Jump to content

Adolf von Thadden: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
No edit summary
Tags: Mobile edit Mobile web edit
use proper lists; don't use {{small}} in infobox where text is already reduced
Tags: Mobile edit Mobile web edit Advanced mobile edit
 
(42 intermediate revisions by 33 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|German politician (1921–1996)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
{{Infobox officeholder
|honorific_prefix = [[Count]]
|honorific_prefix =
|name = Adolf von Thadden
|name = Adolf von Thadden
|image = Adolf von Thadden (1969).jpg
|image = Adolf von Thadden (1969).jpg
|image_size = 200px
|image_size =
|office = President of the [[National Democratic Party of Germany|NPD]]
|office = [[National Democratic Party of Germany|President of the National Democratic Party]]
|term_start = 1967
|term_start = 1967
|term_end = 1971
|term_end = 1971
|predecessor = [[Friedrich Thielen]]
|predecessor = [[Friedrich Thielen]]
|successor = [[Martin Mussgnug]]
|successor = [[Martin Mussgnug]]
|office1 = [[Deputy (legislator)|Deputy]] of the [[Bundestag]]
|office1 = [[Bundestag|Member of the Bundestag]]
|constituency1 = [[Lower Saxony]]
|constituency1 = [[Lower Saxony]]
|term_start1 = 15 August 1949
|term_start1 = 15 August 1949
Line 16: Line 18:
|term_start2 = 16 September 1957
|term_start2 = 16 September 1957
|term_end2 = 1959
|term_end2 = 1959
|office3 = [[Senator]] of the [[Bundesrat of Germany|Bundesrat]]
|office3 = [[Bundesrat of Germany|Member of the Bundesrat]]
|constituency3 = [[Lower Saxony]]
|constituency3 = [[Lower Saxony]]
|term_start3 = 7 September 1953
|term_start3 = 7 September 1953
|term_end3 = 15 September 1957
|term_end3 = 15 September 1957
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1921|7|7}}
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1921|7|7|df=y}}
|birth_place = [[Trzygłów, West Pomeranian Voivodeship|Gut Trieglaf]], [[Province of Pomerania (1815–1945)|Pomerania]], [[Weimar Republic]]
|birth_place = [[Trzygłów, West Pomeranian Voivodeship|Gut Trieglaf]], [[Province of Pomerania (1815–1945)|Pomerania]], [[Weimar Republic|Germany]]
|death_date = {{Death date and age|1996|7|16|1921|7|7}}
|death_date = {{Death date and age|1996|7|16|1921|7|7|df=y}}
|death_place = [[Bad Oeynhausen]], [[North Rhine-Westphalia]], [[Germany]]
|death_place = [[Bad Oeynhausen]], [[North Rhine-Westphalia]], Germany
|nationality = [[Germany|German]]
|nationality = German
|party = [[National Socialist German Workers' Party]]<br>{{small|(1939–1945)}}<br>[[Deutsche Rechtspartei|German Right Party]]<br>{{small|(1946–1950)}}<br>[[German Empire Party]]<br>{{small|(1950–1964)}}<br>[[National Democratic Party of Germany|National Democratic Party]]<br>{{small|(1964–1975)}}
|party = {{ubli|[[National Socialist German Workers' Party]]<br>(1939–1945)|[[Deutsche Rechtspartei|German Right Party]]<br>(1946–1950)|[[German Empire Party]]<br>(1950–1964)|[[National Democratic Party of Germany|National Democratic Party]]<br>(1964–1975)}}
|occupation = Politician, landowner, [[undercover agent]] ([[Secret Intelligence Service|MI6]])
|occupation = Politician, landowner
|relatives = [[Elisabeth von Thadden]] (half-sister)
|relatives = [[Elisabeth von Thadden]] (half-sister)
|religion =
|religion =
Line 36: Line 38:
|battles = [[World War II]]
|battles = [[World War II]]
}}
}}
'''Adolf von Thadden''' (July 7, 1921 – July 16, 1996) was a leading [[far-right politics|far-right]] [[Germany|German]] politician. Born into a leading [[Pomerania]]n landowning family &ndash; he was born at the noble estate of [[Trzygłów, West Pomeranian Voivodeship|Gut Trieglaff]] near [[Gryfice|Greifenberg]] in [[Province of Pomerania (1815–1945)|Pomerania]] &ndash; he was the half-brother of [[Elisabeth von Thadden]], a prominent critic of the [[Nazism|Nazis]] who was executed by the Nazi government in September 1944.<ref>[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,844923,00.html Echoes from an Unhappy Past], [[Time (magazine)|Time]], 26 September 1969, retrieved 24 June 2009</ref>
'''Adolf von Thadden''' (7 July 1921 – 16 July 1996) was a German [[far-right politics|far-right]] politician. Born into a leading [[Pomerania]]n landowning family, he was the half-brother of [[Elisabeth von Thadden]], a prominent critic of the [[Nazism|Nazis]] who was executed by the Nazi government in September 1944.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20081214150037/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,844923,00.html Echoes from an Unhappy Past], [[Time (magazine)|Time]], 26 September 1969, retrieved 24 June 2009</ref>


