Oswald Mosley , born the November 16th 1896 and deceased the December 3rd 1980, was a British politician , founder of the British Union off Fascists.

Youth and First World War

Oswald Mosley was born on November 16th, 1896, in a family of the British Gentry of the Staffordshire. He is junior at the military academy by Sandhurst when in 1914 the First World War begins. He is then sent in Ireland with his regiment, the 16th Lancers. With the favor of a permission it joined the air forces ( Royal Flying Corps ). It is then sent in France where it takes part in several missions of observation to the top of the German lines. It is then sent to Shoreham to involve itself with piloting. Unfortunately in May 1915, just after having obtained its pilot's license, an accident at the time of a landing breaks a leg to him. Whereas its leg is not yet completely given, and to mitigate the shortage of officers following the heavy losses of the first months of war, Oswald Mosley is recalled in its regiment which fought then in the French trenches. At the end of a few months one ends up realizing of his handicap and it was returned to the United Kingdom to be operated there. Its leg was saved but remained shorter than the other of two “inches”. It had to carry all its life an orthopedic shoe to limit its limping. From October 1916 until the end of the war he worked in an office at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

Its beginnings in policy

In 1918, it was presented to the legislative elections and was elected appointed under the label conservative. Only 22 years old he was the youngest member of the House of Commons. In 1920, he married Cynthia Curzon whose father had been Vice-roi of the Indies and Foreign Minister of a conservative government. Defending the cause of the war veterans and factory workers, Mosley was quickly disappointed by the conservatives. It left them to join the Workers party which it then represented at the Parliament, it was also made chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster by Labor the Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald and entered the ministerial cabinet of this one.

January 23rd, 1930, whereas the United Kingdom counted 2,5 million unemployed remaining under difficult conditions, Oswald Mosley presented to Mac Donald the " Mosley memorandum". This one claimed a five years program to protect national industry from the competition of the countries with low wages, the modernization of British textile industry (this one had been almost abandoned and " délocalisée" in India), the control of the banks so which are obliged to finance the British companies, of important public works, the stop of the British investments abroad and, finally, an increase in the unemployment benefits and a lowering of the retirement age. This program was presented to the congress of the Workers party of 1930 which rejected it few voices (1046 votes for, 1251 against), while giving to its author a " standing ovation" and by re-electing it at the national Executive committee of the party. In reaction to that, Mosley resigned of the government and carried the business in front of the people. It also left the Workers party and founded, with former members of the Party often resulting from its left wing, the February 28th 1931 and called with a new government " capable of agir". At the time of the first participation in an election, the by-election of (in the agglomeration of Manchester), and in spite of a still weak organization, the candidate of the New Party collected 16% of the voices. But by thus dividing the Labor electorate it allowed especially the election of a Conservateur deputy the House of Commons.

The new Party obtained on June 16th the newspaper Action (the first pulling: 160000 specimens) and introduced 24 candidates to the general elections of October 21st, 1931. Except for two deputies, of which Oswald itself, they all were beaten in spite of honourable scores.

The fascistic turn

This failure strongly marked Mosley and its partisans. While the traditional politicians left the new Party, leaving it with the hands young people and idealists, Mosley flew away the January 18th 1932 for Rome, where it was received by Benito Mussolini. Important interview, since on October 1st 1932, Mosley founded the Union of the British fascists (British union off fascists/BUF) which quickly obtained all the decorum of the time: a seat (the black house), a weekly magazine ( the fascistic week then the black shirt , then again Action ), a service of a militarized nature (black shirts), and even of the clubs of Football. In 1934, the movement counts already 40.000 members. It was the first British party to adopt a program keynésien.

The BUF launched out at the same time, in spite of violences which opposed it to commandos of the Communist party of Great Britain, in a meeting campaign great through the the United Kingdom (Mosley spoke on average in 200 meetings per annum). It is estimated that its meeting of Earl runs in 1939 was the greatest meeting in room ever organized in the United Kingdom. The results were not negligible and with the municipal elections of the agglomeration of London, on March 6th, 1937, the lists of the BUF obtained 23% for the best and 14% for the least good.

