European Social Movement
Encyclopedia
The European Social Movement (ESM) was a neo-fascist
Europe
-wide alliance set up in 1951 to promote Pan-European nationalism
.
The ESM had its origins in the emergence of the Italian Social Movement
(MSI), which established contacts with like-minded smaller groups in Europe during the late 1940s, setting up European Study Center and publishing a magazine Europa Unita. On the back of this work they organised a conference in Rome
in 1950 which was attended by Oswald Mosley
, whose Union Movement
was advocating closer European unity with its Europe a Nation
policy, representatives of the Falange
, allies of Gaston-Armand Amaudruz
and other leading figures from the far right
. After submitting plans for a centrally organised Europe a second congress followed in 1951 at Malmö
, the home of Per Engdahl
, where it was agreed that the ESM would be set up as an alliance to this end. Engdahl was chosen as leader of a four man council to head up the group, also featuring MSI leader Augusto De Marsanich
, French
writer Maurice Bardèche
and German
activist Karl-Heinz Priester
.
The ESM suffered early setbacks however, arguing that a war against communism
was, at least initially, impractical for a united Europe, whilst some delegates felt that racialism
had not been sufficiently underlined as necessary for the new Europe. These problems proved particularly acute for some members of the French Comité National Français, with leading members René Binet
and Maurice Bardèche quitting both the French group and the ESM as a whole, before becoming instrumental in the formation of the New European Order
.
Continuing its activity despite the split, the ESM encountered difficulties in 1956 when a delegate was invited to the annual conference of the MSI. Following his attendance he recommended a total split from the MSI, whom he accused of being too preoccupied with Italian
politics to be of use to pan-Europeanism. With divisions growing and competition from other movements biting the movement had largely become moribund by 1957. Its role was later taken over by the similar National Party of Europe
, which had many of the same members but was more formalised.
Neo-Fascism
Neo-fascism is a post–World War II ideology that includes significant elements of fascism. The term neo-fascist may apply to groups that express a specific admiration for Benito Mussolini and Italian Fascism or any other fascist leader/state...
Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
-wide alliance set up in 1951 to promote Pan-European nationalism
Pan-European nationalism
The idea that Europe should be united politically has been present in European culture since the Middle Ages, and inspired several proposals for some form of confederation. With the growth of nationalism in the 19th century, several pan-national ideas of Europe developed, some of them based on...
.
The ESM had its origins in the emergence of the Italian Social Movement
Italian Social Movement
The Italian Social Movement , and later the Italian Social Movement–National Right , was a neo-fascist and post-fascist political party in Italy. Formed in 1946 by supporters of former Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, the party became the fourth largest party in Italy by the early 1960s...
(MSI), which established contacts with like-minded smaller groups in Europe during the late 1940s, setting up European Study Center and publishing a magazine Europa Unita. On the back of this work they organised a conference in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
in 1950 which was attended by Oswald Mosley
Oswald Mosley
Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet, of Ancoats, was an English politician, known principally as the founder of the British Union of Fascists...
, whose Union Movement
Union Movement
The Union Movement was a right-wing political party founded in Britain by Oswald Mosley. Where Mosley had previously been associated with a peculiarly British form of fascism, the Union Movement attempted to redefine the concept by stressing the importance of developing a European nationalism...
was advocating closer European unity with its Europe a Nation
Europe a Nation
Europe a Nation was a policy developed by British politician Oswald Mosley as the cornerstone of his Union Movement. It called for the integration of Europe into a single entity....
policy, representatives of the Falange
Falange
The Spanish Phalanx of the Assemblies of the National Syndicalist Offensive , known simply as the Falange, is the name assigned to several political movements and parties dating from the 1930s, most particularly the original fascist movement in Spain. The word means phalanx formation in Spanish....
, allies of Gaston-Armand Amaudruz
Gaston-Armand Amaudruz
Gaston-Armand "Guy" Amaudruz is a Swiss neo-fascist political philosopher and Holocaust denier.Initially a supporter of the Swiss fascist movement of Arthur Fonjallaz, he came to wider attention in 1949 when he published Ubu Justicier au Premier Procès de Nuremberg, one of the first works to...
and other leading figures from the far right
Far right
Far-right, extreme right, hard right, radical right, and ultra-right are terms used to discuss the qualitative or quantitative position a group or person occupies within right-wing politics. Far-right politics may involve anti-immigration and anti-integration stances towards groups that are...
. After submitting plans for a centrally organised Europe a second congress followed in 1951 at Malmö
Malmö
Malmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...
, the home of Per Engdahl
Per Engdahl
Per Claes Sven Edvard Engdahl was a leading Swedish far right politician. He was the leader of Sveriges Fascistiska Kamporganisation, SFKO during the 1920's.-Career:...
, where it was agreed that the ESM would be set up as an alliance to this end. Engdahl was chosen as leader of a four man council to head up the group, also featuring MSI leader Augusto De Marsanich
Augusto De Marsanich
Augusto De Marsanich was an Italian National Fascist Party politician and the second leader of the Italian Social Movement ....
, French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
writer Maurice Bardèche
Maurice Bardèche
Maurice Bardèche was a French essayist, literary and art critic, journalist, and one of the leading exponents of Neo-Fascism in post-World War II Europe...
and German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
activist Karl-Heinz Priester
Karl-Heinz Priester
Karl-Heinz Priester was a German far right political activist. Although he played only a minor role in Nazi Germany he became a leading figure on the extreme right in Europe after the Second World War.-Under the Nazis:...
.
The ESM suffered early setbacks however, arguing that a war against communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
was, at least initially, impractical for a united Europe, whilst some delegates felt that racialism
Racialism
Racialism is an emphasis on race or racial considerations. Currently, racialism entails a belief in the existence and significance of racial categories, but not necessarily that any absolute hierarchy between the races has been demonstrated by a rigorous and comprehensive scientific process...
had not been sufficiently underlined as necessary for the new Europe. These problems proved particularly acute for some members of the French Comité National Français, with leading members René Binet
René Binet (neo-Fascist)
René Valentin Binet was a French militant political activist who was linked to both Trotskyism and fascism....
and Maurice Bardèche quitting both the French group and the ESM as a whole, before becoming instrumental in the formation of the New European Order
New European Order
The New European Order was a neo-fascist Europe-wide alliance set up in 1951 to promote Pan-European nationalism. It was a more radical splinter-group of the European Social Movement....
.
Continuing its activity despite the split, the ESM encountered difficulties in 1956 when a delegate was invited to the annual conference of the MSI. Following his attendance he recommended a total split from the MSI, whom he accused of being too preoccupied with Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
politics to be of use to pan-Europeanism. With divisions growing and competition from other movements biting the movement had largely become moribund by 1957. Its role was later taken over by the similar National Party of Europe
National Party of Europe
The National Party of Europe was an initiative undertaken by a number of political parties in Europe during the 1960s to help increase cross-border co-operation and work towards European unity....
, which had many of the same members but was more formalised.