Attitudes towards Jews in Fascist Organisations of Inter-War Britain

Széll, Ágnes Katalin (2018) Attitudes towards Jews in Fascist Organisations of Inter-War Britain. Masters, Szegedi Tudományegyetem.

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Abstract

This thesis is about the Jew-baiter tendencies of the fascist(ic) movements of inter-war British society. Following a short explanation of the joint appearance of fascism and anti-Semitism as main subjects in the same thesis, it will deal with the popular anti-Semitism of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, in search of the roots of hostility towards Jewry in Britain between the world wars. The thesis examines three allegedly fascist organisations and makes mention of the first British fascist movement, the British Fascists, as well. Each of these groups differs from the others in its motivations and objectives, in the role and manifestation of its anti-Jewish prejudices, and in its ideas to solve the Jewish problem in Britain. Henry Hamilton Beamish’s movement, the Britons is an almost exclusively anti-Semitic patriotic organisation with no definite intention to gain political control and without any real fascist ideology. It represents a mixture of historical Christian anti-Semitism and non-scientific harsh racism, following the trends of popular anti-Semitism of the previous centuries. Arnold Leese developed the Britons’ theory by studying the methodology of 19th century social Darwinism and arguments based on genetics and biology, borrowed from prevailing German philosophies of the era. He and his organisation, the Imperial Fascist League introduced scientific anti-Semitism to Britain, by which he also had a considerable influence on post-war British fascism. Sir Oswald Mosley and his movement, the British Union of Fascists got involved in East End pogroms and anti-Jewish marches being motivated by sheer political opportunism rather than consistent Jew-hatred, and manifest anti-Semitism in the activity of the BUF strengthened only after 1933. The ideological roots of the party can be traced back to Mussolini and Italian fascism. The primary goal of the party throughout its history was to establish a fascist state in Britain, not necessarily the extermination of the Jewish population of Britain (and the world).

Institution

Szegedi Tudományegyetem

Faculty

Faculty of Arts

Department

Angol Tanszék

Discipline

Humanities

Specialization

angol

Supervisor(s)

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Subjects:	06. Humanities
Depositing User:	szerkesztő BTK
Date Deposited:	2019. Apr. 30. 13:31
Last Modified:	2019. May. 02. 07:06
URI:	https://diploma.bibl.u-szeged.hu/id/eprint/74796

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