You seem to fancy splitting hairs when it comes to the ruthlessness of the Social Democrats.
The rest of the Hitler quote goes:
***.."I achieved an equal understanding of the importance of physical terror towards the individual and the masses...Terror at the place of employment... in the factory, in the meeting hall, and on the occasion of mass demonstrations will always be successful unless opposed by equal terror.
The Social Democrats command weaklings in both mid and force. They know how to create the illusion that this is the only way of preserving the peace, and at the same time, stealthily, but steadily, they conquer one positon after another , sometimes by silent blackmail, sometimes by actual theft. "..*** A.H. Mein Kampf (p. 148-9)
So, you base your opinion of Social Democracy on Hitler's opinion and that alone? Strange bedfellows you choose...
You might also look at the preceding paragraph in Kershaw:
"Internationalism [...], equality of individuals and peoples, universal, equal, and direct suffrage, fundamental labour and union rights, separation of church and state, and a people's army were what the Social Democrats stood for. It was little wonder that the young Hitler [...] hated the Social Democrats with every fibre of their body. But what did impress him was their organization and activism. In autumn 1905, just before Hitler went to Vienna, it had been Social Democratic agitation that had influenced Franz Joseph to agree [...] to universal male suffrage. The demonstration of approaching a quarter of a million workers in red armbands that followed in Vienna in late November took four hours to march past the Parliament building. A similar spectacle some years later was to leave a lasting impression on Hitler, as he stood for nearly two hours, gazing at 'the endless columns of a mass demonstration of Viennese workers that took place one day as they marched past four abreast', [...] It struck him as a 'menacing army', and his reaction, as he made his way home, was one of 'oppressed anxiety'.
Where do you see the "ruthlessness"? I see a mass movement that claims its share of political influence.
Kershaw has more to Hitler's stories about threats from Social Democrats:
His own version in Mein Kampf of the emergence of this hatred tells the story - as we have already suggested, almost certainly fictional - of the victimization and personal threats he allegedly experienced [...] at the hands of Social Democrat workers [...] Yet none of those who later recounted anecdotes of Hitler at the time refers to it.
With this verdict on Hitler's "testimony", I ask you again: why do you base your own opinion of Social Democracy on Hitler's?
