Underestimating the New Nazis in Greece: The Golden Dawn Party
The hidden responsibility for World War II rests not upon Adolph Hitler, but rather with Johann Dietrich Eckart. Had Eckart not introduced Hitler to larger crowds and inner circles, had the echoes of his maiden speech not bounced across the basement walls, the madman would have slithered to the corner and nursed his tea in the company of demons and visions forever unrealized. Instead, the first opportunist calculated his gain and a basement full of bystanders fell silent.
Hitler’s path from oblivion to deity was paved by a thousand Judases and a million Pilates; mercenaries and cowards each, who, in moments of destiny, used or excused the monster and hastened him on his way.
The simplest action might have arrested Hitler’s ascent. Here a judge who shortened a sentence, there a socialite whose glittering luncheons legitimized the odd man and his dream for a new Germany. Almost everyone dismissed Hitler’s ominous threats; taking the man at his word cost too much.
Such moments of destiny now test us in our turn. Two short weeks ago, across Everests of whipped cream and dense cappuccino fog, our iPads blipped something or other about the Greek Neo-Nazi party winning seven percent in elections held amid Weimar-like disintegration of that country’s economy. A hundred million eyes rolled, five million deigned to snort, and all buried their minds, ostrich-like, in caffeinated indifference.
The once-obscure Greek Golden Dawn is worthy of more than snorting disdain. Its growth and the conditions in Greece are reminiscent of pre-War Germany. The organization owes its advent in part to a band of new Eckarts, men who use religion to mask their antisemitic ideology and socialist economic theory in Europe and the United States. The organization’s growing popularity demonstrates how quickly small numbers and risible doctrines can achieve power given favorable social factors.
Led by Nikolaos Michaloliakos, Golden Dawn is a member of the European National Front (ENF), an umbrella organization consisting of eight European nationalist branches headed by Roberto Fiore, founder of the Italian Forza Nuova. The branches promote their own country’s ethnic traditions, but share the broader mission outlined by Fiore:
The real Europe, to rise again, will need a single political center that embodies a compelling Idea. This will only happen with a state entity, by its nature “superior” to individual people and offering them a great historic mission: that of “order” making the world a mirror of the Order of heaven. The Idea is the rediscovery of the imperial (not imperialist!) (It is the Idea) of a power “consecrated” from on High and rooted in many people- related, similar and united — but still distinct and vital. It will be one hundred flags of the European Empire.
The web pages of ENF members contain Nazi-like iconography and documentation of joint rallies looking, for all the world, like miniature reenactments of Triumph of the Will. Cartoons advocate not balanced immigration policies, but supremacist malevolence towards foreigners.
The ENF embraces an economic policy that opposes the “effects of Zionism.” It advocates distributism, a social philosophy erroneously claiming to be based on that of Popes Leo XIII and Pius XI, who outlined solutions for the ill effects of the Industrial Revolution and the rise of Communism.
Distributism has much in common with communism, particularly its Utopian promise that the world will be in harmony when human beings share equally the means and fruits of meaningful work. Radical distributists wax eloquent concerning the role of “Zionist international banking empires” in the present state of Europe, but are shy when asked for details concerning the distribution of presently-held “Zionist” wealth. The implementation of distributism requires stringent state involvement.
This is an important and frightening topic. However, most of the essay does not deal with The Golden Dawn Party, nor does it deal with the circumstances in Greece. Are there other sources you can recommend that will provide more information pertinent to Greece itself?
Frightening indeed. It seems we’re reliving the 1930s. Which didn’t end well. And this time there are nukes.
In the 1930′s Germany was a potent industrialized nation, one that, less than two decades previously, had — together with its allies — almost won WWI. On paper it’s economy had been trashed by one of the world’s great inflationary busts, but most of the world-class factories and skilled workers were still around, and could be organized into another industrialized war-machine.
It is reassuring to realize that neither Greece nor Italy have the world-class factories or skilled workers needed for an industrialized war machine. If they go fascist they will tend to resemble Iraq or Iran without the oil wealth.
Yeah, I doubt modern Greece is able to maintain its tanks, let alone build new ones.
It is interesting, though, that a fascist published a book featuring so many self-proclaimed “anti-fascists”.
Italy does.
If I was a jew in Europe, I would be planning to emigrate. Whether the National Front types or the Islamofascists win out…I don’t see Europe being a happy place for jews in the future. And like last time, those who wait too long to get out…won’t.