==Early life==
==Early life==
Thadden was born into one of Pomerania's oldest Junker families, with his father a prominent local magistrate.<ref name="Rees">[[Philip Rees]], ''[[Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890]]'', Simon & Schuster, 1990, p. 387</ref> He educated at the [[Gymnasium (Germany)|gymnasium]] in [[Greifenberg]]<ref name="Snyder"/> Oand subsequently studied agriculture and economics.<ref name="Rees"/> On 1 September 1939 he became a member of the NSDAP, commonly known as the [[Nazi Party]].<ref name=bergmann2009>Bergmann, W. (e.a.) (2009) ''Handbuch des Antisemitismus''. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, p. 822</ref>
Thadden was born at the noble estate of [[Trzygłów, West Pomeranian Voivodeship|Gut Trieglaff]], near [[Gryfice|Greifenberg]], [[Province of Pomerania (1815–1945)|Pomerania]] on 7 July 1921. He was a member of the [[Thadden family]], one of Pomerania's oldest [[Junker (Prussia)|Junker]] families and his father was a prominent local magistrate.<ref name="Rees">[[Philip Rees]], ''[[Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890]]'', Simon & Schuster, 1990, p. 387</ref> He was educated at the [[Gymnasium (Germany)|gymnasium]] in [[Gryfice|Greifenberg]]<ref name="Snyder"/> and subsequently studied agriculture and economics.<ref name="Rees"/> On 1 September 1939, he became a member of the [[Nazi Party]].<ref name=bergmann2009>Bergmann, W. (e.a.) (2009) ''Handbuch des Antisemitismus''. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, p. 822</ref>


He served as a lieutenant with the [[Wehrmacht]] in the [[Second World War]], suffering a number of battle injuries during the conflict.<ref name="Snyder">Louis L. Snyder, ''Encyclopedia of the Third Reich'', Wordsworth, 1998, p. 344</ref> A brigade adjutant in the artillery section, he was captured near the end of the war by Polish forces. Thadden later went to court to sue over rumours that he had collaborated with the Poles during his imprisonment. He was successful in his case.<ref name="Rees"/>
Thadden served as a lieutenant with the [[Wehrmacht]] in the [[Second World War]], suffering a number of battle injuries during the conflict.<ref name="Snyder">Louis L. Snyder, ''Encyclopedia of the Third Reich'', Wordsworth, 1998, p. 344</ref> A brigade adjutant in the artillery section, he was captured near the end of the war by Polish forces. Thadden later went to court to sue over rumours that he had collaborated with the Poles during his imprisonment. He was successful in his case.<ref name="Rees"/>


He escaped captivity in November 1946 and fled to the [[British Zone of Occupation]], finding work with the British Property Control in [[Göttingen]], where he settled.<ref name="Rees"/>
Thadden escaped captivity in November 1946 and fled to the [[British Zone of Occupation]], finding work with the British Property Control in [[Göttingen]], where he settled.<ref name="Rees"/>


