Bullies or Victims? A Study of British Union of Fascists Violence
Sir Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists became surrounded by violence in the 1930s, clashing regularly with anti‐fascist and Jewish opponents, and often being blamed by contemporaries for provoking and initiating much of this conflict. This study uses government files from the period to analys...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2006
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| In: |
Totalitarian movements and political religions
Year: 2006, Volume: 7, Issue: 3, Pages: 327-346 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Sir Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists became surrounded by violence in the 1930s, clashing regularly with anti‐fascist and Jewish opponents, and often being blamed by contemporaries for provoking and initiating much of this conflict. This study uses government files from the period to analyse the clashes taking place, as well as evidence from newspapers and fascist publications in order to observe how these events were perceived at the time. Different levels of violence over the period can be ascertained, while the traditional view of Mosley’s Olympia meeting as a turning point can be qualified somewhat. The intrinsic role that the BUF’s increasing anti‐Semitism played in provoking violence is also highlighted. Challenging the traditional view of the BUF as the bullies of the political playground, causing trouble wherever they went, it was frequently their opponents who initiated the violence at meetings and other events. However, the provocative actions and rhetoric of the BUF means they cannot be exonerated of blame for the clashes, and they were certainly not the innocent victims of anti‐fascist attacks which they attempted to portray themselves as. |
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| ISSN: | 1743-9647 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Totalitarian movements and political religions
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/14690760600819499 |