Ia! Ia! Cthulu ftaghn!
Report: U.S. Escalating Drone Strikes Amid Fears Pakistan Will Demand Halt
President Obama has reportedly ordered a major increase in drone strikes inside Pakistan over the past few months in apparent anticipation of the Pakistani government imposing an all-out ban. According to Bloomberg News, Obama’s reported order may account for the recent spike in drone attacks that have killed scores of people. A number of U.S. officials say they fear Pakistan may order the CIA to vacate the air base it uses to deploy its fleet of Predator drones.
Aw geez not this junk again!
Golden Dawn is indistinguishable from say, Syriza, in its treatment of the drug addicts, pushers, “refugees” (i.e. illegal aliens) and hard-core criminal elements that make life miserable for ordinary Greeks, and the resentment felt across Greek society towards Germans, the EU, the ECB, and the demand that Greeks start paying for the bailouts they get.
For decades Greece cruised on easy money from the EU (like Ireland and Spain) and now the bill has come due and they don’t want to pay it. A Jerusalem Post reporter got beat in Athens, and could not genuinely tell if it was Syriza or Golden Dawn people doing the beating. The FT got caught out portraying Golden Dawn people giving a “Nazi Salute” during swearing in of Parliament — it was PASOK giving the Holy Trinity (thumb, index, forefinger together) sign required for swearing in as members of Parliament.
There is no, ZERO, ZILCH, NADA possibility of a Nazi takeover of anywhere in Europe. Why?
There’s not enough young men! Postwar Germany was over-run with Freikorps, vets who had endured pure horror and found a corrupt, decadent, and incompetent successor state with no pride at all in its heritage, with Communists everywhere. Italy, Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Bulgaria, Hungary, and yes ENGLAND had the same type of social situations. Oswald Mosely used to march up and down in the 1930′s.
Greece today is a lot of middle aged and elderly Greeks, a few young cheated men (looking upon defacto colonization by Middle Easterners, Turks, and Africans as immigrants pour into their poorly defended border) and that’s it. Golden Dawn or Syriza, it matters not (they are the same).
As for the White Rose, its a measure of stupid futility. They accomplished nothing, other than moral posturing (and saved by the way, no one at all) which is a symptom of modern Western female-oriented society: useless moral posturing. There is nothing much to be learned from Nazi Germany other than to never be unarmed, always be prepared to fight, and don’t rely on good will. The same lessons came from Rwanda, and Pol Pot, and Stalin, and Mao, and the horrors of North Korea today.
Hitler was not defeated by a rousing round of Multicultural PC affirmation. But by Soviet Patriots, and American Patriots, and British Patriots, who stormed Berlin or Normandy.
Absolutely right.
Hitler’s nazi party never received more than 38% of the vote in any NATIONAL election in Germany. In fact, at the very last free and open national election in Germany (1933? 32?) the nazi party suffered a terrible defeat.
We all know what happened next.
Revolutions are not successful because a majority of the people actively support a cause. In fact if you look at the American Revolution, the rise if Hitler, Lenin’s rise to power, etc. you will see that revolutions succeed because a very very determined, persistent and organized minority take power despite the vast majority of the populace sitting on the sidelines.
So, when you say that this or that cause will not succeed because of the lack of majority support/people, etc., well, history shows that this oft times does not matter at all. What matters is how persistent and to what extent a very organized minority of agitators are willing to go to literally SEIZE POWER.
In times of chaos, it is these extreme MINORITY groups, prone to violence that will take advantage of the situation and seize power.
This is why it is very important that here in the USA, the citizens are never, ever denied the right to bear arms, for here in the USA there are minority groups -typically left wing – that will CREATE CHAOS in an effort to seize power and this chaos need not originate in the streets; more efficiently it can be organized, directed and created WITHIN the existing power structure of our govt.
And no, I do not own nor have I ever owned any firearms.
Pet Peeve: Hitler’s first name is Adolf – it was never spelled as Adolph – Please try to get it right!!!
We’d better listen before we’re all crushed beneath the Greek military machine.
I’m rolling my eyes because, let’s face it, the Greeks are too lazy to want to conquer the world. The reason they are broke is because they all want to retire at age 50. And its not like the rest of the world isn’t already under the sway of crony capitalism and socialism.