==Political career==
==Political career==
After the war, Thadden entered politics as a member of the [[Deutsche Rechtspartei]] and its successor the [[Deutsche Reichspartei]].<ref>R. Eatwell, ''Fascism: A History'', London: Pimlico, 2003, p. 281</ref> As a member of both, he served as a councilman in Göttingen from 1948 to 1958.<ref name="Snyder"/> Elected to the [[Bundestag]] in 1949, he was the second youngest member and was thus addressed by an [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|SPD]] member as 'Bubi', (a nickname that stuck with him).<ref name="Snyder"/> He became the main writer on the party organ ''Reichsruf'', gaining a reputation both for his demagogy and his extensive use of humour and wit.<ref name="Rees"/> He remained a Bundestag member to 1953 and again from 1955 to 1959, was a Senator from 1952 to 1958 and a member of the Landtag of [[Lower Saxony]] from 1956 to 1959.<ref name="Rees"/>
After the war, Thadden entered politics as a member of the [[Deutsche Rechtspartei]] and of its successor the [[Deutsche Reichspartei]].<ref>R. Eatwell, ''Fascism: A History'', London: Pimlico, 2003, p. 281</ref> As a member of both, he served as a [[councilman]] in Göttingen from 1948 to 1958.<ref name="Snyder"/> Elected to the [[Bundestag]] in 1949, he was the second-youngest member and was thus addressed by an [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|SPD]] member as "Bubi", a nickname that stuck with him.<ref name="Snyder"/> He became the main writer on the party organ ''Reichsruf'', gaining a reputation both for his demagogy and for his extensive use of humour and wit.<ref name="Rees"/> He remained a Bundestag member to 1953 and served again from 1955 to 1959, was a Senator from 1952 to 1958 and a member of the [[Landtag of Lower Saxony]] from 1956 to 1959.<ref name="Rees"/>


In the 1950s he was befriended by [[Winifred Wagner]], whose grandson Gottfried Wagner later recalled that {{quote|My aunt [[Friedelind Wagner|Friedelind]] was outraged when my grandmother again slowly blossomed as the first lady of right-wing groups and received political friends such as [[Edda Goering]], Ilse Hess, the former [[National Democratic Party of Germany|NPD]] chairman (''sic'') Adolf von Thadden, Gerdy Troost, the wife of the Nazi architect and friend of Hitler [[Paul Ludwig Troost]], the British fascist leader [[Oswald Mosley]], the Nazi film director [[Karl Ritter (director)|Karl Ritter]] and the racist author and former Senator of the Reich [[Hans Severus Ziegler]]."<ref>Gottfried Wagner, ''Wer nicht mit dem Wolf heult – Autobiographische Aufzeichnungen eines Wagner-Urenkels'' (Cologne, 1997), p. 69 (quotation translated from the German)</ref>}}
In the 1950s he was befriended by [[Winifred Wagner]], whose grandson Gottfried Wagner later recalled that {{blockquote|My aunt [[Friedelind Wagner|Friedelind]] was outraged when my grandmother again slowly blossomed as the first lady of right-wing groups and received political friends such as [[Edda Goering]], [[Ilse Hess]], the former [[National Democratic Party of Germany|NPD]] chairman (''sic'') Adolf von Thadden, Gerdy Troost, the wife of the Nazi architect and friend of Hitler [[Paul Ludwig Troost]], the British fascist leader [[Oswald Mosley]], the Nazi film director [[Karl Ritter (director)|Karl Ritter]] and the racist author and former Senator of the Reich [[Hans Severus Ziegler]]."<ref>Gottfried Wagner, ''Wer nicht mit dem Wolf heult – Autobiographische Aufzeichnungen eines Wagner-Urenkels'' (Cologne, 1997), p. 69 (quotation translated from the German)</ref>}}


