So tired of hearing this
For the record, socialism is not fascism, nor is it "totalitarian". There are clear differences between them, as ideologies and as social movements. Fascism drew a substantial level of support from traditional elites (e.g. landowners, industrial capitalists) and demobilized WW1 veterans. Nazism, while sidelining traditional elites (like the Junker class) later rested heavily on the support of the industrial cartels. While mass politics (e.g. rallies, youth groups, sporting clubs) played a large role in informing fascism as a sociopolitical movement (a significant break from traditional conservatism), this is no basis for anything approaching a direct comparison between the two. The socialist and Communist parties drew much of their support from the industrial working class, artists, and intellectuals (to name a few of the social groups). This is my primary basis for rejecting the "totalitarian" model: class support.
Actually, toward the end of the Second World War, the left had gained significant legitimacy largely because it had always opposed the Nazis and fascists, whereas the right largely collaborated. As a result, in Italy, France, Greece, Yugoslavia, and elsewhere, the left emerged stronger than ever in the postwar era, signalling the emergence of a new compromise between labor and capital (what became the "postwar consensus" and "social market economy").
Actually, toward the end of the Second World War, the left had gained significant legitimacy largely because it had always opposed the Nazis and fascists, whereas the right largely collaborated. As a result, in Italy, France, Greece, Yugoslavia, and elsewhere, the left emerged stronger than ever in the postwar era, signalling the emergence of a new compromise between labor and capital (what became the "postwar consensus" and "social market economy").