GREECE HAS RECEIVED ENOUGH FINANCIAL HELP …. NO MORE !!… THEY MADE THEIR BED , NOW LET ‘EM SLEEP ON IT !!!
Goldman Sachs were instrumental in getting Greece into the mess it is in. Twas they who helped cook the books. Why have there not been any arrests of GS bankers? Is it because Mario Draghi and many others are Goldman Sachs alumni, just like Hank Paulson?
Let me also add that the obnoxious banker-stooge Christine Lagarde, who criticised Greeks for not paying taxes, does not pay any taxes, but receives massive luxuries and perks, all paid for by taxpayers. The hypocrisy of the ruling elite is astonishing.
Note also, that whereas taxpayers are forced to endure austerity, banks get massive welfare handouts with no conditions.
And, further note that Germany demanded Greece waste money on buying German millitary equipment, vehicles, etc. Greece’s millitary spending is absurdly high, utterly corrupt, and wasteful. Alot of money could be saved by cutting the budget in half.
There are parallels in history Mussolini and the Fascist movement, Hitler and the Nazi movement, Franco and his Fascist movement, Sir Oswald Mosley and the British Nazi movement. Each turned into a violent movement. There is a Jewish expression, “If you don’t circumcise it early, it will grow big and strong, then cause real damage.”
“Franco and his fascist movement”?
Mussolini, Hitler, and Mosley were all full-time political leaders.
Franco was a career army officer who carefully avoided politics despite his reactionary (not fascist) sentiments.
The military/conservative rebellion against the apparently Red-dominated Spanish Republic was not a fascist movement – though the Falangista joined the rebellion, they neither started or led it. (Franco did not lead it either, until after the accidental deaths of Sanjurjo and Mola.)
The Falangista gained political power during the war, and after Franco’s victory, he incorporated them in his regime. But he had nothing to do with the Falangista before the rebellion – their leader was Primo de Rivera.
A final point: Hitler accomplished very little until the Depression struck home. The NSDAP never approached 10% of the vote in any election before 1930.
Very good points, thank you for them; however, Franco is still considered a Fascist today. There is many a Spaniard who still curses him a Fascist. Whether he was when he started or not is now a moot point. Picasso would have been a good one to ask about this point, sadly he’s gone.
Also, Franco let in thousands of Jewish refugees during the war.
(So did Mussolini btw, though he turned against them later, when he was the figurehead of a nazi puppet government.)
The most important difference between fascism and military dictatorship, though, is that military dictators, paradoxically, hardly ever started a war, at least in the last century. It’s former corporals like Mussolini & Hitler who are obsessed with war.
Maybe they would fare better with a saying like live and let live.
Perhaps pissing peoples off by sticking your nose into their business isnt a good strategy.
Just saying.
Ms. Pryor: You wrote: “Distributism has much in common with communism … ” It has so much in common that it is communism, except instead of being international socialism, it is national socialism. See Jonah Goldberg’s Liberal Fascism.
You also wrote: “The men who brought about the world financial crisis of 2008 were the very same who put Christ on the Cross.” The people who put Jesus on the Cross were Romans. It is hard to see how they (or their descendants, the Italians) had anything to do with 2008.
I don’t see the Hitler analogy at all. As others have said, what are the Greeks going to do? I suppose the new Greek Hitler could persuade them to be even greater tax scofflaws than they are or, perhaps, be more diligent about not working but that’s hardly a threat to our way of life.
Perhaps if you could picture the Golden Dawn Party creating an Archduke Franz Ferdinand moment, rather than a reincarnation of Hitler, then you’d have something… but who could they assassinate that we’d care about? And, even if we did care, how would they last more than 15 seconds in a real war? Who’s going to ally with Greece that’s going to give us pause? Oh sure, they could claim that Russia would given the ties of the Greek Orthodox Church but, while Putin does want Russia to be recognized as a superpower, Russia doesn’t have much in the way of military capacity and they can’t afford a new Cold War. And, let’s not forget, neither Greece nor Russia have anything that we want. It might be problematic for Europe but the Europeans have made it clear that we’re not welcome so their problems are not our problems.
The only material difference between the Golden Dawn Party and those currently in power is the pockets that will be lined by the thieving. By calling them “Nazis” we’re supposed to be not just afraid but very, very afraid and ignore the reality that they’re just ordinary Socialists with either a good or bad PR agent. Frankly, it would be much more useful to compare Obama to Hitler and formulate the potential ramifications for the World.