Having been deputy to leader [[Wilhelm Meinberg]],<ref name="Rees"/> Thadden became chairman of the Deutsche Reichspartei in 1961<ref name="Snyder"/> and in this position was one of the signatories of the European Declaration at Venice which set up the [[National Party of Europe]]. Thadden was personally close to the British [[Union Movement]] leader Oswald Mosley, on whose initiative the NPE was founded, and was attracted to his concept of [[Europe a Nation]].<ref>Graham Macklin, ''Very Deeply Dyed in Black'', IB Tauris, 2007, p. 90</ref> He specifically denied any accusations of [[neo-Nazism]] levelled at him, arguing that he was a supporter of [[conservatism|conservative]] [[nationalism]].<ref name="Snyder"/> 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.<ref name="Snyder"/>
Having served as deputy to the Deutsche Reichspartei leader [[Wilhelm Meinberg]],<ref name="Rees"/> Thadden became chairman of the party in 1961,<ref name="Snyder"/> and in this position was one of the signatories of the European Declaration at Venice which set up the [[National Party of Europe]] (NPE). Thadden was personally close to the British [[Union Movement]] leader Oswald Mosley, on whose initiative the NPE was founded, and was attracted to Mosley's concept of [[Europe a Nation]].<ref>Graham Macklin, ''Very Deeply Dyed in Black'', IB Tauris, 2007, p. 90</ref> He specifically denied any accusations of [[neo-Nazism]] levelled at him, portraying himself as a supporter of [[conservatism|conservative]] [[nationalism]].<ref name="Snyder"/> However, he was frequently labelled a neo-Nazi<ref>
Compare:
{{cite book
|last1 = Bialystok
|first1 = Franklin
|year = 2000
|chapter = 'The Jewish Emptiness': Confronting the Holocaust in the late 1960s and Early 1970s
|title = Delayed Impact: The Holocaust and the Canadian Jewish Community
|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=TEOzC2c9gmYC
|location = Montreal
|publisher = McGill-Queen's University Press
|page = 159
|isbn = 9780773520653
|access-date = 1 July 2023
|quote = ''Le Devoir'' quoted ''Le Monde'', which stated that "everybody considers von Thadden's party to be neo-Nazi except that very party alone." ''La Presse'' reported that eighteen members of the party's executive were former Nazi leaders. Similar views were expressed in the English-language press.
}}
</ref>
due to his prominent opposition to the notion of any German guilt for the Second World War.<ref name="Snyder"/>{{request quotation|date=July 2023}}


===NPD===
===NPD===
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.<ref name="Snyder"/> He was initially overlooked as leader in favour of [[Friedrich Thielen]] of the [[German Party (1961)|German Party]].<ref name="Rees"/> Thadden regularly clashed with the more moderate Thielen and both men were involved in several lawsuits against each other, aimed at gaining control of the NPD and ousting their rival from membership.<ref name="Rees"/>
Thadden played a leading role in 1964 formation of the [[National Democratic Party of Germany]] (NPD) by merging his {{lang | de | Reichspartei}} with a number of other rightist groups, including a revived [[German National People's Party]].<ref name="Snyder"/> He was initially overlooked as leader of the amalgamated group in favour of [[Friedrich Thielen]] of the [[German Party (1961)|German Party]].<ref name="Rees"/> Thadden regularly clashed with the more moderate Thielen, and both men became involved in several lawsuits against each other, each aiming at gaining control of the NPD and ousting his rival from membership.<ref name="Rees"/>


