Colin Jordan and Britain's Neo-Nazi Movement: Hitler's Echo

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Colin Jordan and Britain's Neo-Nazi Movement casts fresh light on one of post-war Britains most notorious fascists, using him to examine the contemporary history of the extreme right. The book explores the wide range of neo-Nazi groups that Colin Jordan led, contributed to and inspired throughout his time as Britain's foremost promoter of Nazi ideology. In a period stretching from the close of the Second World War right up to the 2000s, Colin Jordan became politically engaged with a multitude of Nazi-inspired extremist groups, either as leader or as a key protagonist. Moreover, Jordan also developed critical relationships with larger, competitor extreme-right organisations and parties, including the Mosleys Union Movement, the National Front and the most recent incarnation of the British National Party. He fostered a number of transnational links throughout his years of activism as well, especially with American neo-Nazis. In recent years, his writings and somewhat idealised profile have been adopted by more contemporary extremist organisations, such as the British People's Party and a rekindled British Movement, who look to Jordan as an inspirational figure for their own reconfigurations of a National Socialist agenda. By examining this history, drawing on a wide range of fresh primary sources, Colin Jordan and Britain's Neo-Nazi Movement offers a new analysis on the nature and workings of Nazi-inspired political extremism in post-war Britain. It is an important study for anyone interested in the history of fascism, extreme ideologies and the political and social history of Britain since the Second World War.

Reviews

With the current upsurge of the Right, this is a timely study of one of the most prominent leaders of neo-Nazism in postwar Britain This sophisticated study not only illuminates how the far Right operated, but also provides an excellent discussion of its ideas. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Most levels/libraries. * CHOICE *
[An] important, thoroughly researched, and lucid book that presents convincing arguments with far-reaching implications Jackson displays an excellent grasp of his topic, his style is highly accessible [A] book that makes a valuable contribution to the historiography of fascism (and other extreme ideologies) and the social and political history of postwar Britain. * Journal of British Studies *
Paul Jackson has made an important contribution by producing an impeccably researched monograph which stands out in an increasingly crowded field ... Ground-breaking ... [It] deserves to be read not just by historians of the far right, but also by policy-makers tasked with preventing extreme right terrorism. * The English Historical Review *
By far the greatest strength of Dr Jackson's study of Colin Jordan is its fresh and utterly up-to-date scholarship which draws upon a truly impressive range of research materials, from newspapers and related print-media to unpublished archival resources. Merely as a feat of scholarship, the book represents a mature, highly professional achievement. But just as impressive is the strength of Dr Jackson's accessible writing. * Gregory Maertz, St. John's University, USA *
Paul Jacksons political biography of Colin Jordan - a man described as the godfather of British neo-Nazism - is superlative. Possessing a sophisticated conceptual understanding of neo-Nazism, Jackson recounts the political odyssey of this unapologetic British fascist in rich and painstaking detail. Colin Jordan has now entered the neo-Nazi pantheon. Jacksons first-rate study tell us why this man is so revered by those that think that Hitler was Right! * Nigel Copsey, Teesside University, UK *
Paul Jackson has written a fine book which greatly adds to our understanding of the complex phenomenon of neo-Nazism and the wider ideology and culture of Britains far right in the post-1945 period. Jacksons study benefits from having been thoroughly grounded in the available primary documents relating to Colin Jordans life and political activities, as well as the best and most recent theoretical work in fascist studies. In summary, this book represents a very important contribution to the scholarship on the politics of the extreme right. * Thomas Linehan, Brunel University London, UK *
Paul Jackson has produced what must be regarded as the definitive political biography of Colin Jordan, Britains leading neo-Nazi. He has traced the political and, above all, the ideological development of Jordan from his student days at Cambridge in the late 1940s/ early 1950s until his death in 2009, by which time he had become an unashamed exponent of Hitler and National Socialism. Jackson has also meticulously documented how Jordan honed his talents as a (sometimes self) publicist and propagandist, as well as his more limited leadership qualities. In so doing, he has thrown much light on the overall development of the post-war British far right from Mosleys Union Movement to Nick Griffins leadership of the BNP in the new millenium, chronicling the many schisms and splits which the various parties and groupuscules suffered in those years and in which Jordan was usually involved. * J. F. Pollard, Fellow and Director of Studies in History, Trinity Hall, Cambridge, UK *

Author Bio

Paul Jackson is Senior Lecturer in History at the University of Northampton, UK. He is co-editor of The Anglo-American Far-Right: A Special Relationship of Hate, and has written widely on extreme right politics in Britain, and the history of fascism.