đŸ’„THREAD (with sources!)đŸ’„

⚠Transnational Extreme Right⚠

Some of commentary after Christchurch has dangerous ahistoricism that transnational right-wing extremism/terrorism is ‘a new thing’

IT’S NOT.

Ever since their GötterdÀmmerung in 1945, fascists have been transnational
Nazi ratlines helped war criminals escape from Germany & often involved fascists from Croatia, Austria & Italy before those fleeing justice got to Spain or S America or Middle East. Not forgetting role of Vatican either...

Read @guywalters Hunting Evil & Uki Goni Real Odessa
Fanatical Nazi activists like Otto Skorzeny (Hitler’s favourite paratrooper who rescued Mussolini from prison in 1943), Belgian SS collaborator LĂ©on Degrelle, SS antisemitic polemicist Johann von Leers all acted as nodes in new Nazi networks from Spain, Argentina & Egypt
Across world, horrors of Holocaust stigmatised fascism & Nazism. Italy & Germany created legal frameworks to prevent overtly Fascist or Nazi parties to reform (though Italian MSI, despite being fascist, escaped this) but hardcore fascists were forced to look overseas for support
There were many attempts to build a ‘black international’ as a transnational fascist umbrella group

European Social Movement & its split New European Order (1951), Young European Legion (1958) National Party of Europe (1962).

These groups organised multiple conferences & events
Transnational orgs featured fascist groups & ideologues from across Europe e.g. - UK (Mosley), Switzerland (Amaudruz), Germany (National Reich Party), Italy (MSI), Netherlands, (NESB), Spain (Falange), Belgium/France (Jeune Europe; Maurice BardĂšche*) Sweden (Per Engdahl*) *pic
Pan-European groups were riven by usual ideological, sectarian & ego-driven splits so none of them were an unqualified success. Tauber & @macklin_gd reveal this but networks kept fascist flame alive & produced some key publications which provided underpinnings for postwar fascism
These included DĂ©fense de l’Occident (Defence of the West) founded by French Fascist BardĂšche in 1952 (lasted until 1982)

Nation Europa founded in Coburg, Germany in 1951 by former SS men, lasted until 2009.

Both featured contributions by most of Europe’s leading neo-fascists
Even more influential was European New Right founded in France in 1968 by Alain de Benoist with think tank GRECE which rebranded & repackaged fascist ideas & fought ‘metapolitical’ struggle to change culture first (& politics 2nd) & inspired similar groups in Europe, Russia & US
As well as pan-European networks, there were important transnational networks involving fascists in Italy & Spain, & Italy & France. Some great recent books by Matteo Albanese & @Blatuyas, & @Andrea_Mammone have excellent historical analysis of evolution & impact of the networks
During Italy’s ‘Years of Lead’ in 70s & 80s terror attacks from extreme-right & left killed 100s & injured thousands. Various intelligence agencies helped to orchestrate much of the violence but so did extreme right networks which funded, trained & influenced ‘the black terror’
Good example is ‘Aginter Presse’. A fake press agency in Portugal that acted as a cover for extreme right subversion, armed resistance & terrorism. Its members included French colonial paramilitaries of OAS, Italian right-wing terrorists & elements of Iberian security services
Full story of GLADIO still needs to be written. This was a ‘stay behind’ network created by intelligence agencies to act as armed resistance in event of Soviet invasion but its members were fascists. Parliamentary inquiries never quite revealed whole truth https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/European_Parliament_resolution_on_Gladio
There is still much more research needed here. One area that has emerged in scholarly literature is on Nazis who worked with regimes in Middle East -eg in Egypt or Syria - in postwar period. Eg Von Leers, Alois Brunner etc This is a good survey article http://bit.ly/2CmKdW7 
There were also Anglo-American networks. Francis Parker Yockey was US fascist who had pro-Soviet stance as he saw Stalin as more antisemitic. He travelled across Europe writing his influential tract ‘Imperium’ in Ireland in 1948 & set up short-lived European Liberation Front
World Union of National Socialists was formed in 1962 by American Nazi Party Leader George Lincoln Rockwell & Colin Jordan of UK National Socialist Movement & esoteric Nazi Savitri Devi & had Scandinavian, German, Belgian & S American affiliates. See @pnjackson101 book for more
UK far-right politicians & activists toured Deep South & built connections with US groups like National States Rights Party & KKK. Anti-Semitic conspiracy theories by first NF chairman AK Chesterton became influential in US as @macklin_gd demonstrates https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0022009411431723
Southern Africa was focus of right-wing groups from US & Europe. They supported apartheid & white rule in Rhodesia. Mercenaries were recruited by publications like Soldiers of Fortune to fight against the left & anti-colonialists in various African & Latin American countries
This was part of broader Cold War transnational anticommunist struggle often clandestinely supported by CIA & which encompassed ‘soft power’ of Congress for Cultural Freedom’ & militants in World Anti-Communist League supported by fascists & Latin American death squads
There are other subcultural transnational extreme right networks such as white power music. Nazi skinhead movement Blood & Honour was founded in UK 1987 but quickly expanded internationally as did rival Hammerskins. Similarly Nazi black metal music & neo-folk have global fandom
Fascist occult groups have long tradition of transnational organising & influence from Black Order to Order of Nine Angles.

Holocaust Denial has also always been interconnected global movement with leading proponents supporting each other & backed by various extreme right groups
All these examples of transnational far right organising PREDATE the Internet. We need to understand that white nationalism has been a transnational movement with shared ideological & organisational goals for a very long time. Think about neo-Nazi slogan ‘Our Race is our Nation’
It’s a fallacy to see transnational extreme right organising & ideological influence as a ‘new thing’ even if it’s obvious that Internet, Social Media etc have hugely facilitated & accelerated this.

But if we are to combat far right effectively we need to understand its history
Historians of interwar extreme right (XRW) have quite correctly pointed out that Fascism & Nazism were also transnational phenomena. Did mean to add something on this as expected the criticisms although focus of thread was on subnational forms of XRW organising but sources follow
Firstly wanted to encourage readership of @FinchelsteinF whose books are excellent on ideological & organisational links between Latin American & European far right. Not related to this thread directly but his recent book on populism & fascism is superb.
Recommend these recent books which examine pan-European vision of SS; crucial role of WW1 veterans in transnational fascism by @Angel_Alcalde_ ; fascist & Nazi attempts at transnational co-operation with like-minded regimes; their views on Europe & visions for its future
You can follow @FFRAFAction.
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