One key way in which Nazism differed from communism and fascism lies in its explicit racial ideology and its open advocacy of violence as a positive force. Nazism was fundamentally centered on racial hierarchy, with a belief in the superiority of the "Aryan" race and the need to dominate and purify society by eliminating "undesirables," especially Jews. This racial biological totalitarianism was a core principle of Nazi ideology, which openly fused doctrine and violent practice from the start, glorifying war and racial conquest as necessary for civilization's progress
. In contrast, communism, particularly Stalinism, though also totalitarian and violent, officially denied repression and portrayed itself as a defender of peace, maintaining a gulf between ideology and the reality of violence. Stalinism sought to create stable regimes modeled on the Soviet system, emphasizing class struggle and proletarian internationalism rather than racial purity
. Fascism, while also authoritarian and nationalist, focused more on the unity of the nation as a spiritual community transcending class divisions and emphasized the state over the individual. Fascism's nationalism was not necessarily racial in the same biological sense as Nazism's. It promoted a totalitarian state with a strong leader and national rejuvenation but did not institutionalize racial hierarchy to the extent Nazism did
. Thus, the distinctive feature of Nazism compared to communism and fascism was its racial ideology combined with an explicit, doctrinal embrace of violence and war as tools for achieving racial dominance and territorial expansion, which was not a central tenet of communism or traditional fascism
