In a recently published book, Nathaniël Kunkeler compares the political cultures of the Swedish National Socialist Workers’ Party (Nationalsocialistiska Arbetarepartiet, NSAP) and the Dutch National Socialist Movement (Nationaal-Socialistische Beweging, NSB). Central to the analysis is the construction of political myths: myth-making or mythopoeia of the largest fascist parties in these countries, neither of which ever came close to seizing power in the 1930s.
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Fascism and mythopoeia: Vikings and Christians
ANNONSE
Mythopoeia worked on many levels: Swedish and Dutch fascists marching in full black shirt uniforms in orderly ranks, carrying banners, and singing songs constructed the myth of fascism as a crusading army through their clothing, props, and demeanour. When fascist NSAP leader Sven Olov Lindholm travelled around Sweden with a small band of comrades to spread the fascist gospel through speeches and grunt work, meeting local branches, camping in woods and bathing in lakes, they constructed the myth of the fascist Leader as primus inter pares, a true leader directly from the people in the tradition of the Vikings. The construction of this myth suited the specific conditions of the NSAP quite well: it played into the lack of financial resources of the party, as well as its decentralised organisation. It relied heavily on local party branches and used visits from the fascist chieftain Lindholm as a reward to invigorate isolated party members.
When the Dutch NSB set out to organise the largest ever political rally in The Hague in 1935, mythopoeia operated through the organisational and logistical challenges of creating such a spectacle, constructing fascism as a capable, disciplined, orderly force in the process. The ability to bring together tens of thousands of party members in one place projected power and unity, creating the core myth of fascism as a force that would unite the Dutch people, and change the course of history. Through a party congress programme that included hymns and prayers, and party leader Anton Mussert’s biblical rhetoric, the NSB constructed Dutch fascism as a respectable, Christian movement, that would defend the nation against godless communists and the Church parties that had politicised their religion. This was a myth constructed for public consumption – but media representatives were not necessarily impressed: Catholic and Protestant journalists thought this fascism barbaric and paganistic, while socialist journalists (who had snuck in secretly) ridiculed how most members present could hardly see or hear Mussert’s small figure at the front yet went wildly enthusiastic at appropriate intervals. The location of the party congress in a muddy field on the outskirts of the city also attracted mockery, as participants ended up spattered with mud. There were no guarantees outsiders would accept fascist myths at face value.
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https://sciencenorway.no/blog-history-ideology/political-myths-and-the-making-of-fascism/1941835
In a recently published book, Nathaniël Kunkeler compares the political cultures of the Swedish National Socialist Workers’ Party (Nationalsocialistiska Arbetarepartiet, NSAP) and the Dutch National Socialist Movement (Nationaal-Socialistische Beweging, NSB). Central to the analysis is the construction of political myths: myth-making or mythopoeia of the largest fascist parties in these countries, neither of which ever came close to seizing power in the 1930s. [ … ]
Fascism and mythopoeia: Vikings and Christians ANNONSE Mythopoeia worked on many levels: Swedish and Dutch fascists marching in full black shirt uniforms in orderly ranks, carrying banners, and singing songs constructed the myth of fascism as a crusading army through their clothing, props, and demeanour. When fascist NSAP leader Sven Olov Lindholm travelled around Sweden with a small band of comrades to spread the fascist gospel through speeches and grunt work, meeting local branches, camping in woods and bathing in lakes, they constructed the myth of the fascist Leader as primus inter pares, a true leader directly from the people in the tradition of the Vikings. The construction of this myth suited the specific conditions of the NSAP quite well: it played into the lack of financial resources of the party, as well as its decentralised organisation. It relied heavily on local party branches and used visits from the fascist chieftain Lindholm as a reward to invigorate isolated party members. When the Dutch NSB set out to organise the largest ever political rally in The Hague in 1935, mythopoeia operated through the organisational and logistical challenges of creating such a spectacle, constructing fascism as a capable, disciplined, orderly force in the process. The ability to bring together tens of thousands of party members in one place projected power and unity, creating the core myth of fascism as a force that would unite the Dutch people, and change the course of history. Through a party congress programme that included hymns and prayers, and party leader Anton Mussert’s biblical rhetoric, the NSB constructed Dutch fascism as a respectable, Christian movement, that would defend the nation against godless communists and the Church parties that had politicised their religion. This was a myth constructed for public consumption – but media representatives were not necessarily impressed: Catholic and Protestant journalists thought this fascism barbaric and paganistic, while socialist journalists (who had snuck in secretly) ridiculed how most members present could hardly see or hear Mussert’s small figure at the front yet went wildly enthusiastic at appropriate intervals. The location of the party congress in a muddy field on the outskirts of the city also attracted mockery, as participants ended up spattered with mud. There were no guarantees outsiders would accept fascist myths at face value. [ … ]”