Hurrah For The Blackshirts Analysis

In Hurrah for the Blackshirts, author Martin Pugh explores and analyzes Fascism and its constituents in Britain in between the Great War and World War II. After the Great War, Britain was devastated, both economically and socially. It was a breeding ground, so to speak, for new beliefs and movements. The war left Britain suspects for a new wave change. Far-right political parties, Communism/Bolshevism, and Fascism all began to root down and gain support in Britain. Fascism, particularly, took advantage of the aftermath of WWI, lack of strong leadership, and growing Labour movements, and strikes to name a few. In 1932, the British Union of Fascists, or BUF, was founded under the headship of Sir Oswald Mosley. Quickly after its formations, the

Originally, media outlets were strong supporters of the movement. They believed that the BUF would bring strength and purpose back into the country. The Blackshirts were putting their foot down, literally. Mosley advocated for violence and militarism. They were getting work done in the areas of unemployment, poverty, and general welfare of British citizens in the early ‘30s. In June of 1934, Mosley wanted to showcase the strength of the BUF at a rally in Olympia. The Rothermere press had supported the march by displaying, “Months of propaganda” which “made the BUF fashionable,” (Pugh, 156). With thousands of demonstrators and protesters alike it was almost impossible for the meager police force to control the crowd. When a protester attempted to disagree with speaker Mosley they were swarmed and suppressed by Blackshirts, one spectator wrote, “’I witnessed scenes of great brutality such as I had never though to see in England”’, and another wrote, “’made my blood boil,’” (Pugh,157). Public option was changing. So was the media. Soon after the Olympia rally, Mosley was banned from the BBC and Rothermere was forced, by pressure, to withdraw its support of the BUF and Mosley. Additionally, several Conservative Party members wrote letters denouncing Mosley. The BUF’s militaristic actions and heckling caused the organization to lose members and public support both by

Fascism itself went against the very foundations of British government. Mosley believed that Britain was not as strong as Italy, or Germany because Parliament and its leaders lacked purpose. He believed they were not considering improving the lives of its citizens who were suffering from the government’s actions. Mosley denounced the government for importing foreign goods and dealing in loans with others claiming alien hands have beset Britain long enough. Conservatives were already upset at Mosley for his barbarism and militaristic actions. This led to a downfall in strength. However, in the late 1930s, Mosley started to campaign for peace and anti-war propaganda in an attempt to regain support from lost followers. They chalked peace slogans in public and began to cry for peace. Under Mosley’s new approach, the BUF began to see eye-to-eye with the government. Pugh wrote, “There is no doubt that their message was widely endorsed among right-wing politicians, not merely a pro-fascist minority, (Pugh, 265). Although this proved to be a failure to revive pro-fascist sentiment, overall, it did help in ease some tension with the British government, for a bit. Mosley went to great lengths to change policy in the BUF to avoid its collapse, however, this proved to be a