European Fascist Movements: A Sourcebook

Abstract

This volume offers a fresh and original collection of primary sources on interwar European fascist movements. These sources reflect new approaches to fascism that emphasise the practical, transnational experience of fascism as a social movement, contextualising ideological statements within the historical moments they were produced. Divided into eighteen geographically based chapters, contributors draw together the history of different fascist and right-wing movements, selecting sources that reflect themes such as transnational ties, aesthetics, violence, female activism and the instrumentalisation of race, gender and religion. Each chapter provides a chronological, narrative account of movements interspersed with primary sources, from political speeches, police reports internal movement circulars and articles through to oral history, songs and music, photographs, artworks, poetry, and anti-fascist sources. The volume as a whole introduces readers to the diversity of fascist groups across the continent, demonstrating how fascist groups were constituted through social bonds, rather than around fixed ideologies, as such it captures the inexperience and ad-hoc character of early fascist groups. With an introduction that explains the volume’s theoretical approach and elaborates on the chronology of European fascism, European Fascist Movements is the perfect sourcebook for any student of Modern European history and politics.