Thadden was eventually elected NPD chairman in 1967.<ref name="Snyder"/>{{request quotation|date=July 2023}}<ref>
⚫
Thadden was eventually appointed chairman in 1967.<ref name="Snyder"/> He moved the party to the right, bringing in policies such as withdrawal from [[NATO]], a return of [[Danzig]] to a united Germany, wide-ranging reform of the constitution and possibly a second [[Anschluss]].<ref name="Rees"/> In one of his more widely reported activities, Thadden accidentally referred to the party as National Socialists rather than National Democrats in a television interview, something that was frequently brought up by critics who accused Thadden and his party of neo-Nazism.<ref name="Rees"/> 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).<ref>P. Ignazi, ''Extreme Right Parties in Western Europe'', Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 67</ref> Although a loyal supporter of his successor, [[Martin Mussgnug]], Thadden eventually left the NPD in 1975 after [[Gerhard Frey (politician)|Gerhard Frey]], who had previously been a harsh critic of von Thadden, was appointed Federal Administrator of the party.<ref>C.P. Blamires, ''World Fascism - A Historical Encyclopedia'', ABC-CLIO, 2006, p. 658</ref>
{{cite journal
| journal = Facts
| date = 30 August 1968
| publisher = Anti-defamation League of B'nai B'rith
| publication-date = 1968
| volume = 18-22
| page = 455
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=zdc3AQAAIAAJ
| quote = On November 12, 1967, an overwhelming majority of the NPD national convention in Hanover elected Adolf von Thadden national chairman.
| access-date = 1 July 2023
}}
</ref>
⚫
He moved the party to the right, bringing in policies such as withdrawal from [[NATO]], a return of [[Danzig]] to a united Germany, wide-ranging reform of the constitution and possibly a second [[Anschluss]].<ref name="Rees"/> In one of his more widely reported activities, Thadden accidentally referred to the party as "National Socialists" rather than "National Democrats" in a television interview, something that was frequently brought up by critics who accused Thadden and his party of neo-Nazism.<ref name="Rees"/> 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 succeeded in doing so).<ref>P. Ignazi, ''Extreme Right Parties in Western Europe'', Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 67</ref> Although a loyal supporter of his successor, [[Martin Mussgnug]], Thadden eventually left the NPD in 1975 after [[Gerhard Frey (politician)|Gerhard Frey]], who had previously been a harsh critic of von Thadden, was appointed Federal Administrator of the party.<ref>C.P. Blamires, ''World Fascism – A Historical Encyclopedia'', ABC-CLIO, 2006, p. 658</ref>


He left active politics in 1974 and worked for a construction firm, although he remained as chief editor of the ''Deutsche Wochenzeitung'' into the 1980s.<ref name="Rees"/> He maintained an interest in publishing for several years and was reported as acting on behalf of the ''Gesellschaft für freie Publizistik'', a far-right journalism organisation linked to the NPD in 1981 and 1982.<ref name="Rees"/>
Thadden left active politics in 1974 and worked for a construction-firm, although he remained as chief editor of the [[National-Zeitung|''Deutsche Wochenzeitung'']] into the 1980s.<ref name="Rees"/> He maintained an interest in publishing for several years and was reported as acting on behalf of the {{ill|Gesellschaft für freie Publizistik|de|Gesellschaft für freie Publizistik}}, a far-right journalism organisation linked to the NPD<ref>{{cite web
|url = http://www.verfassungsschutz.de/download/de/publikationen/verfassungsschutzbericht/vsbericht_2006/vsbericht_2006.pdf
|title = Verfassungsschutzbericht 2006
|year = 2006
|publisher = Bundesministerium des Innern
|location = Berlin
|page = 142
|language = de
|access-date = 1 July 2023
|quote = Die mit etwa 500 Mitgliedern weiterhin größte rechtsextremistische Kulturvereinigung Gesellschaft für freie Publizistik e. V. (GfP) hat unter Leitung von Andreas MOLAU, dem stellvertretenden Chefredakteur der NPD-Zeitung Deutsche Stimme und zeitweiligen Berater der NPD-Fraktion im Sächsischen Landtag, ihren im Jahr 2005 eingeschlagenen Kurs der Annäherung an die NPD beibehalten.
|archive-date = 9 August 2007
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070809193906/http://www.verfassungsschutz.de/download/de/publikationen/verfassungsschutzbericht/vsbericht_2006/vsbericht_2006.pdf
|url-status = bot: unknown
}}</ref><ref>
{{cite book
|last1 = Sager
|first1 = Tomas
|last2 = Peters
|first2 = Jürgen
|editor-last1 = Häusler
|editor-first1 = Alexander
|editor-link1 = Alexander Häusler
|date = 30 October 2008
|chapter = Die PRO-Aktivitaten im Kontext der extremen Rechten
|title = Rechtspopulismus als "Bürgerbewegung": Kampagnen gegen Islam und Moscheebau und kommunale Gegenstrategien
|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=x9joBWP7UX0C
|language = de
|location = Wiesbaden
|publisher = Springer-Verlag
|page = 126
|isbn = 9783531911199
|access-date = 1 July 2023
|quote = Harald Neubauer [...] ist Mitherausgeber der extrem rechten Monatszeitschrift „Nation & Europa“ und Vorstandsmitglied der NPD-nahen „Gesellschaft für freie Publizistik“.
}}
</ref>
in 1981 and 1982.<ref name="Rees"/>{{request quotation|date=July 2023}}


