Who Goes Nazi? (1941)

Dorothy Thompson argues that Nazism is not primarily a matter of race or nationality but a psychological and social disposition, especially widespread among a generation she calls “lost.” In her view, people become susceptible when their energies outstrip their judgment, their education neglects moral development, or their lives leave them vulnerable to conformity, resentment, and the promise of power. She tests this claim through imagined guests at a gathering, asking who would join a fascist movement if it gained strength and why.

Her examples distinguish several routes to collaboration. Mr. A, secure in his own principles and accustomed to acting freely, would resist; Mr. B, whose values follow success and social advantage, would join once Nazism seemed likely to prevail. Mr. C, a brilliant outsider embittered by exclusion and humiliation, is already drawn to antisemitism and the prospect of covert power - a product, Thompson argues, of democracy’s gap between professed equality and practiced snobbery. A spoiled, sensation-seeking young man would relish domination, while a submissive woman might embrace a leader who sanctified women’s subordination. By contrast, an independent, emotionally grounded woman would resist. The portrait presents fascist appeal as rooted in opportunism, grievance, entitlement, and submission, while locating resistance in personal integrity and self-reliance.