In a first approach, the lecture outlines the history of the reception of National Socialism in social work, drawing a line from the strategies of denial, cover-up and trivialisation in the immediate post-war period to the beginning of historical reappraisal since the mid-1980s and the different research and discourse perspectives of the present. In a second step, the interpretation of National Socialism as a "welfare state" is discussed. Against the background of recent research findings, the question of whether this interpretation is appropriate in view of the nature of National Socialist social policy is examined.
