At the age of twelve, my classics class at the high school devoted an entire week to the ancient war between the Persian Empire and Athens. We were told that the battle of Marathon and Salamis (490 and 480 BCE) represented civilisational encounters between Europe and the ‘barbarians’, west and east. The unlikely victory of… Continue reading “The far right’s weaponisation of history”
The far right recognizes the value, both in training and in terms of access to arms and equipment, that active and former soldiers bring to its organizations. In early October 2018, a photo emerged that showed former leader of the English Defence League, Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (aka Tommy Robinson) posing with a group of Army Cadets.… Continue reading “The Far Right Has a History of Infiltrating the British Army”
On February 1st 2019 a workshop was organized by the Zentrum für zeithistorische Forschung (ZZF) (Centre for Contemporary History) in Potsdam, with Frank Bösch, Yves Müller, Dominik Rigoll, Sarah Schulz, Julia Kleinschmidt, Christoph Schulze, Anke Hoffstadt, Henrike Voigtländer and Sebastian Bischoff, to name only those present on stage. The purpose of this workshop with approximately… Continue reading “Conference Report: “Right-Wing Extremism as a research object in Contemporary History””
The German terror group “National Socialist Underground“ is unprecedented – radical right terrorism is not A marathon trial in Germany has come to an end. On 11 July 2018, more than five years after the trial had begun, the higher regional court in Munich handed down the sentences against five members and supporters of the… Continue reading “The Under-Discussed Recent History Of The Radical Right Terrorism In Germany”
The false anxiety that whiteness is under siege fueled the rise of Trump, but it isn’t new. You can trace white supremacist culture throughout American history. In the context of contemporary politics in America and the rise of the radical right, whiteness feels like it is having its moment in the sun. The election of… Continue reading “From The Plantation To The Caravan: America’s History Of White Nationalism”
In his recently published Alt-Right (London: Pluto Press, 2018) Mike Wendling provides a detailed analysis of the alt-right as it exists almost exclusively in cyberspace. The alt-right achieved prominence during the 2016 presidential election campaign thanks largely to Breitbart and its then editor Steve Bannon. Wendling calls attention to the phenomenon of ‘trolling.’ Anonymous ‘trolls’… Continue reading “Trolling Has Been Part Of Right-Wing Movements Throughout History”
Gale Cengage’s Political Extremism Archive is important, as it is a major step forward in how people like me can teach, and research, the history of fascism. But why do we need to study this history? Why should universities invest in teaching students about fascism? I want to set out five key reasons why I… Continue reading “Dr Paul Jackson Shares His Five Reasons to Study the History of Fascism”
One doesn’t have to be an expert to attest that Greece has a fundamental problem with violence from the radical right. Alone in the first months of this year, we see a culmination of different forms of violence. In early March, the police arrested a group of militant neo-Nazis called AME, responsible for 34 arson… Continue reading “Greece’s Problem With Radical Right Violence and the Politics of History”
Last month my latest book was published by ibidem-verlag which covered the Auschwitz Concentration Camp, its history, biographies and remembrance. Having written and had published three books on the Aktion Reinhardt Camps, Belzec,Sobibor and Treblinka, this was a new path for me. Those three camps are not as well-known as Auschwitz. There are many books on Auschwitz,… Continue reading ““Auschwitz Concentration Camp: History, Biographies, Remembrance””
Shortly before opening fire at the Gilroy Garlic Festival on July 28th, the now deceased gunman posted two photos to a recently created Instagram account. Although the posts were quickly removed after being linked to the attack, screen captures had already made their way onto other parts of the web. One of the photos was of the… Continue reading “The Influence of Might is Right in the Gilroy shooting”