Adolf von Thadden
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Adolf von Thadden
Adolf von Thadden (July 7 1921 – July 16 1996) was a leading far right German politician. Born into a leading Pomeranian landowning family – he was born at the noble estate of Gut Trieglaff near Greifenberg in Pomerania – he was the half-brother of Elisabeth von Thadden, a prominent critic of the Nazis who was executed by the Nazi government in September 1944.[1]
Von Thadden was educated at the gymnasium in Greifenberg[2] and on 1 September 1939 he became a member of the Nazi Party.[citation needed] He served as a lieutenant with the Wehrmacht in the Second World War, suffering a number of battle injuries during the conflict.[2]
Following the war Von Thadden entered politics as a member of the Deutsche Rechtspartei and its successor the Deutsche Reichspartei.[3] As a member of both he served as a councilman in Göttingen from 1948 to 1958.[2] Elected to the Bundestag in 1949, he was the second youngest member and was thus addressed by an SPD as 'Bubi' (a nickname that stuck with him).[2] He became chairman of the Deutsche Reichspartei in 1961[2] and in this position was one of the signatories of the European Declaration at Venice which set up the National Party of Europe. Von Thadden was personally close to British Union Movement leader Oswald Mosley, on whose initiative the NPE was founded, and was attracted to his concept of Europe a Nation.[4] He specifically denied any accusations of neo-Nazism levelled at him, arguing that he was a supporter of conservative nationalism.[2] However he was frequently labelled a neo-Nazi due to his prominent opposition to the notion of any German guilt for the Second World War.[2]
Von Thadden played a leading role in formation of the National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) by merging his party with a number of other rightist groups, including a revived German National People's Party in 1964.[2] Although initially overlooked as leader in favour of Friedrich Thielen of the German Party, he was eventually appointed chairman in 1967.[2] He remained leader until 1971, achieving strong showings in regional elections, although the party failed to gain representation in the Bundestag under his leadership (and have never managed to do so).[5] Although a loyal supporter of his successor, Martin Mussgnug, Von Thadden eventually left the NPD in 1975 after Gerhard Frey was appointed Federal Administrator of the party.[6]
He died July 16, 1996 in Bad Oeynhausen at the age of 75. Since Von Thadden's death it has been claimed that he was a secret agent of the United Kingdom's external security agency, MI6.[7]
References
- ^ Echoes from an Unhappy Past, Time, 26 September 1969, retrieved 24 June 2009
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Louis L. Snyder, Encyclopedia of the Third Reich, Wordsworth, 1998, p. 344
- ^ R. Eatwell, Fascism: A History, London: Pimlico, 2003, p. 281
- ^ Graham Macklin, Very Deeply Dyed in Black, IB Tauris, 2007, p. 90
- ^ P. Ignazi, Extreme Right Parties in Western Europe, Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 67
- ^ C.P. Blamires, World Fascism - A Historical Encyclopedia, ABC-CLIO, 2006, p. 658
- ^ Neo-Nazi leader 'was MI6 agent', John Hooper, The Guardian, 13 August 2002, retrieved 24 June 2009
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