VERY SIMILAR

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume 48, Issue 2864, 17 November 1939, Page 8

VERY SIMILAR

NAZI-ISM AND COMMUNISM BOTH HAVE A DICTATOR It has been the general belief that the Soviet ideology has no counterpart in other political systems, but since the signing of the Soviet-Ger-man pact the belief has gained in strength that there is little between Communism and National Socialism. An English writer recently gave 11 points of marked similarity. They are ’ 1. Both have a dictator. 2. Both have a controlled as against a free press. 3. Both have a highly developed secret police . which terrorises the country and deliberately prevents people expressing their own views. 4. Both have concentration camps to which anyone may be sent without trial and kept there indefinitely, and there is no writ of habeas corpus or oilier system to get people out. 5. Both believe in the right compulsorily to employ people on public works, if necessary far from the places where they live. Under this

system Russia has built a huge canal

and worked timber camps, and the Germans have built the Siegfried Line. 6. The German treatment of the Jews and the Russian treatment of the aristocrats and middle classes is similar in principle. 7. Both have a system of elections under which there is one Candida I.' 1 approved by the Government who gets 97 per cent of the votes. 8. In either countries the Nazi and Communist parties are minorities ol 4.000,000 each, and in both countries parties other than these . a»e held to be illegal. 9. With regard to trade unions — the Nazis have abolished them, mil have organised a system of committees in every factory representing men and employers. The Russians have altered their trade union organisation so much that the English trade unions will not admit them to the international trade union congress, and they have a similar system of committees for every i'acloiy. 10. Communism is anti-Christian and has practically suppressed the Greek Church. The Nazis have not suppressed any form of organised Christianity yet, but their attitude in many respects is hostile, as shown oy fp.cir treatment of Pastor Niemoller and others. 11. The Bolsheviks started by socialising 'everything, but have now modified that policy and more private enterprise and private property are being allowed. The Nazis to begin with did not socialise everything, but they were moving more and more in that direction, and the time will obviously come soon when the differences in this respect will be. very slight.