A History of Modern Europe - From the Renaissance to the Present

1020 Ch. 25 • Economic Depression and Dictatorship

Belgium in 1936, similar to the one in France at the same time. However,
Belgian fascists never won more than 12 percent of the vote. The majority of
the middle class remained loyal to parliamentary government. Banks and the
Socialist and Catholic parties successfully pressured the government for
action to assist the lower middle class by increasing credit available to small
retailers and extending union rights to white-collar employees. The Catholic
Church’s condemnation of Rex in 1937 led many of the group’s members
to return to moderate Catholic parties.
Similarly, in the Netherlands, the Dutch National Socialist League, which
emulated the Nazis, was condemned by both the Calvinist Reform Church
and the Catholic Church. It won the support of only 8 percent of Dutch
voters in 1937.

In the depths of the Depression, a fascist movement developed even in
Britain, the home of parliamentary government. That there were consider­
ably fewer immigrants in Britain than, for example, France, probably lim­
ited the appeal of the nationalistic far-right parties. However, Oswald
Mosley (1896-1980) started a small fascist party in Britain. Born into a
wealthy aristocratic family, Mosley left the Conservative Party in 1924 over
his concerns about unemployment in Britain. The philandering Mosley
proclaimed his new motto “Vote Labour, Sleep Tory.” In 1931, he founded
a small party with disastrous electoral results. Then, infatuated with Mus­
solini and the idea of corporatism, he attacked “international finance capi­
tal,” as well as the Labour Party, and formed the British Union of Fascists
in 1932, delivering violent speeches attacking Jews. Mussolini provided
funds, as did Hitler, who served as best man at his second wedding. Mosley
surrounded himself with black-shirted toughs, but he attracted more
attention than followers (they never numbered more than 20,000). The
British people once again avoided political extremes.

The Third Reich

In Germany, the Depression helped swell the ranks of not only the Nazi

Party but also other parties and groups (including powerful army officers

and big businessmen) committed to the end of parliamentary government.

Political parties, labor unions, and voluntary associations crumbled before

the Nazi onslaught. Nazi organizations enrolled millions of Germans.

The Collapse of the Weimar Republic

The Depression increased opposition to the Weimar Republic, particularly

among the middle classes. The Nazis in 1929 were but one of a number of

extreme right-wing groups determined to overthrow the republic. The

Depression also further eroded the centrist coalition within the Reichstag

upon which the republic had depended from the beginning. In March