SCANDINAVIAN TRAVELER | CHARTS | NATIONALISM RISE OF THE FAR TheRIGHT far right has gained unprecedented popularity in Scandinavia shattering our self-image as a liberal and tolerant society. How did we get here? By Per Svensson Illustration by Johan Askegård 1926 Nov 16, 1930 Sweden’s Fascist Denmark’s National Combat Organization Socialist Workers’ Party founded founded 72 NOVEMBERDECEMBER 2014 | SCANDINAVIAN TRAVELER SCANDINAVIAN TRAVELER | DECEMBER 2014 73 SCANDINAVIAN TRAVELER | CHARTS | NATIONALISM Björn Söder, Sweden Democrat Tomas Oneborg / Svd / TT / Svd Oneborg Tomas and second deputy speaker of the Swedish parliament Photo by by Photo jörn Söder, secretary of the For a Dane, the Even so, Söder now holds one of Sweden’s most Sweden Democrats, attended prestigious offices. He is one of four speakers who constant political the opening of the Swedish preside over the Swedish parliament, thanks to his parliament in late September in correct ness party’s success in the elections last fall. The Sweden a red waistcoat and black hat. ex pected of Democrats won 13 percent of the vote, sending the He wasn’t the only one in folk other 87 percent into a state of shock. Swedes may seem Police break up a neo-Nazi attack on an dress. Magdalena Andersson Who would have thought it of a party with incomprehensible anti-Nazi demonstration in a Stockholm (Social Democratic Party), Åsa neo-Nazi and racist skinhead roots – a party that suburb in October this year. More than 500 Romson (Green Party), and Ros- until fairly recently celebrated each mandate won in people had taken to the streets to protest sana Dina marca (Left Party) also wore traditional small rural communities in local elections? against fascist graffiti in the neighborhood costumes to make a subtle point: the Sweden Demo- crats don’t get to define what is Swedish. BThe day before, when the newly elected MPs had gathered to elect the parliamentary speakers, the dissociation was much clearer. Dinamarca wore a Sven-Olov Lindholm, T-shirt that said “SD=racists.” Jan 15, 1933 a founding father Söder was elected second deputy speaker – a role Sven-Olov Lindholm of Swedish national forms Sweden’s National conventionally given to the third-largest party in socialism, speaks Socialist Workers’ Party the Swedish parliament, now the Sweden Demo- at Östermalms torg (later renamed Swedish in Stockholm on crats. This time, though, the other parties’ MPs Socialist Unity) Photo by Pressens bild March 9, 1947 / TT Hampus Andersson repeatedly abstained from voting – a highly unusual demonstration. by Photo 74 DECEMBER 2014 | SCANDINAVIAN TRAVELER SCANDINAVIAN TRAVELER | DECEMBER 2014 75 SCANDINAVIAN TRAVELER | CHARTS | NATIONALISM Björn Söder, Sweden Democrat Tomas Oneborg / Svd / TT / Svd Oneborg Tomas and second deputy speaker of the Swedish parliament Photo by by Photo jörn Söder, secretary of the For a Dane, the Even so, Söder now holds one of Sweden’s most Sweden Democrats, attended prestigious offices. He is one of four speakers who constant political the opening of the Swedish preside over the Swedish parliament, thanks to his parliament in late September in correct ness party’s success in the elections last fall. The Sweden a red waistcoat and black hat. ex pected of Democrats won 13 percent of the vote, sending the He wasn’t the only one in folk other 87 percent into a state of shock. Swedes may seem Police break up a neo-Nazi attack on an dress. Magdalena Andersson Who would have thought it of a party with incomprehensible anti-Nazi demonstration in a Stockholm (Social Democratic Party), Åsa neo-Nazi and racist skinhead roots – a party that suburb in October this year. More than 500 Romson (Green Party), and Ros- until fairly recently celebrated each mandate won in people had taken to the streets to protest sana Dina marca (Left Party) also wore traditional small rural communities in local elections? against fascist graffiti in the neighborhood costumes to make a subtle point: the Sweden Demo- crats don’t get to define what is Swedish. BThe day before, when the newly elected MPs had gathered to elect the parliamentary speakers, the dissociation was much clearer. Dinamarca wore a Sven-Olov Lindholm, T-shirt that said “SD=racists.” Jan 15, 1933 a founding father Söder was elected second deputy speaker – a role Sven-Olov Lindholm of Swedish national forms Sweden’s National conventionally given to the third-largest party in socialism, speaks Socialist Workers’ Party the Swedish parliament, now the Sweden Demo- at Östermalms torg (later renamed Swedish in Stockholm on crats. This time, though, the other parties’ MPs Socialist Unity) Photo by Pressens bild March 9, 1947 / TT Hampus Andersson repeatedly abstained from voting – a highly unusual demonstration. by Photo 74 DECEMBER 2014 | SCANDINAVIAN TRAVELER SCANDINAVIAN TRAVELER | DECEMBER 2014 75 SCANDINAVIAN TRAVELER | CHARTS | NATIONALISM