The Second world war

The approach of the war, sees Mosley and its partisans to become the savage pacifist ones and to launch out with all their force in a campaign for peace. That, even after the declaration of war. In January 1940, a pacifist booklet of the BUF The British peace: how to get it is diffused with 100.000 specimens, and the 27 of the same month Winston Churchill is chahuté by crowd with Manchester with the cries of " Live Mosley! , peace lives! ". In February 40, the BUF holds 41 meetings for peace, it holds of them 100 more in April, and on May 5th not less than 22 meeting take place the same day. But almost at once Mosley and 80 frameworks of Buf are imprisoned will not be never judged and will remain held during 4 years without no inculpation being formulated to them, in June Buf holds 5 more meetings for peace what involves a new wave of arrest (on the whole 1300 pacifist will be imprisoned including 735 members of the BUF).

Its combat for Large Europe

After the Second world war, Oswald Mosley made its reappearance with the publication of the book The alternative which provided the foundation of the founded Movement of the union the February 8th 1948. The newspaper Action reappeared and the new movement never took part in the elections with results lower than 6% but also with points than 33% in 1953 than Moorfields and 20% in 1968 than Bethnal Green. Ideologically, Mosley was then made the apostle of Large Europe (it published the newspapers national The european and The european , and its only book published in French carries like titrates the Europe nation), which led it to work initially with Francis Parker Yockey (the founder of the first European Front of release), then with Jean Thiriart with which it founded in March 1962 the European national Party.

Mosley died close to Paris the December 3rd 1980, at the 84 years age.

Heirs

The Union movement and the newspaper action survived to him some time under the direction of Jeffrey Hamm. Currently the partisans of Oswald Mosley are gathered in Friends off Oswald Mosley (101 short Orwell, Pownall road, London E8 4PP) who publish Comrade. Curiously none the currently active nationalist groups to the the United Kingdom has direct filiation with Mosley, all result indeed - has through scissions and regroupings of the League of the loyal supporters of the Empire, it even founded by the secessionist ones of Buf in 1939. Secessionist directed by Arthur K Chesterton which had refused to follow the pacifist line of the party and had declared themselves in favor of the entry in war of the United Kingdom.

Some quotations

On Europe

• “ the idea of plain Europe is not new; the unification of Europe ardently was always wished by the men of thought and action of all the European nations since Charlemagne. The great minds and particularly those which have the prophetic direction, impatiently wished it. In this capital problem, the only current factor which is new it is the need, emerged for this state of affair. Modern science, the technique, the new weapons also make us live in a narrowed world. The best and the most brilliant projects to give the men a higher art of living postulates all the unit of Europe like an essential condition of their realization. On the other hand, darkness will go down on us for little that Europe, centers natural and measures world, remains still broken, parcelled out, forsaken. ”

• “ It is the strangest event of the history which a populated ground of 300 million beings filled of the most beautiful gifts and supported more nice successes is today reduced at this end. Europe came from there to put itself under the supervision of America to escape tyranny from Russia. This voluntary control, imposed by the need, is familiar thing today. We are accustomed there. But this situation, with the eyes of somebody who would suddenly discover it with new eyes, appears as ridiculous as tragic. All the great figures of last would consider it scandalous. And if, delivered generally accepted ideas and modes to feel accepted by our sluggishness of mind, we look at ourself the things in their objective truth, we could not miss shouting with the incredible one. ”

• “ the population of Europe is more numerous than that of Russia or that of America. Knowledge and the technical skill of our people are lower of nothing than those the Americans. Our energy sources are at least as large as those of America or Russia. So only we had employed the least share of our forces to found a new European order, instead of us to fight the ones the others, a long time ago that we would have outclassed American and Russian. Because our roots in the being are deeper, our older culture, our traditions and our lifestyle is established since longer. We more firmly and are more durably installed in the existence. ”

• “ Which would dare to deny it? We are higher of number than the Americans as with the Russians. We are at least equal for them in energy. Perhaps even our character is it firmer because we more lived and more achieved. That being, which never will be able clearly to explain why we stud ourselves in America and why we tremble of fear in front of Russia without only making one effort to deploy partially the gigantic force of Europe. Only this force however could restore the balance of the world and raise it on a higher level of happiness and safety. In truth, it is not any good reason to justify this paradox. Europe is only victim of a complex of bitterness, which is not without plausible reasons, but whose principal raison d'être is that it serves the interests of those which find profit to be maintained us divided. ”

