Communism isn't the issue the same way Capitalism isn't the issue, the issue is rich people abusing working class and poor people. Removing democracy from these systems just make them absolutely horrid in the long run. Also China isn't communist it's state capitalist dictatorship.
How are they communist? Their economy is obviously heavily based on capitalism, no redistribution of wealth. The only thing that lines up is the promise of socializing in the future? Though I don't believe western politicians nevermind Chinese dictators.
I love how Westerners are just regular politicians, but Chinese people are dictators here. You know, when Mao made mistakes he was democratically pushed out while local elections were still running. I don't understand why you mention no redistribution of wealth, however, because China is known for massive infrastructure projects, poverty alleviation, and constant quality of life improvements. That's more redistribution than I see in the entirety of Europe, and this same Chinese "dictator" is the reason we might be able to save this planet from ecological death.
Socialism in Germany was a middle-class tendency that was frequently co-opted by right-wingers. The German Communists tried to fight against this, but the Social Democrats sent in the Freikorps to kill them. So yeah, some German socialists abandoned their principles to become fascists while the Communists got killed and were later put into concentration camps. Not a good example, because it ignores every other piece of history that went into that story.
How much time have you spent in china? When I worked there they were capitalist as fuck with everyone hustling for themselves ( besides the government being able to force people and companies to do anything they wish)