It occurred to me that Nazi ideology was entrenched in the German people from as early as the 1920s and officially since 1933 to 1945. You’d think that such a systemic worldview would be difficult to eradicate but it would seem Nazism was quickly removed after the Allies and Russians conquered them.
On the flip side, the Taliban have an entrenched ideology, but despite being occupied for over 20 years they returned to power overnight.
So, I guess two questions: Why didn’t the Nazis wage a guerrilla campaign to retake power? And why were we unable to destroy the Taliban the way we did Nazism?
The Nazi party was outlawed following the war. The Nazi ideology was not stamped out. The reason why the Nazi party didn’t fight a guerilla war to maintain power was because they didn’t have to. Prominent Nazis with valuable skills were pardoned and welcomed into mainstream life (e.g. Werner von Braun became one of the lead rocket scientists for NASA). I don’t believe they even had to recant their ideology or party affiliation.
One need only watch a few far right rallies before a swastika flag or three will show up and announce that Nazism is still alive and well 80 years later.