European and Australian Fascisms: The Case of Ferenc Molnar and National Socialism in Cold War Australia

Edited book (chapter)


Smith, Evan and Persian, Jayne. 2022. "European and Australian Fascisms: The Case of Ferenc Molnar and National Socialism in Cold War Australia." Smith, Evan, Persian, Jayne and Fox, Vashti Jane (ed.) Histories of Fascism and Anti-Fascism in Australia. United Kingdom. Routledge. pp. 140-157
Chapter Title

European and Australian Fascisms: The Case of Ferenc Molnar and National Socialism in Cold War Australia

Book Chapter CategoryEdited book (chapter)
ERA Publisher ID3137
Book TitleHistories of Fascism and Anti-Fascism in Australia
AuthorsSmith, Evan and Persian, Jayne
EditorsSmith, Evan, Persian, Jayne and Fox, Vashti Jane
Page Range140-157
SeriesRoutledge Studies in Fascism and the Far Right
Chapter Number8
Number of Pages17
Year2022
PublisherRoutledge
Place of PublicationUnited Kingdom
ISBN9781000816310
9780367638122
9781003120964
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003120964-8
Web Address (URL)https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003120964-8/european-australian-fascisms-evan-smith-jayne-persian
Abstract

The relationship between the Australian far right and Central/Eastern European migrant groups in the 1960s and 1970s has been highlighted by some scholars. Predominantly linked by an extreme anti-communism, with an underlying anti-Semitism and white supremacism, the neo-Nazi groups in Australia closely aligned with certain Hungarian, Ukrainian and Croatian nationalist organisations, primarily made up of people that had emigrated during in the early post-war era. However, for the most part, they remained separate organisations. This chapter looks an exception to this. Ferenc (or Frank) Molnar was a Hungarian migrant to Australia who arrived in the late 1940s and in the mid-1960s, co-founded the National Socialist Party of Australia in Canberra with Edward (or Ted) Robert Cawthron. The rest of his NSPA colleagues were predominantly Anglo-Australian, with Molnar representing the in-roads that the Australian far right were attempting to make into the European migrant communities that had arrived in the post-war period. By exploring the security files that were held on Molnar and the publications of the NSPA, this chapter seeks to outline how Central/Eastern European nationalism and racial politics developed amongst these diasporas in Cold War Australia, and how they interacted with an Anglicised fascism that had developed in a settler colonial environment. Molnar represents a nexus point for these overlapping movements and helps us understand how the Australian far right was fostered within an international and transnational context.

KeywordsHumanities; Politics & International Relations; Social Sciences
Contains Sensitive ContentDoes not contain sensitive content
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020430302. Australian history
Public Notes

Files associated with this item cannot be displayed due to copyright restrictions.

Byline AffiliationsFlinders University
No affiliation
Permalink -

https://research.usq.edu.au/item/w3y1y/european-and-australian-fascisms-the-case-of-ferenc-molnar-and-national-socialism-in-cold-war-australia

  • 50
    total views
  • 2
    total downloads
  • 1
    views this month
  • 0
    downloads this month

