The British Union of Fascists: 1933-1953

Though most often associated with the regimes of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini in Germany and Italy, fascism was also a feature of the British political landscape during the 1930s and 1940s. Founded in 1932 by former Conservative and Labour MP Oswald Mosley, the British Union of Fascists (BUF) initially garnered considerable support, including from popular periodicals such as the Daily Mail. The party and its supporters – known as “blackshirts” – drew on racist British imperial discourse and mirrored the antisemitic attitudes of its German and Italian counterparts. The party frequently engaged in violent confrontations with anti-fascist groups, culminating in the Battle of Cable Street in London’s East End, in October 1936.

Featuring nearly 8,000 images, this collection contains a wealth of material charting the trajectory of both Mosley and the BUF, between 1933 and 1953. It holds a cross section of personal papers from key members of the British fascist movement, such as Nazi propagandist William Joyce (commonly known as “Lord Haw Haw”). The collection also includes documents from various UK government departments which, throughout the 1930s and 1940s, sought to temper the influence of the BUF leader and his supporters. This includes documents detailing MI5’s surveillance of both Oswald Mosley and his wife Diana Mosley (née Mitford), which led to their eventual internment in 1940 after the Battle of France.

This collection will be invaluable to researchers and students seeking to critically re-appreciate this often-overlooked chapter in modern British history.

When Fascism came into power, most people were... unable to believe that man could exhibit such propensities for evil, such lust for power, such disregard for the rights of the weak, or such yearning for submission.

Erich Fromm, The Fear of Freedom

Insights

Oswald Mosley was born into a wealthy aristocratic family which could be dated as far back as the rule of King John in the twelfth century.

A political chameleon, Mosley was elected as a Conservative Party MP at the age of just 21, before “crossing the floor” and eventually aligning himself with the Labour Party. By 1931, he had become disillusioned with both major parties and toured the “new movements” that were burgeoning in Italy and Germany.

Mosely established the British Union of Fascists (BUF) in 1932 and they became increasingly radical in their advocation of Nazi-style antisemitism and authoritarianism.

A large part of the collection is drawn from the personal papers of those involved in local or national leadership roles within the British fascist movement. They demonstrate an admiration of fascist activity in Germany, Italy, and Spain.

As the documents demonstrate, the British intelligence services had penetrated the BUF at the highest level, which led to the arrest of several fascists in 1940, including Mosley. The documents reveal details of his internment, and that of other BUF members. Mosley was released on house arrest in 1943, by which point his politics were largely discredited due to hostilities between Britain and the fascist regimes of Germany and Italy.

Unperturbed by Nazi Germany’s defeat, in 1948, Mosley founded the Union Movement (UM), the successor organization to the BUF. The UM was one of the first British political organisations to begin campaigning against migration from the British Commonwealth after the war. Through the UM, Mosley maintained international links with European neo-fascists. In 1951, he left Britain, first for Ireland and then for France. Mosley made several unsuccessful attempts to become an MP in the 1950s and 1960s, running on an anti-immigration, white supremacist ticket. He died in France in 1980.

Highlights

Document

MI5 records on Oswald and Diana Mosley, 1933–1940

Document

Advisory Committee recommendations regarding Mosley’s internment in 1940

Document

Captain Luttman-Johnson's diary entries, 1937–1940

Document

Papers and correspondence of Margaret Heard, 1933–1953

Editorial Board

Dr Liam J. Liburd Assistant Professor of Black British History Dr Liam J. Liburd is Assistant Professor of Black British History at the Durham University. His research focuses broadly on the ongoing impact of the legacies of empire and decolonisation in modern Britain. His current research focuses on Black radical analyses of fascism and on the question of how historians might use these to transform our understanding of the relationship between British fascism and the British Empire, as well as, more broadly, of the politics of race in modern Britain. He is currently in the process of trying to turn his thesis 'The Eternal Imperialists: Empire, Race and Gender on the British Radical Right' (University of Sheffield, 2019) into a book.