The Shifting Legacies of the Hungarian Arrow Cross and National Socialist Parties (original) (raw)

In our paper we examine the legacy of pre-1945 radical right movements in Hungary. In particular we are interested in how generations after 1945 related to National Socialist, and Hungarista ideas develop by the Arrow Cross leader Ferenc Szálasi. During the Communist era, which officially forbade and persecuted both as manifestations of fascism, their legacy remained dormant and only lived in exile communities. Thus, the significant differences between National Socialist and Hungarista ideology, namely that Hungarism did not accept the hierarchical order of races and placed Christianity in the centre of its views, became important only following 1989. During the 1990s there were different ideologues and organizations that were established to (re)introduce by now Neo-Nazi and Hungarista ideas. The former was popular among the budding skinhead movement who believed in white supremacy, while the later attracted an eclectic group of people and by the mid 2000s had hundreds of online followers. Ultimately however, while following 1989 Neo-Nazi views and Szálasi’s Hungarism were both gaining visibility neither one of them attracted a significant number of followers and they remained on the fringes. We contend nevertheless, that the marginality of organizations that prescribed strict adherence to interwar National Socialist or Hungarista ideas did not mean that their legacy was limited. Rather, our paper argues that their historical legacy can be seen not only in the rhetoric of the rapidly rising nationalist radical party Jobbik but also more generally in a growing society wide openness and receptivity of radical nationalist views. By examining the histories of radical nationalist parties from the 1990s the paper illustrates the ways in which Jobbik and far right organizations have selective re-appropriated ideas from National Socialism and the Arrow Cross Party. The legacy of National Socialism can be seen in the ways in which Hungarian national radicals incorporated an ethnic based xenophobic way of thinking. The Hungarista or Arrow Cross influence manifests itself in the adherence and devotion of Hungarian national radicals to national and Christian values, and their rejection of leftist internationalism and atheism. We conclude our paper by arguing that the most “successful” legacy of pre 1945 radical right has been the demand of the restoration of the former Greater Hungary, which has become a core element for post 1989 national radical parties, and has been increasingly embraced by even more moderate parties.

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