==Death==
==Death==
He died July 16, 1996 in [[Bad Oeynhausen]] at the age of 75. Since Thadden's death it has been claimed that he was a secret agent of the [[United Kingdom]]'s external security agency, [[Secret Intelligence Service|MI6]].<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2002/aug/13/johnhooper Neo-Nazi leader 'was MI6 agent'], John Hooper, [[The Guardian]], 13 August 2002, retrieved 24 June 2009</ref>
Thadden died on 16 July 1996, in [[Bad Oeynhausen]], at the age of 75. Since Thadden's death, it has been claimed that he was a secret agent of the United Kingdom's external security agency, [[Secret Intelligence Service|MI6]].<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/aug/13/johnhooper Neo-Nazi leader 'was MI6 agent'], John Hooper, [[The Guardian]], 13 August 2002, retrieved 24 June 2009</ref>


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}

{{NPD leaders}}
{{NPD leaders}}
{{German far right}}
{{German far right}}
{{Members of the 1st Bundestag}}

{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thadden, Adolf von}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thadden, Adolf von}}
[[Category:1921 births]]
[[Category:1921 births]]
[[Category:1996 deaths]]
[[Category:1996 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Gryfice County]]
[[Category:People from Gryfice County]]
[[Category:People from the Province of Pomerania]]
[[Category:Politicians from the Province of Pomerania]]
[[Category:German Nazi politicians]]
[[Category:Nazi Party politicians]]
[[Category:Deutsche Rechtspartei politicians]]
[[Category:Deutsche Rechtspartei politicians]]
[[Category:Deutsche Reichspartei politicians]]
[[Category:Deutsche Reichspartei politicians]]
[[Category:National Democratic Party of Germany politicians]]
[[Category:National Democratic Party of Germany politicians]]
[[Category:German military personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:German Army officers of World War II]]
[[Category:Leaders of political parties in Germany]]
[[Category:Leaders of political parties in Germany]]
[[Category:German anti-communists]]
[[Category:German escapees]]
[[Category:Members of the Bundestag]]
[[Category:Members of the Bundestag for Lower Saxony]]
[[Category:German nationalists]]
[[Category:Members of the Landtag of Lower Saxony]]
[[Category:Political party founders]]
[[Category:German prisoners of war in World War II held by Poland]]
[[Category:Escapees from Polish detention]]

Latest revision as of 10:07, 8 May 2024

Adolf von Thadden
President of the National Democratic Party
In office
1967–1971
Preceded byFriedrich Thielen
Succeeded byMartin Mussgnug
Member of the Bundestag
In office
15 August 1949 – 6 September 1953
ConstituencyLower Saxony
In office
16 September 1957 – 1959
ConstituencyLower Saxony
Member of the Bundesrat
In office
7 September 1953 – 15 September 1957
ConstituencyLower Saxony
Personal details
Born(1921-07-07)7 July 1921
Gut Trieglaf, Pomerania, Germany
Died16 July 1996(1996-07-16) (aged 75)
Bad Oeynhausen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Political party
RelativesElisabeth von Thadden (half-sister)
OccupationPolitician, landowner
Military service
Allegiance Nazi Germany
Branch/service Wehrmacht
Years of service1939–1945
RankLieutenant
Battles/warsWorld War II

Adolf von Thadden (7 July 1921 – 16 July 1996) was a German far-right politician. Born into a leading Pomeranian landowning family, 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]

