stateless, classless society based on needs and abilities ^[6]. This differs significantly from the racial hierarchy inherent in Nazi ideology.
• Historical Documentation: The perception of these ideologies has been influenced by factors such as:
• The Soviet Union's alliance with the Allies in WWII
• Communist movements' rhetoric of equality
• Less visual documentation of Communist atrocities compared to the Holocaust ^[1]

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The question itself contains several problematic assumptions:

• False Equivalence: Comparing these systems side-by-side oversimplifies complex historical phenomena. While both systems resulted in human rights abuses, they operated under different economic systems and social structures ^[4].
• Numbers Game: Simply comparing death tolls can be misleading, as demonstrated by the contested figures in the Black Book of Communism ^[2]. This approach fails to account for:
• Population sizes of affected countries
• Different historical contexts
• Various implementation methods
• Theoretical vs. practical applications ^[7]

The comparison benefits different groups depending on their political stance: anti-communist groups benefit from emphasizing death tolls, while some leftist groups benefit from highlighting theoretical communist ideals of equality versus Nazi racial ideology.