Abstract
In 1945 European fascists and Nazis were faced with the pressing question of how to ensure the survival of an ideology that was stigmatized by past associations and, in the case of Nazi Germany, a history of unrivalled criminality and inhumanity. The inquiry we must make is why did the Union Movement (UM) fail to achieve success in Great Britain as a mass political party in the period 1948–66?
The puzzle about fascism since the War is that it has survived at all. Even in the defeated fascist states, the climate after 1945 was overwhelmingly hostile to the extreme right. Fascism carried the stink of humiliating defeat and destruction, and the memory of colossal crimes committed by the Nazis was still fresh in the minds of millions who had suffered at their hands.
(Wilkinson, 1981, p. 10)
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Barker, M., The New Racism (London, 1981).
Barnes, I., ‘The pedigree of GRECE (I and II)’, Patterns of Prejudice, Vol. 14, Nos 3 and 4, July and October 1980.
Beckman, M., The 43 Group (London, 2nd edn, 1993).
Benewick, R., The Fascist Movement in Britain (London, 1969).
Bracher, K.D., The German Dictatorship (London, 1973).
Charnley, J., Blackshirts and Roses (London, 1990).
Cross, C., The Fascists in Britain (London, 1961).
Davison, L., ‘Return of the man in black’, in John Bull, Vol. 106, September 1956.
Foot, P., Immigration and Race in British Politics (London, 1965).
Griffin, R., The Nature of Fascism (London, 1991).
Griffin, R. (ed.), Fascism (Oxford, 1995).
Hamm, J., Britain Awake (London, undated).
Hamm, J., Challenge the Old Gang (London, undated).
Hamm, J., Action Replay (London, 1983).
Harris, G., The Dark Side of Europe (Edinburgh, 1990).
Holmes, C., Anti-Semitism in British Society, 1876–1939 (London, 1979).
Hope, J., ‘Reviving the Swastika: Mosley and the Union Movement’, unpublished conference paper, Sheffield Hallam University, 1994.
Husbands, C., ‘Why has there been no extreme right in Great Britain?’ LSE Magazine, Vol. 4, No. 1, Spring 1992.
Jaeger, H. (ed.), The Reappearance of the Swastika: Neo-Nazism and Fascist International (London, 1960).
Layton-Henry, Z. The Politics of Immigration (Oxford, 1992).
Lewis, D.S., Illusions of Grandeur (Manchester, 1987).
Linehan, T.P., ‘The British Union of Fascists in East London and South-West Essex, 1933–1940’, unpublished PhD thesis, London University, 1992.
Lipstadt, D., Denying the Holocaust (London, 1994).
Lunn, K. and Thurlow, R. (eds), British Fascism (London, 1980).
Mosley, O., The Greater Britain (London, 1932).
Mosley, O., ‘The World Alternative’, in Fascist Quarterly, July 1936a.
Mosley, O., Fascism: 100 Questions Asked and Answered (London, 1936b).
Mosley, O., My Answer (Ramsbury, 2nd edn, 1946).
Mosley, O., The Alternative (Ramsbury, 1947a).
Mosley, O., Union of Europe: Extension of Patriotism: Idea of Kinship (Ramsbury, 1947b).
Mosley, O., ‘A reply to Dr. Strasser’, in The European, June 1954, Vol. 16.
Mosley, O., My Life (London, 1968).
Mullally, F., Fascism Inside England (London, 1946).
Ó Maoláin, C., The Radical Right: A World Directory (London, 1987).
Rodriguez, J.L., ‘Neo-Nazism in Spain’, Patterns of Prejudice, Vol. 29, No. 1, 1995.
Rose, L., ‘Fascism in Britain’, PRO HP45, unpublished survey, 1947.
Skidelsky, R., Oswald Mosley (London, 1990).
Solomos, J., Race and Racism in Britain (London, 2nd edn, 1993).
Soucy, R., Fascist Intellectual Drieu La Rochelle (California, 1979).
Tauber, K.P., Beyond Eagles and Swastika: German Nationalism since 1945, Volume 1 (Connecticut, 1967).
Thurlow, R., Fascism in Britain (Oxford, 1987).
Tyndall, J., The Eleventh Hour (London, 1988).
Walker, M., The National Front (London, 1977).
Weiner Library Bulletin, 1956, Vol. X, part 5–6.
Wilkinson, P., The New Fascists (London, 1981).
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 1996 Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Poole, A. (1996). Oswald Mosley and the Union Movement: Success or Failure?. In: Cronin, M. (eds) The Failure of British Fascism. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-24758-5_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-24758-5_4
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-24760-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-24758-5
eBook Packages: Palgrave Political & Intern. Studies CollectionPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)