Export as

Related outputs

Russians, Ukrainians, and the Anti-Bolshevik Bloc of Nations
Persian, Jayne. 2024. "Russians, Ukrainians, and the Anti-Bolshevik Bloc of Nations." Fitzpatrick, Sheila and Deery, Phillip (ed.) Russians in Cold War Australia. United States. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. pp. 205-226
The Humanitarians: Child War Refugees and Australian Humanitarianism in a Transnational World, 1919–1975 by Joy Damousi
Persian, Jayne. 2024. "The Humanitarians: Child War Refugees and Australian Humanitarianism in a Transnational World, 1919–1975 by Joy Damousi." Australian Journal of Politics and History. 70 (1), pp. 155-156. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajph.12963
“A Bloody Migrant Who Thinks He Can Run a Union”: The Case of Jerzy Bielski, a Migrant Trade Unionist in 1950s Australia
Nilsson, Ebony and Persian, Jayne. 2024. "“A Bloody Migrant Who Thinks He Can Run a Union”: The Case of Jerzy Bielski, a Migrant Trade Unionist in 1950s Australia ." Labour History: a journal of labour and social history. 126 (1), pp. 97-115. https://doi.org/10.3828/labourhistory.2024.7
Australia is still reckoning with a shameful legacy: the resettlement of suspected war criminals after WWII
Persian, Jayne. 2024. "Australia is still reckoning with a shameful legacy: the resettlement of suspected war criminals after WWII." The Conversation.
The case of Yaroslav Hunka, and its echoes in Australia’s history
Persian, Jayne. 2023. "The case of Yaroslav Hunka, and its echoes in Australia’s history." Overland.
Fascists in Exile: Post-War Displaced Persons in Australia
Persian, Jayne. 2023. Fascists in Exile: Post-War Displaced Persons in Australia. United Kingdom. Routledge.
Cruel Care: A History of Children at Our Borders by Jordana Silverstei
Persian, Jayne. 2023. "Cruel Care: A History of Children at Our Borders by Jordana Silverstei." Australian Historical Studies. 54 (4), pp. 846-847. https://doi.org/10.1080/1031461X.2023.2261589
Far Right Security Risks? Deportations & Extradition requests of Displaced Persons 1947-1952
Persian, Jayne. 2023. "Far Right Security Risks? Deportations & Extradition requests of Displaced Persons 1947-1952." Balint, Ruth, Damousi, Joy and Fitzpatrick, Sheila (ed.) When Migrants Fail to Stay: New Histories on Departures and Migration. United Kingdom. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 51-66
Wogs as work: humour as ethnic entrepreneurship and convivial labour
Carniel, Jessica and Persian, Jayne. 2023. "Wogs as work: humour as ethnic entrepreneurship and convivial labour." Continuum: Journal of Media and Cultural Studies. 37 (4), pp. 480-493. https://doi.org/10.1080/10304312.2023.2253382
Ukraine’s fight for its identity is more than a century old – it is not about to stop
Persian, Jayne. 2022. "Ukraine’s fight for its identity is more than a century old – it is not about to stop." The Conversation.
European Post-War Migrants and Indigenous Australians: A History in Fragments
Persian, Jayne and Agutter, Karen. 2021. "European Post-War Migrants and Indigenous Australians: A History in Fragments." History Australia. 18 (1), pp. 112-129. https://doi.org/10.1080/14490854.2021.1878912
Introduction: Fascism and Anti-Fascism in Australian History
Smith, Evan, Persian Jayne and Fox, Vashti Jane. 2022. "Introduction: Fascism and Anti-Fascism in Australian History." Smith, Evan, Persian, Jayne and Fox, Vashti Jane (ed.) Histories of Fascism and Anti-Fascism in Australia. United Kingdom. Routledge. pp. 1-19
No Friend but the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison
Persian, Jayne. 2020. "No Friend but the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison." SITES: a Journal for South Pacific Cultural Studies. 17 (1).
The Department of Immigration was central to Australia's post-World War II recovery. What role might it play in Australia's recovery from COVID 19?
Tavan, Gwenda, Persian, Jayne and Greenwood, Justine. 2020. "The Department of Immigration was central to Australia's post-World War II recovery. What role might it play in Australia's recovery from COVID 19?" Australian Policy and History.
Review: James Hammerton, Migrants of the British Diaspora since the 1960s: Stories from Modern Nomads, Manchester University Press, 2017
Persian, Jayne. 2019. "Review: James Hammerton, Migrants of the British Diaspora since the 1960s: Stories from Modern Nomads, Manchester University Press, 2017." Oral History Australia Journal. 41, pp. 108-109.
Oral histories of displaced persons: what for? The story like mine's plenty now
Persian, Jayne. 2019. "Oral histories of displaced persons: what for? The story like mine's plenty now." Darian-Smith, Kate and Hamilton, Paula (ed.) Remembering migration: oral histories and heritage in Australia. Switzerland. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 29-46
Cossack identities: from Russian emigres and anti-soviet collaborators to displaced persons
