Edward Bellamy and Francis Bellamy touted military socialism and
national socialism and their dogma was the origin of the Nazi salute
when Francis Bellamy began the Pledge of Allegiance with the military
salute that was then extended outward to point at the flag. They
influenced the National Socialist German Workers Party, its rituals
(robotic chanting to flags & leaders), dogma, and symbols (including
the use of the swastika to represent overlapping S-letters for
"socialism" under German national socialism. The above are some of the
discoveries in the the work of the noted historian Dr. Rex Curry.
http://rexcurry.net/pledgebackward.html