• “ the failure of Europe is quite simply a failure of the conscience. There is no physical obstacle, no natural or abstract border which can prevent to make the union of the European fatherlands or to delay a new blooming of civilization that this world already knew. The nations of Europe are established on territories which form an able geographical unit, under the action of the modern means of communication, to transform itself into an economic unit much more complete and homogeneous that any nation's economy of hundred years ago. These nations lay out, sometimes inside their own borders, sometimes in their overseas territories of the food resources and the raw materials claimed by their populations and their industries. It is universally allowed that the new methods of mass production would have, under these conditions and consequently natural, to develop the market. The overproduction of richness which would result from this would raise the " considerably; standard of vie" universal. Moreover, this superabundance would provide for a notorious part of the requirements of the scientific research. Thus the future would be assured and there would be a considerable acceleration of the human evolution. ”

• “ One cannot seriously doubt these advantages. They are the obviousness even. There are no reason of a physical nature or national with some other sciences, which one can call upon to refuse to implement, without delaying more, these forces of hello. Their action would be fast and sure. The dangers which threaten us would move away immediately, while waiting to be definitively isolated. And the difficulties which are currently ours would be singularly reduced, before being definitively overcome. The reasons which prevent Europe from being linked are of a psychological nature. They are phenomena of inhibition. It is not absolutely necessary to overcome them. I do not believe that it is an impossible task. Inhibitions of this kind are cured by the means of a calm, serious, objective reasoning. I repeat it, no objection of material nature is not enough strong to be opposed victoriously to the realization of the European unit. The only obstacle which prevents it is a failure of the will, a weakness of the spirit. ”

• “ the phenomena of passion order which paralyze the will in this field and strikes it inhibition are not always méprisables. A patriotism badly heard in is partially responsible. I say patriotism badly included/understood, because true patriotism is alive, active, and not fixed in the contemplation of a past which cannot return. Another share of the responsibility returns to a certain type of conservatism. In itself, conservatism is a demonstration of health. But only it is not needed heading until refusing any metamorphosis. Because nothing is preserved which does not change. That me well am heard. The spirit of conservation is a good thing, which answers more an instinct than honourable. To preserve the traditions, the institutions, the manner of living of people, it is to want to maintain at the same time its vigilance and its rooting, it is him to ensure the supreme benefit of stability. But in one time of fast changes, it is necessary that the traditions, the institutions, the manner of living, can adapt to the new facts and are able to grant their development to the new situations. Or else, there is opposition mortal between these pulse duty factors and the companies which they should maintain. ”

• “ the patriotism, which are a feeling, and the nationalism, which is the methodical and doctrinal justification, is in themselves excellent things. To keep their excellence, it is necessary however that they change and extend. Today, the fatherlands must cease being opposed, if they want to survive. The safety of all and the safety of each one merge. It is necessary to make the unit of Europe by the union of the fatherlands. ”

the nation Europe , New Latin editions, Paris, 1962.

On Fascism

• “ I did not change a iota with my positions of pre-war period. I want only to adapt them to the conditions of today. There are no more reasons to call us still fascistic. There is not more than to call chartists the current members of the Ploughing Party. One does not call any more " Whig" the Liberal party and nobody any more associates this one with the French revolution, which was the inspirer of liberalism. The idea of Europe, current science, continual effort to invent, and the constant development of our thought carried us well beyond the situation of pre-war period. Our current thought exceeds our thought of pre-war period as much as a " Jet" exceed the first engine. ”

• “ We achieved the synthesis of the action and freedom, the dynamism and the free will. Our movement, in its gasoline and its character, is not static, but dynamic. It is an organization which believes and develops unceasingly overcoming the past, and transcending even its own precise details. Because it tends towards formulas increasingly higher. Our idea will never be petrified. Because it does not depend on a determined generation, not more than of the recent past, with its failures and its achievements. But it is related on the very whole history of Europe, its future, the vital dash of Europeans. ”

Declaration of Venice, 1962.

Bonds

• Site of the friends of Oswald Mosley

Bibliographical references

• Jan Dalley, an English Fascism, 1932-1940, the political adventure of Diana and Oswald Mosley , Paris, ED. Otherwise, 2001.
• Anne de Courcy: Diana Mosley, born Mitford , ED. The Rock, 2006

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