Norwegian Front

The Norwegian Front (Norwegian: Norsk Front, NF) was a neo-fascist[1][2] extraparliamentary political party in Norway founded in 1975, led by Erik Blücher as fører.[3][4] Following a bomb attack by an activist from the party, the NF was dissolved in 1979 and succeeded by the National People's Party (Nasjonalt Folkeparti, NF), which itself was dissolved in 1991 after several leading members had received long prison sentences. The NF had around 1,400 members at its peak.[3]

Norwegian Front
Founded1975
Dissolved1979
IdeologyNeo-fascism
Neo-nazism
Norwegian nationalism
Anti-communism
Anti-socialism
Anti-Islamism
Anti-immigration
Political positionFar-right

History

The NF was founded in 1975 as a successor to the minor National Youth League (Nasjonal Ungdomsfylking, NUF), affiliated with former members of Nasjonal Samling.[3][4] It was founded by a young generation of neo-Nazis, nationalists and anti-communists,[3] and areas of focus included opposition to immigration, fight against the Workers' Communist Party as well as "American finance capital", and Holocaust denial.[4][5] After being prevented from registering publicly as a political party,[6] and following repeated attacks from anti-fascists,[7] the group turned towards violence and terrorism which garnered much media attention.[5]

The party had links to the French National Front[8] and the World Anti-Communist League (WACL).[2] The 12th WACL general conference in Paraguay in 1979 was attended by a delegate from the party, whose journey was reportedly subsidised by the leader of the Arab delegation Sheikh Ahmed Salah Jamjoom.[9] Some members of the party reportedly fought with Rhodesian Security Forces in the Rhodesian Bush War.[10]

The NF was dissolved in 1979 after an activist from the group threw a homemade bomb against the annual May Day demonstration, leaving two people wounded.[4][11]

Not long after the party was succeeded by the National People's Party, effectively the same party.[3] Opposition to immigration became its main focus.[5] Blücher however stepped down as leader in 1981 to pursue extreme-right connections abroad.[12] On 13 June 1985 a young activist from the party detonated a bomb outside an Oslo Ahmadiyya mosque.[13] Several of the party's leading members received prison sentences in the aftermath of the bombing for various activist offences.[3][5] The party was dissolved in 1991, and remaining members were encouraged to join the Fatherland Party.[3]

References
  1. Szajkowski, Bogdan (2004). Revolutionary and Dissident Movements of the World. John Harper Pub. p. 363. ISBN 9780954381127.
  2. Ó Maoláin, Ciarán (1987). The radical right: a world directory. Longman. p. 215. ISBN 9780874365146.
  3. Bjørgo, Tore (28 April 2015). "nynazisme". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian).
  4. Strømmen, Øyvind (12 October 2011). "Den tredje bølgen". Aftenposten (in Norwegian).
  5. Lunde, Henrik (6 October 2011). "Nynazisme". Norwegian Center for Studies of Holocaust and Religious Minorities (in Norwegian).
  6. Hamm, Mark S. (1994). Hate Crime: International Perspectives on Causes and Control. Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. p. 77. ISBN 9780870843501.
  7. Bjørgo, Tore (2014). Terror from the Extreme Right. Routledge. p. 203. ISBN 9781135209308.
  8. Tomlinson, John (1981). Left-right: the march of political extremism in Britain. J. Calder. p. 38. ISBN 9780714538556.
  9. Anderson, Scott; Anderson, Jon Lee (1986). Inside the League: The Shocking Exposé of how Terrorists, Nazis, and Latin American Death Squads Have Infiltrated the World Anti-Communist League. Dodd, Mead. p. 100. ISBN 9780396085171. norwegian front.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  10. "Sub-Saharan Africa Report". Foreign Broadcast Information Service. 1979: 26. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  11. "Trygg avstand: 6 meter". Bergens Tidende (in Norwegian). 19 July 2002.
  12. "Norske nazi-forbindelser til bankranerne" (in Norwegian). Verdens Gang/NTB. 1 June 1999.
  13. Horgan, John (2009). Walking Away from Terrorism: Accounts of Disengagement from Radical and Extremist Movements. Routledge. p. 40. ISBN 9781135285487.
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