The National Legion (Norwegian: Den nasjonale legion, archaic Norwegian: Den Nationale Legion) was a short-lived fascist[1] political party in Norway led by Karl Meyer, in existence from 1927–28, notable for being the first fascist party in the country.
National Legion Den Nationale Legion | |
|---|---|
| Leader | Karl Meyer |
| Founded | 1927 |
| Dissolved | 1928 |
| Newspaper | Nationalfascisten |
| Ideology | Fascism |
| Political position | Far-right |
History edit
The party was founded at a public meeting at a circus, Cirkus Verdensteatret, in Oslo in May 1927. The event was hosted by the party's leader, Karl Meyer, "Norway's strongest man", a businessman and stock trader with a history of fraud cases.[1] Author and social commentator Erling Winsnes was another leading figure.[2]
Influenced by Italian Fascism,[3][4] Meyer sought a "March on Oslo", with a parade of "100.000 farmers" that would make "the walls of Jericho crumble".[5] The party however failed to mobilise much beyond Oslo's bourgeois West End.[1] It ran a list in Oslo for the 1927 parliamentary election,[6] but did not win any representation with 1,210 votes, about 1% of the vote in Oslo and 0.1% nationwide.[7] Besides meetings at the circus, the party had little impact, and was dissolved in early 1928 amid internal conflicts and public brawls.[1]
References edit
- ^ a b c d Helle, Idar (26 September 2015). "Fascisme i sirkusteltet". Klassekampen (in Norwegian).
- ^ "Da fascismen kom til Norge" (in Norwegian). Dreyer.
- ^ Brevig, Hans Olaf (1970). NS - fra parti til sekt 1933-37. Pax. p. 12.
- ^ Høidal, Oddvar (1988). Quisling: en studie i landssvik. Universitetsforlaget. p. 105. ISBN 8200184013.
- ^ Nævestad, Espen (2010). "«[h]vor en fast haand og en vilje faar lov til at raade» – vurdering av den italienske fascismen blant borgerlige i Norge 1922–28" (PDF). Fortid. University of Oslo: 67. ISSN 1504-1913. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
- ^ ""Da fascismen kom til Norge"" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Center for Studies of Holocaust and Religious Minorities. 25 September 2015.
- ^ Stortingsvalget 1927 (PDF) (in Norwegian). Statistics Norway. 1928. p. 114.
Further reading edit
- Emberland, Terje (2015). Da fascismen kom til Norge. Den nasjonale legions vekst og fall, 1927–1928. Dreyer. ISBN 9788282651288.