Persian, Jayne. 2019. "Cossack identities: from Russian emigres and anti-soviet collaborators to displaced persons." Dellios, Alexandra (ed.) Memory and family in Australian refugee histories. Milton Park, United Kingdom. Routledge. pp. 47-64
'The Dirty Vat': European migration to Australia from Shanghai, 1946-47
Persian, Jayne. 2019. "'The Dirty Vat': European migration to Australia from Shanghai, 1946-47." Australian Historical Studies. 50 (1), pp. 21-40. https://doi.org/10.1080/1031461X.2018.1551411
Introduction: museums and engagement in Queensland: critical contributions to the field
Stroja, Jessica and Persian, Jayne. 2018. "Introduction: museums and engagement in Queensland: critical contributions to the field." Queensland Review. 25 (2), pp. 187-190. https://doi.org/10.1017/qre.2018.23
Displaced persons in Queensland: Stuart migrant camp
Persian, Jayne. 2018. "Displaced persons in Queensland: Stuart migrant camp." Queensland Review. 25 (2), pp. 239-251. https://doi.org/10.1017/qre.2018.27
Cossack identities: from Russian emigres and anti-Soviet collaborators to displaced persons
Persian, Jayne. 2018. "Cossack identities: from Russian emigres and anti-Soviet collaborators to displaced persons." Immigrants and Minorities. 36 (2), pp. 125-142. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619288.2018.1471856
Histories of controversies: Bonegilla migrant centre
Persian, Jayne. 2018. "Histories of controversies: Bonegilla migrant centre." Australian Historical Studies. 49 (2), pp. 281-282. https://doi.org/10.1080/1031461X.2018.1454277
Review: Melanie Ilic and Dalia Leinarte (eds), The Soviet past in the post-Socialist present: methodology and ethics in Russian, Baltic and Central European oral history and memory studies, Routledge Approaches to History, Routledge, 2016. 257 pages. ISBN (hbk) 9781138933453.
Persian, Jayne. 2017. "Review: Melanie Ilic and Dalia Leinarte (eds), The Soviet past in the post-Socialist present: methodology and ethics in Russian, Baltic and Central European oral history and memory studies, Routledge Approaches to History, Routledge, 2016. 257 pages. ISBN (hbk) 9781138933453." Studies in Oral History.
Displaced persons (1947-1952) in Australia: memory in autobiography
Persian, Jayne. 2017. "Displaced persons (1947-1952) in Australia: memory in autobiography." Arthur, Paul Longley (ed.) Migrant nation: Australian culture, society and identity. London, United Kingdom. Anthem Press. pp. 151-175
Vladimír Ležák-Borin: Cold War warrior
Persian, Jayne. 2017. "Vladimír Ležák-Borin: Cold War warrior." Baker, Dallas John, Brien, Donna Lee and Sulway, Nike (ed.) Recovering history through fact and fiction: forgotten lives. Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. pp. 78-87
Beautiful balts: from displaced persons to new Australians
Persian, Jayne. 2017. Beautiful balts: from displaced persons to new Australians. Sydney, Australia. NewSouth Publishing.
Tracing family with the Australian Red Cross - then and now
Balint, Ruth and Persian, Jayne. 2015. "Tracing family with the Australian Red Cross - then and now." The Conversation. 27 January 2015, pp. 1-3.
Jehovah's Witness hierarchy means child sex abuse goes unreported
Persian, Jayne. 2015. "Jehovah's Witness hierarchy means child sex abuse goes unreported." The Conversation. 5 August 2015, pp. 1-3.
Hope: refugees and their supporters in Australia since 1947 by Ann-Mari Jordens
Persian, Jayne. 2013. "Hope: refugees and their supporters in Australia since 1947 by Ann-Mari Jordens." Labour History: a journal of labour and social history.
M. James Penton: Apocalypse delayed: the story of Jehovah’s Witnesses
Persian, Jayne. 2016. "M. James Penton: Apocalypse delayed: the story of Jehovah’s Witnesses." Journal of Religious History. 40 (3), pp. 444-445. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9809.12370
A timely history
Persian, Jayne. 2016. "A timely history." History Australia. 13 (2), pp. 312-313.
'Boat people': the long history of immigration in Australia
Persian, Jayne and Matthew, Kate. 2016. "'Boat people': the long history of immigration in Australia." Journal of Australian Studies. 40 (4), pp. 385-386. https://doi.org/10.1080/14443058.2016.1226924
Displaced persons and the politics of international categorisation(s)
Persian, Jayne. 2012. "Displaced persons and the politics of international categorisation(s)." Australian Journal of Politics and History. 58 (4), pp. 481-496. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8497.2012.01648.x
Bonegilla: a failed narrative
Persian, Jayne. 2012. "Bonegilla: a failed narrative." History Australia. 9 (1), pp. 64-83. https://doi.org/10.1080/14490854.2012.11668403
'Chifley liked them Blond': DP immigrants for Australia
Persian, Jayne. 2015. "'Chifley liked them Blond': DP immigrants for Australia." History Australia. 12 (2), pp. 80-101. https://doi.org/10.1080/14490854.2015.11668571