Narratives of Violence: Fascists and Jews in 1930s Britain

Abstract

The violence associated with interwar British fascism can make the movement appear out of place in both the British and the European context. In Britain, violence helped push the fascists well beyond the bounds of traditional politics, and is widely regarded as a central factor in their marginalisation and failure. Yet, when comparing British fascists to their European counterparts, particularly in Italy and Germany, their approach to violence, which they presented as a reluctantly pursued necessity, can be at odds with the image of interwar fascism confidently employing violence as a central feature of its ideology (as a means of cleansing the nation of impurities), culture (in particular the fostering of a paramilitary ethos) and practice (as a tool to obtain and maintain power).¹