Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has flung the international order into crisis. Understanding the causes of such cataclysms requires understanding not only the interests of states, but also the shape of society—its internal tensions, as well as its material and cultural transformations. The birth of Nazi Germany is informative in this respect. Within the scholarly literature, the fascist victory has been commonly analyzed through the lens of economic interest. Through this lens, domestic industrialists were seen as reacting to the rise of Hitler in various ways but doing so as an undifferentiated bloc, while a salaried middle class was thought to have formed a major foundation of fascist support. The following reflections weigh these analyses against the existing evidence. In doing so, they highlight the importance of political mobilization in illuminating the intricate dynamics underlying historical shifts.