Nordic Heretics

Abstract

This chapter highlights the ideological diversity and organisational discord within Norwegian and Danish fascism, focusing on milieus that tried to develop a Nordic version of National Socialism. It analyses the role of Norway's National Socialist Labour Party [Norges Nasjonalsosialistiske Arbeiderparti, NNSAP], the milieu surrounding the Norwegian national socialist periodical Ragnarok, and the National Socialist Party [National-Socialistisk Parti, NSP] in Denmark. These predominantly consisted of young activists who opposed the leadership of the larger National Socialist parties, Norway's National Unity [Nasjonal Samling, NS] in Norway and Denmark's Danish National Socialist Workers’ Party [Danmarks Nationalsocialistiske Arbejderparti, DNSAP], which they regarded as ignorant of the racial-revolutionary spirit of national socialism and as having adopted a blueprint of German National Socialism instead of developing an independent version grounded in Nordic history, Nordic culture, and the supreme racial qualities of the Danish and Norwegian people. Although encouraged by the SS in the 1930s, during the occupation (1940–1945), this attempt at ideological independence strained relations with Germany, and several members of these groups ended up in outright resistance to the occupier and collaborationist parties. By demonstrating the varieties and ambiguities of Nordic fascism, the chapter proposes a generic use of the term national socialism.