National Fascist Community
Encyclopedia
The National Fascist Community was a Czechoslovakia
n Fascist
movement led by Radola Gajda
, and based on the Fascism of Benito Mussolini
.
known as the "Red-Whites" with various other rightist groups across Bohemia
and Moravia
. It was distinguished by a strong current of opposition to Germany
, which continued even after Adolf Hitler
had come to power. The NOF instead looked to Italy
as its model, and based itself wholly on Mussolini's National Fascist Party
. In this respect it differed markedly from its chief rival Vlajka
, which was firmly in the Hitler camp. Groups targeted by the NOF for criticism included the Jews
, communists
, the Czechoslovak government and the Magyars. It set up a youth group and a trade union
movement, although the latter was minor. The group also advocated a policy of Pan-Slavism
, and hoped to take a joint lead with Poland
of a grand Slavic
alliance that would overthrow communism
in the Soviet Union
. They also believed in a corporatist
economy with a large agricultural sector
. The NOF attracted some early support from veterans of the Czechoslovak Legions
. It was estimated by a government informer that the NOF had as many as 200,000 followers in 1926, although it had virtually no support in the Slovak area as the far right
there was dominated by an indigenous movement
and secured the support of Slovak paramilitary group Rodobrana
in this endeavour although ultimately the plans were intercepted by Brno
police and thus shelved.
in 1929, but the party failed to maintain its support, and received only 2% of the vote and seven seats in National Council in the elections of 1935. The movement made an attempt to take control of the government during the German occupation
although the Nazis had no time for the NOF due to their earlier criticism and their overall minor status. Ultimately the NOF were disbanded and largely absorbed in to the puppet National Solidarity Movement, Gajda having been bribed to leave politics. The party's demise was sealed in late 1939 when they organised a rally in Prague
's Wenceslas Square
and only managed to attract 300 supporters.
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
n Fascist
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
movement led by Radola Gajda
Radola Gajda
Radola Gajda, born as Rudolf Geidl, was a Czech/Montenegrin military commander and politician.- Early years :...
, and based on the Fascism of Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
.
Formation and ideology
The party was formed in March 1926 by the merger of a group of dissident National DemocratsNational Democratic Party (Czechoslovakia)
The National Democratic Party was a First Republic right-wing political party in Czechoslovakia. It was founded by Karel Kramář in 1919, after the creation of independent Czechoslovakia from the Austria-Hungary Empire...
known as the "Red-Whites" with various other rightist groups across Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
and Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
. It was distinguished by a strong current of opposition to Germany
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...
, which continued even after Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
had come to power. The NOF instead looked to Italy
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...
as its model, and based itself wholly on Mussolini's National Fascist Party
National Fascist Party
The National Fascist Party was an Italian political party, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of fascism...
. In this respect it differed markedly from its chief rival Vlajka
Vlajka
Vlajka was the name of a small Czech fascist and nationalist movement, and its corresponding publication. The publication itself was founded in 1928, its first editor being Miloš Maixner; the movement became politically active in the 1930s.- See also :* Viktor Dyk, romantic poet and Vlajka...
, which was firmly in the Hitler camp. Groups targeted by the NOF for criticism included the Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
, communists
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...
, the Czechoslovak government and the Magyars. It set up a youth group and a trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
movement, although the latter was minor. The group also advocated a policy of Pan-Slavism
Pan-Slavism
Pan-Slavism was a movement in the mid-19th century aimed at unity of all the Slavic peoples. The main focus was in the Balkans where the South Slavs had been ruled for centuries by other empires, Byzantine Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Venice...
, and hoped to take a joint lead with Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
of a grand Slavic
Slavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
alliance that would overthrow 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...
in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. They also believed in a corporatist
Corporatism
Corporatism, also known as corporativism, is a system of economic, political, or social organization that involves association of the people of society into corporate groups, such as agricultural, business, ethnic, labor, military, patronage, or scientific affiliations, on the basis of common...
economy with a large agricultural sector
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
. The NOF attracted some early support from veterans of the Czechoslovak Legions
Czechoslovak Legions
The Czechoslovak Legions were volunteer armed forces composed predominantly of Czechs and Slovaks fighting together with the Entente powers during World War I...
. It was estimated by a government informer that the NOF had as many as 200,000 followers in 1926, although it had virtually no support in the Slovak area as 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...
there was dominated by an indigenous movement
Activity
The NOF regularly indulged in street-fighting tactics, clashing frequently with the National Labour Party, a moderate left-wing party led by Jaroslav Stránský. Such was the frequency of NOF attacks on Stránský and fellow leader Václav Bouček in 1927 that both men were provided with bodyguards by the government. The NOF even made plans for a possible coup d'etatCoup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
and secured the support of Slovak paramilitary group Rodobrana
Rodobrana
Rodobrana was a Slovak paramilitary organization of the Slovak People's Party. The organization existed from 1923 to 1927 in Czechoslovakia, when the authorities ordered its dissolution, though many of its members continued to function in other party organizations. It was a predecessor of the...
in this endeavour although ultimately the plans were intercepted by Brno
Brno
Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...
police and thus shelved.
Decline
Gajda was elected to ParliamentFirst Republic of Czechoslovakia
-Independence:The Czechoslovak declaration of independence was published by the Czechoslovak National Council, signed by Masaryk, Štefánik and Beneš on October 18, 1918 in Paris, and proclaimed on October 28 in Prague...
in 1929, but the party failed to maintain its support, and received only 2% of the vote and seven seats in National Council in the elections of 1935. The movement made an attempt to take control of the government during the German occupation
German occupation of Czechoslovakia
German occupation of Czechoslovakia began with the Nazi annexation of Czechoslovakia's northern and western border regions, known collectively as the Sudetenland, under terms outlined by the Munich Agreement. Nazi leader Adolf Hitler's pretext for this effort was the alleged privations suffered by...
although the Nazis had no time for the NOF due to their earlier criticism and their overall minor status. Ultimately the NOF were disbanded and largely absorbed in to the puppet National Solidarity Movement, Gajda having been bribed to leave politics. The party's demise was sealed in late 1939 when they organised a rally in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
's Wenceslas Square
Wenceslas Square
Wenceslas Square is one of the main city squares and the centre of the business and cultural communities in the New Town of Prague, Czech Republic. Many historical events occurred there, and it is a traditional setting for demonstrations, celebrations, and other public gatherings...
and only managed to attract 300 supporters.