Early life

[edit]

Thadden was born at the noble estate of Gut Trieglaff, near Greifenberg, Pomerania on 7 July 1921. He was a member of the Thadden family, one of Pomerania's oldest Junker families and his father was a prominent local magistrate.[2] He was educated at the gymnasium in Greifenberg[3] and subsequently studied agriculture and economics.[2] On 1 September 1939, he became a member of the Nazi Party.[4]

Thadden served as a lieutenant with the Wehrmacht in the Second World War, suffering a number of battle injuries during the conflict.[3] A brigade adjutant in the artillery section, he was captured near the end of the war by Polish forces. Thadden later went to court to sue over rumours that he had collaborated with the Poles during his imprisonment. He was successful in his case.[2]

Thadden escaped captivity in November 1946 and fled to the British Zone of Occupation, finding work with the British Property Control in Göttingen, where he settled.[2]

Political career

[edit]

After the war, Thadden entered politics as a member of the Deutsche Rechtspartei and of its successor the Deutsche Reichspartei.[5] As a member of both, he served as a councilman in Göttingen from 1948 to 1958.[3] Elected to the Bundestag in 1949, he was the second-youngest member and was thus addressed by an SPD member as "Bubi", a nickname that stuck with him.[3] He became the main writer on the party organ Reichsruf, gaining a reputation both for his demagogy and for his extensive use of humour and wit.[2] He remained a Bundestag member to 1953 and served again from 1955 to 1959, was a Senator from 1952 to 1958 and a member of the Landtag of Lower Saxony from 1956 to 1959.[2]

In the 1950s he was befriended by Winifred Wagner, whose grandson Gottfried Wagner later recalled that

My aunt Friedelind was outraged when my grandmother again slowly blossomed as the first lady of right-wing groups and received political friends such as Edda Goering, Ilse Hess, the former NPD chairman (sic) Adolf von Thadden, Gerdy Troost, the wife of the Nazi architect and friend of Hitler Paul Ludwig Troost, the British fascist leader Oswald Mosley, the Nazi film director Karl Ritter and the racist author and former Senator of the Reich Hans Severus Ziegler."[6]

Having served as deputy to the Deutsche Reichspartei leader Wilhelm Meinberg,[2] Thadden became chairman of the party in 1961,[3] and in this position was one of the signatories of the European Declaration at Venice which set up the National Party of Europe (NPE). Thadden was personally close to the British Union Movement leader Oswald Mosley, on whose initiative the NPE was founded, and was attracted to Mosley's concept of Europe a Nation.[7] He specifically denied any accusations of neo-Nazism levelled at him, portraying himself as a supporter of conservative nationalism.[3] However, he was frequently labelled a neo-Nazi[8] due to his prominent opposition to the notion of any German guilt for the Second World War.[3][need quotation to verify]

NPD

[edit]

Thadden played a leading role in 1964 formation of the National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) by merging his Reichspartei with a number of other rightist groups, including a revived German National People's Party.[3] He was initially overlooked as leader of the amalgamated group in favour of Friedrich Thielen of the German Party.[2] Thadden regularly clashed with the more moderate Thielen, and both men became involved in several lawsuits against each other, each aiming at gaining control of the NPD and ousting his rival from membership.[2]

Thadden was eventually elected NPD chairman in 1967.[3][need quotation to verify][9] He moved the party to the right, bringing in policies such as withdrawal from NATO, a return of Danzig to a united Germany, wide-ranging reform of the constitution and possibly a second Anschluss.[2] In one of his more widely reported activities, Thadden accidentally referred to the party as "National Socialists" rather than "National Democrats" in a television interview, something that was frequently brought up by critics who accused Thadden and his party of neo-Nazism.[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 succeeded in doing so).[10] Although a loyal supporter of his successor, Martin Mussgnug, Thadden eventually left the NPD in 1975 after Gerhard Frey, who had previously been a harsh critic of von Thadden, was appointed Federal Administrator of the party.[11]