SCANDINAVIAN TRAVELER | CHARTS | NATIONALISM Feb 6, 1988 Adolf Hitler and his deputy, Mogens Glistrup at a Sweden Pia Kjærgaard at the Danish Martin Bormann, with Norway’s national congress Democrats parliament in Christiansborg Vidkun Quisling Oct 18, 1974 founded. Sept 15, 1991 Anders Lange One of its The Swedish dies. His successor, August 1979 leaders, Anders anti- immigrant Oct 6, 1995 May 13, 1933 1972 Carl Ivar Hagen, Keep Sweden Swedish Klarström, party New Pia Kjærgaard Vidkun Quisling, former Oct 24, 1945 Mogens Glistrup founds turns the Anders founded. Merges with was an active Demo cracy leaves the Progress Norwegian secretary of TT Quisling sentenced the populist Danish Lange Party into the the Progress Party and member of the wins 7% of the Party and founds defense, founds Nasjonal to death for, among Progress Party and gets Norwegian Progress changes name to the Nordic Reich vote and seats in the Danish People’s Samling by Photo other things, treason 16% of the vote in 1973 Photo by Leif Nyholm/Scanpix Denmark Party Sweden Party Party parliament Photo by Morten Juhl/FLT-PICA Party How to explain that the Progress Party is in gov- manage to become a dominant force, despite favor- ernment in Norway, that the Danish People’s Party able conditions. Finland had just come through a is, according to many analysts, changing the political brutal civil war, bordered Stalin’s Soviet Union, and climate in Denmark, that the Finns Party (previously fought on Germany’s side in the Continuation War the True Finns Party) won 12 percent of the vote in of 1941-44. Tor Richardsen / Scanpix Richardsen Tor the EU elections in May this year, and that only the During the 1930s, the Patriotic People’s Movement Founded in 1915, the National Youth Photo by by Photo left-wing Social Democrats and the conservative grew out of the anticommunist Lapua Movement, League of Sweden Moderates are bigger than the Sweden Democrats with the typical fascist penchant for uniforms. In the changed its name in Sweden? In this fall’s parliamentary elections, not 1936 election, the party won over eight percent of the to the National only did the Sweden Democrats do well in tradition- vote and enjoyed a ministerial post during the war League of Sweden ally poor districts, but they also started to break into years. It never held power, however. in 1934 affluent areas such as Fridhem in Malmö, a wealthy Despite the lack of electoral success, fascism and seaside enclave of stately upper-class villas. That’s Nazism did influence Nordic society during the where Zlatan Ibrahimovic has his house. interwar period. Influence measured by election results is not the same as the power to influence the rown shirts and swastikas – the Nazism social climate. that we recognize from the 1930s – have In the 1930s, fascist ideas were widely discussed, never gone down well with the Nordic and often accepted, in social circles that could countries. Not even in the years when influence which questions were asked and which Hitler ruled Germany and much of Eu- answers were given in political debates – namely by rope. The Nazis loved the notion of “Nordic.” It was academics, intellectuals, and students. Bfrom this region that they believed they would find In Finland, several young writers and authors the most Germanic Germans. But the feeling was were part of the unofficially named “Black Guard.” not unreservedly mutual. In Norway, the country’s greatest poet, Knut Swedish pro-Nazi factions had their best election Hamsun, was an articulate pro-Nazi. While in in 1936 when they got about 50,000 votes – under Denmark the youth faction of the Conservative two percent of the electorate. This included more People’s Party formed a nationalist action league than 30,000 votes for the National League of in 1933 with a uniform comprising green shirts and Sweden. The NLS had previously been called the riding boots. National Youth League of Sweden and was linked to And what about Sweden? The chairman of the the right-wing General Electoral League (now the National League of Sweden, Elmo Lindholm, was a Moderates). lecturer in Latin which is not as strange as it sounds The picture was similar in neighboring countries. for a fascist leader at that time. In Denmark, Captain Cay Lembcke went from being head of the scout movement to leading the pro-Nazi ressed in student caps and carrying Danish National Socialist Workers’ Party. It was too torches, between 400 and 500 students German to be a credible Danish nationalist party and marched through central Stockholm remained a marginal party even after Lembcke was on February 6, 1939. It was just a few Scanpix Carl Ivar Hagen, leader of succeeded by Frits Clausen, a doctor from Southern months after Kristallnacht, the night Norway’s Progress Party Jutland. The Danish Nazis got just two percent of the of broken glass, and the students were protesting by Photo vote in 1939.