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A Nazi Legacy Right-Wing Extremism in Postwar Germany
By Rand C. Lewis
ISBN: 0-275-93853-0
ISBN-13: 978-0-275-93853-6
208 pages, tables
Praeger Publishers
Publication: 5/30/1991
List Price: $51.95 (UK Sterling Price: £29.95)
Availability:
Media Type: Hardcover
Trim Size: 5 1/2 x 8 1/4
Subjects: Reviews:
  • This volume provides a detailed account of the role of right-wing extremism in postwar Germany. Lewis furnishes a history that ranges from efforts to reconstruct a Nazi movement undertaken while the country was still under allied occupation to recent attempts to exploit the uncertainties caused by German reunification. There are really two stories that unfold. The first involves efforts by rightist leaders, often ex-Nazis, to create electorally viable political parties (the Republicans most recently) in order to win the support of voters for programs emphasizing xenophobia and national glory. The second tale is that of the small groups, often neo-Nazi, which, from time to time, have used terrorist violence against guest workers, American military personnel, and German Jews in hopes that by so doing they will promote a right-wing revival. Lewis analyzes the linkages between these violent units and like-minded organizations in the Middle East and in the US. In all, the book is an effective updating of such earlier work as John Nagle's The National Democratic Party and Kurt Tauber's Beyond Eagle and Swastika. Upper-division undergraduates and above.
    —Choice
Description: This volume offers a complete overview of the continuation of Nazi influences that permeated a small portion of postwar Germany's population. Rand C. Lewis traces the history of these influences, which resulted in a small, yet growing neo-Nazi militant movement that became far more visible in the 1980s. He fully chronicles the development of this militancy, and the evolution of its use of right-wing terrorism. Unlike other scholars who call neo-Nazism a modern phenomenon, Lewis argues that there is a direct link between the Nazis and the postwar right-wing extremist movements. Lewis's portrait of the evolution of neo-Nazism begins with a brief introduction, followed by a survey of the Nazi past up through World War II. A discussion of the postwar years covers 1945 to 1970, and develops such topics as the efforts to eliminate Nazism, the rise of right-wing political parties, and militant youth. Subsequent chapters detail right-wing extremist politics and the growth of militancy, as well as the increased extremism of the 1970s and 1980s. Also addressed are the turn to terrorism, government responses, and international connections, while a concluding chapter looks to the future and the threat neo-Nazism poses to U.S. forces and German unification. This work will be an important resource for students and scholars in the areas of European history, political science, and terrorism.
Table of Contents:
  • Introduction
  • The Past Revisited
  • The Postwar Years, 1945-1970
  • Survival of the Fittest
  • Profiles of the Radical Right
  • The Radical Right and Terrorism
  • International Connections
  • The Nazi Legacy and the Future
  • Selected Bibliography
  • Index
LC Card Number: 90-24277
LCC Class: DD262
Dewey Class: 943.087
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