British Union of Fascists

Historical Context Essay

Alyson Pendlebury (University of Southampton)
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After the First World War, governments everywhere felt the strain of the war itself and the social, economic and political changes that followed it. Authoritarian nationalist movements emerged in most countries throughout Europe, and Britain was no exception. Among the far-right groups that were founded in inter-war Britain were The British Fascisti, the Imperial Fascists' League, the National Socialist League, and the British Union of Fascists (BUF), the latter being the only one of these movements to attract significant support.

The BUF was founded by Oswald Mosley (1896-1980) in October 1932. Mosley's political career had been colourful even before he became a fascist. He entered Parliament as a Conservative in 1918, but, frustrated with the Party's attitude to the situation in Ireland,

2459 words

Citation: Pendlebury, Alyson. "British Union of Fascists". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 18 June 2003 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=1285, accessed 19 March 2024.]

1285 British Union of Fascists 2 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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