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Salient. Victoria University Student Newspaper. Volume 36, Number 2. 7th March 1973

Everyone Wants to be Fuehrer: National Socialism in Australia and New Zealand David Harcourt — Everyone Wants to be Fuehrer: National Socialism in Australia and New Zealand

page 15

Everyone Wants to be Fuehrer: National Socialism in Australia and New Zealand David Harcourt

Everyone Wants to be Fuehrer: National Socialism in Australia and New Zealand

Photo of people with a Nazi flag

During several months last year this campus received the surreptitious attention of a phantom fascist who appended swastika stickers and extreme right-wing lunatic-fringe messages to every wall and surface within reach. Eventually this nocturnal Nazi was caught in the act and enquiries and cross-examination exposed his initial lies of identity, residence, purpose etc. His captors learnt that he was "a 30 year old virgin who lived with his mother somewhere up the gold-coast and made special trips into town to spread his message among the communistic godless unwashed". He came forth with missionary zeal, but furtively, propagating the faecial fascist utterances of his late Fuehrer.

Some would consider martydom appropriate for missionaries, but this one was released with a warning not to return. I do not know the exact details of his name, address etc. and it is as well for that fylfot fetishist that he should remain anonymous, for there are perhaps some members of the university who would vigorously interrogate him and administer some of that corporal chastisement and discipline right-wingers so often, with much orgasmic glee, advocate.

Now here is a book about many similar deviants; a rabid parade of intellectual cripples goose-stepping their way into rowdy prominence. Harcourt presents the biographies of many Australian Nazis and others of that ilk. Nearly all appear to have personality problems of social malajustment, and exhibit violently conservative reactions to sexuality. Nearly all appear to be under-achievers, and rationalize this situation by blaming "the Jews, the Comms, students, long hair, hippies, etc, etc." and many appear to be below the average IQ.

Harcourt writes in the best tradition of VUW social science value-neutrality-and-all-that-crap and where any shade of condemnation or criticism of the Nazis is implicit it is generally only in his inclusion of statements by the opponents of fascism.

It is patently difficult to avoid noticing similar facets of personality that individuals associated with these groups have. Their personal characteristics are bizarre to the greater community but are common denominators within the group, tending to create a group bias in favour of the sensational, absurd, irrational image the group manifests to outsiders. It becomes easy to stereotype the personalities associated with right-wing movements and generalize on their group attitudes. This need not prejudice objective study of the Nazi phenomenon and indeed might be a convenient summation. This is the readers prerogative and although Harcourt does not state it explicitly he surely would have noticed this when producing his opus.

One of the main points Harcourt makes is that nearly all members of these right-wing groups wants to be Fuehrer. Although in terms of The Authoritarian Personality most appear to be submissive to authority many also wish to acquire the dominant role in the Nazi movement. There is evidently a continuing clash of contenders for Fuhrerschaft. There have been coups and counter-coups. This is one cause of the mutual antagonism between most Australian and NZ Nazis and has produced a movement that is extremely fragmented, inwardly argumentative, and in several manifestations, quite ephemeral.

The extreme right wing groups in Australia have in recent years demonstrated their ability and intention to use violence. They embrace the ends justify the means rationalisation of socially irresponsible, destructive and violent behaviour. This appears on most occasions as common hooliganism and street thuggery (assaulting children wearing antiwar buttons, smashing windows of "Jews, comms, students, hippies etc"). They have been responsible for threatening to shoot demonstrators and Labour M.P's. They have been responsible for several bombings and, in particular, the Australian branch of the Croatian terrorist Ustashi is implicated in several assassinations and the bombing of a Yugoslavian aircraft in January 1972 killing all 26 people on board. One gets the impression that the Nazis are a social menace be-cause they must inevitably cause violent reactions from their opponents.

These right-wingers are quite uncreative and are imaginative only in their extravagant fantasies of horrendous plots contrived against them by some nebulous conspirators somewhere, everywhere. All Nazis exhibit [unclear: extieme paranold] tendencies. harcourt. produces much evidence of this.

One criticism that must be made is that, although the book purports to study National Socialism and its kindred ideologies in Australia and New Zealand, very little attention is given to NZ Nazis and extreme right wingers. There are in NZ many goose-steppers who deserve critical attention and who possess those bizarre personalities that make interesting reading. However, only two NZ Nazis get any observation. Perhaps in any further editions or publications on this subject Harcourt will remedy this omission.

For those interested in abnormal psychology and political radicalism this book provides some really good case Studies, and is a useful supplement to "The Authoritarian Personality" by Adorno et al. Design and layout are good and the book is well printed and bound. The many photographs are of a very high standard.

"Everyone Wants to be Fuehrer" is an excellent and substantial piece of investigative journalism and must have taken enormous determination and energy to write, let alone the effort and ploys necessary to induce the subjects to provide information, interviews, photographs and documents.

Photo of a man sitting at a desk

Photo of men toasting to Hitler

Queensland Nazis Leisemann and Stoddart toast their spiritual founder on his birthday