Figure 1.---This is Sir Oswald Mosley with his first wife Lady Cynthia Mosley with their daughter Vivien and son Nicholas vacationing on the French Riviera (August 1929). This was just before he began his Fascist adventure. Lady Cynthia died after an operation For appendicitis (1933). Mosley wjh was a notorious womanizer was having an affair with Lady Diana Mitford. They would secretly marry in NAZI Propagabda Minister's home (1936). Hitler was the guest of honor.

Sir Oswald Ernald Ernal Mosley, 6th Baronet was born in London into an aristocratic family (1896). He could have easily qualified for the title of the most hated man in Britain during World War II. He did not begin this way. Mosley was a graduate of Sandhurst, the British military academy. He served in the Royal Flying Corps during World War I and was a decorated World War I veteran. He cut quite a fashionable figure after the War. He succeeded to the Baronetcy of Ancoats (1928). He married the daughter of an earl--Lady Cynthia "Cimmie" Curzon, second daughter of the 1st Earl Curzon (1920). He was invited to high-society parties. He knew Churchill and the major politicians. Mossley was a known womaniser, having many high-society affaits. He was strikingly tall for the time. he was a champion fencer who was elected Conservative MP for Harrow at the age of only 21. Mosley served in the House of Commons (1918-31). He served as a Conservative, independent, and Labour MP. After the Wall Stree Crash (1929), Mosley became a government minister. He sought to develop a solution to the unemployment problem. They were expressed in his Mosley Manifesto. It was basically a socialist proposal advicating 'industrial reorganisation in the form of the big merger involving standardisation and the pooling of resources." [Mosley, "Unemployment ..." p. 11.] His proposals were rejected. Mosley was an egostical man and saw this as a personal affront. He left the Labour Party (1931). [Dorril] He proceeded to found the New Party based on European Fascism. After touring Fascist Italy, he founded the British Union of Fascists (BUF)--sometimes styled the black shirts (1932-40). He even had 'biff boys' fashioned like the NAZI bully-boy stormtroopers. He blending his economic program with NAZI-style anti-Semitism.The Battle of Cable Street (1936) let to small memmbership increases, but public opinion turned against him. The Bristish people did not take to politicians marching around in uniforms. [Dorril] Parliament passed the Public Order Act, banning political uniforms. While Mosley was on the political fringe, he had social contacts at the highest level of British society. Interestingly, Moley along with Churchill and the Communists supported Edward in the Abdication Crisis (1936). Prime-Minister Baldwin was not only influenced by Edward's hedonistic life style and Mrs. Simpson's divorced status, there were reports of Edward's Fascist orientation which were not unfounded. Edward and Mosley had political discussions. And Edward refused to criticize NAZI violence at the time. Mosley's first wife had died in 1933. He secretly married his mistriss, Diana Mitford, in Berlin (1936). Hitler attended the wedding which was held at Goebbels's home. As NAZI Germany rearmed and began its aggressive policy, his theme became 'Mind Britain's business'. Special Branch wa worried abour Mosleyand the BUF. He was an excellent orator. His Britain First rally at the Earls Court Exhibition Hall was the largest indoor political rally in British history -- some 30,000 attendees (July 1939). He continued to be officially tolerated until the disaster in France (May 1940). Mosley at the time was concentrating pleading with the Gobernment to accept Hitler's 'generous'peace offer of March 1940. Authorities detained him (May 23). He was interrogated for 16 hours by Lord Birkett, but not formally charged. He and his wife weres held in comfortable ciumstances (into 1945). Mosley was arrested and not released until after the War in 1945. Considering that they were interned during World War II, it was probably for their own good. After the War it was found that Mosley had received money from the Italians to help build a Fascist movement in Britain. After Workd War II he returned to politics. He founded headed the Union Movement (UM) (1948). The UM was also known for itsvirulent anti-Semitic policies. It was onev thing to do this before the War and the killing phase of the Holocaust, quite a different matter after the War. He continued his anti-Semetic rants with a new campaign against immigrants. He attempted to launch the National Party of Europe; a collaboration of far-right groups desiring a whites-only superstate.

Sources

Dorril, Stephen. Blackshirt: Sir Oswald Mosley and British Fascism (2006).

Mosley, Oswald E. "Unemployment Policy. Records of the Cabinet Office, CAB 24/209/30. (London: National Archives, 1930).

Created: 11:36 AM 4/29/2021
Last updated: 11:36 AM 4/29/2021