Thadden left active politics in 1974 and worked for a construction-firm, although he remained as chief editor of the Deutsche Wochenzeitung into the 1980s.[2] He maintained an interest in publishing for several years and was reported as acting on behalf of the Gesellschaft für freie Publizistik [de], a far-right journalism organisation linked to the NPD[12][13] in 1981 and 1982.[2][need quotation to verify]

Death

[edit]

Thadden died on 16 July 1996, in Bad Oeynhausen, at the age of 75. Since Thadden's death, it has been claimed that he was a secret agent of the United Kingdom's external security agency, MI6.[14]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Echoes from an Unhappy Past, Time, 26 September 1969, retrieved 24 June 2009
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Philip Rees, Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890, Simon & Schuster, 1990, p. 387
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Louis L. Snyder, Encyclopedia of the Third Reich, Wordsworth, 1998, p. 344
  4. ^ Bergmann, W. (e.a.) (2009) Handbuch des Antisemitismus. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, p. 822
  5. ^ R. Eatwell, Fascism: A History, London: Pimlico, 2003, p. 281
  6. ^ Gottfried Wagner, Wer nicht mit dem Wolf heult – Autobiographische Aufzeichnungen eines Wagner-Urenkels (Cologne, 1997), p. 69 (quotation translated from the German)
  7. ^ Graham Macklin, Very Deeply Dyed in Black, IB Tauris, 2007, p. 90
  8. ^ Compare: Bialystok, Franklin (2000). "'The Jewish Emptiness': Confronting the Holocaust in the late 1960s and Early 1970s". Delayed Impact: The Holocaust and the Canadian Jewish Community. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press. p. 159. ISBN 9780773520653. Retrieved 1 July 2023. Le Devoir quoted Le Monde, which stated that "everybody considers von Thadden's party to be neo-Nazi except that very party alone." La Presse reported that eighteen members of the party's executive were former Nazi leaders. Similar views were expressed in the English-language press.
  9. ^ Facts. 18–22. Anti-defamation League of B'nai B'rith (published 1968): 455. 30 August 1968 https://books.google.com/books?id=zdc3AQAAIAAJ. Retrieved 1 July 2023. On November 12, 1967, an overwhelming majority of the NPD national convention in Hanover elected Adolf von Thadden national chairman. {{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. ^ P. Ignazi, Extreme Right Parties in Western Europe, Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 67
  11. ^ C.P. Blamires, World Fascism – A Historical Encyclopedia, ABC-CLIO, 2006, p. 658
  12. ^ "Verfassungsschutzbericht 2006" (PDF) (in German). Berlin: Bundesministerium des Innern. 2006. p. 142. Archived from the original on 9 August 2007. Retrieved 1 July 2023. Die mit etwa 500 Mitgliedern weiterhin größte rechtsextremistische Kulturvereinigung Gesellschaft für freie Publizistik e. V. (GfP) hat unter Leitung von Andreas MOLAU, dem stellvertretenden Chefredakteur der NPD-Zeitung Deutsche Stimme und zeitweiligen Berater der NPD-Fraktion im Sächsischen Landtag, ihren im Jahr 2005 eingeschlagenen Kurs der Annäherung an die NPD beibehalten.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  13. ^ Sager, Tomas; Peters, Jürgen (30 October 2008). "Die PRO-Aktivitaten im Kontext der extremen Rechten". In Häusler, Alexander (ed.). Rechtspopulismus als "Bürgerbewegung": Kampagnen gegen Islam und Moscheebau und kommunale Gegenstrategien (in German). Wiesbaden: Springer-Verlag. p. 126. ISBN 9783531911199. Retrieved 1 July 2023. Harald Neubauer [...] ist Mitherausgeber der extrem rechten Monatszeitschrift „Nation & Europa" und Vorstandsmitglied der NPD-nahen „Gesellschaft für freie Publizistik".
  14. ^ Neo-Nazi leader 'was MI6 agent', John Hooper, The Guardian, 13 August 2002, retrieved 24 June 2009
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Adolf_von_Thadden&oldid=1222857560"