Even if everything the author says is true, so what?
Hitler and the Nazis took over Germany. That is how they took over the rest of Europe. Taking over Greece, lets put this as gently as possible, does not result in the capacity to take over the rest of Europe.
Taking over the Greek government won’t even give them the ability to run Greece.
A lot of pooh-poohing of Hitler parallels in the comments here.
I guess I don’t see any worry of Greece trying to conquer the world. I don’t think that’s what the article was about. I do see potential of a lot of violence and targeting of Jews for death. The thing about angry mobs is that they NEVER know whom to aim their anger at. They always miss the mark, because, let’s face it: 90% of the time they should be aiming it at themselves.
BTW: “Golden Dawn” was also the name of Aliester Crowley’s absurd “temple.” The idiots in this Golden Dawn have to know that. If they adopt 2% of Crowley’s psychosis, then they will be trouble.
Here’s an interesting critique of distributism: http://mises.org/daily/1062
It’s so disheartening to see the same old, same old: people in fear sliding into racism & big government ideas.
GK Chesterton was a champion of distributism, but I think that he wouldn’t agree with a racist big government interpretation of it. Like GK Chesterton, I’m not that familiar with economic theories, but one of my favorite quotes of his makes me see distributism as type of capitalism, a way of morally justifying capitalism:
“Too much capitalism does not mean too many capitalists, but too few capitalists.” – GK Chesterton
Thanks for clearing the air on GKC and distributism. My best understanding of his brand of distributism was an affinity for trade guilds and cottage industries, not hijacking of anyone else’s “means of production.”
As was seen in Germany during the Depression, people will do strange things when they are out of work and going hungry. Making matters even worse, the Greeks and the other Europeans have grown used to almost 70 years of the social welfare state, with the government taking care of all their needs. Well, if the current government can’t take care of all of your needs, then it’s time to find a new government, right? No matter if that new government is run by a madman. So long as that madman delivers on his promises, people will swallow just about anything, no matter how vile or corrupt.
This is where we are now in Greece and soon in other parts of Europe as well. If on June 17 the Greeks vote to not pay back their debts by electing the socialists in power, Greece will be thrown out of the European Union and the the country will start to collapse. At that point a dictator will step in not only to restore power, but to give people some confidence in themselves again. And then it will start all over again, a form of fascism that will start eating away at Europe. Pity more people in Europe (or the United States, for that matter) don’t read their history books. Because now we’re heading right back in 1933, NOT 2012.
Those who do not understand history are destined to repeat it. No one took Hitler seriously at first, either.
If the Greek choose the Golden Dawn for their governors, then let them. Let EUropeans be EUropeans. You can’t stop them. Fascism/Socialism/Communism/Nazism are their preferred and most natural forms of government. The USA can practice containment on Greece as well as the USSR.
The Greek “Golden Dawn” seems more like the “Golden Darn.”
“Golden Dawn”–wasn’t that one of the terrorists groups whose members Hans Gruber wished released? (Quick check: nope. “Asian Dawn.”
What level of hermeneutics have the Greek Golden Dawn members achieved: Magus, perhaps?
I found this article a difficult and confusing read. Just as I bit the hook on Greece’s Golden Dawn party the bait was switched to SSPX being 9/11 Truthers and Jew haters to boot (I had no idea!). As I was catching my breath, a US Navy officer joined the cast and we had reached a conclusion on things not looking good for Greece. I think you could have doubled the word count and done a little more ‘splainin.
I think the point is that Golden Dawn are one of a number of members of the European National Front/International Third Position.
There are analogous movements in the US, Russia and in every European nation state. They co-operate and espouse the same policies.
The worry is not that Golden Dawn accede to power in Greece; the worry is that they would be the first of a number of extreme right wing parties to do so.
Should Greece crash out of the Euro in the near future, as seems likely, market speculation will focus on Italian, Spanish, Irish and Portuguese bonds. Whether it is still possible to save the Euro at that point is immaterial – the EU will bankrupt wealthier nations in desperate attempts to save their sacred project of political and fiscal union.
That will make today’s 25% unemployment in countries like Spain seem like the good old days….banks across the EU will fail, spreading to the US system and ushering in the second stage of the financial crisis.
At that point, electorates will begin to find the ITP/fascist parties rather appealing. Think Germany 1923-33.