Joannes Antonius Baars (

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

, 30 June 1903 –

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, 22 April 1989) was a leading

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

fascist during the 1930s. During the 1920s Baars emerged as part of the group associated with ''De Bezem'', a fascist journal aimed at the poor.

Philip Rees Philip Rees (born 1941) is a British writer and librarian formerly in charge of acquisitions at the J. B. Morrell Library, University of York. He has written books on fascism and the extreme right. Works *''Fascism in Britain'' (Harvester Pres ...

, ''

Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890 The ''Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890'' is a reference book by Philip Rees, on leading people in the various far right movements since 1890. It contains entries for what the author regards as "the 500 major figures on the r ...

'' The magazine split in 1930 and Baars supported

Alfred Haighton Coenraad Alfred Augustus Haighton (26 October 1896 – 13 April 1943) was a millionaire businessman and the leader of the Netherlands' first fascist movement. Fascism From a privileged background, Haighton was born in Rotterdam and was well ed ...

over H.A. Sinclair de Rochemont, joining Haighton's ''Fascistische Jongeren Bond''. The two quarrelled in 1932 however and the rabble-rousing Baars soon set up his own movement, the

General Dutch Fascist League The General Dutch Fascist League (in Dutch ''Algemeene Nederlandsche Fascisten Bond'', ANFB) was a Dutch fascist party. It was founded on 29 June 1932 and dissolved in 1934. The leader of ANFB was Jan Baars, a merchant from Amsterdam. History ANF ...

(ANFB). The stated purpose of this new group was to unite the various strands of fascism within the Netherlands under a single umbrella.R.J.B. Bosworth, ''The Oxford Handbook of Fascism'', Oxford University Press, 2009, p. 454 Baars gained some support amongst the poor as his coarse, down-to-earth style of rhetoric could easily be identified with by people who spoke in the same manner. This group joined Haighton's movement and the National Union in 1933 to form a 'corporative concentration', although Baars, who was a market trader by profession, had little time for Carel Gerretson, the university professor who led the new group. He stood down from the ANFB as a consequence in 1934 and that group soon fell apart. After a brief involvement in opposing

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and the NSB, Baars quit politics in 1936 and returned to market trading. Having previously criticized

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

's treatment of the

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, Baars played no role in collaboration and was even active in the Dutch resistance.

References

1903 births 1989 deaths Dutch fascists Politicians from Amsterdam Dutch resistance members Dutch people of World War II Fascist politicians {{Netherlands-politician-stub