The Black Front ( nl, Zwart Front) was a Dutch Greater Netherlandic and Fascist movement active before the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. The Front grew out of the southern section of the General Dutch Fascist League, with regional organiser

Arnold Meijer Arnoldus Jozephus Meijer (5 May 1905 – 17 June 1965) was a Dutch fascist politician. Meijer was born in Haarlemmermeer. Brought up a devout Roman Catholic and educated in a number of seminaries he soon became influenced by Wouter Lutkie, a ...

quarrelling with leader Jan Baars and leading his followers out in 1934.

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 ...

'', p. 260 The Black Front emerged and soon took over a number of smaller movements, while also gaining some support among the poorer parts of society. Although similar to its parent movement, the Black Front emphasised a more

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

line in tune with Meijer's own religious beliefs. Taking its cue in part from Italian fascism, it adopted that movement's black-shirted uniform while adding a unique emblem featuring a sword between a pair of ram horns. However, the group struggled to gain support from the

National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands The National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands ( nl, Nationaal-Socialistische Beweging in Nederland, ; NSB) was a Dutch fascist and later Nazi political party that called itself a " movement". As a parliamentary party participating in legisl ...

(NSB); it was renamed the National Front in 1940. The National Front was ultimately banned by

the Germans "The Germans" (named on some releases as "Fire Drill") is the sixth episode of the BBC sitcom '' Fawlty Towers''. In the episode, while suffering the effects of concussion, Basil Fawlty repeatedly offends some German guests. Despite warning ...

on 14 December 1941, along with all other Dutch political parties except for the NSB. The majority of its members switched to the NSB, although Meijer, disillusioned, left politics altogether.Littlejohn, ''Patriotic Traitors''. p. 100

References

Fascist parties in the Netherlands Banned far-right parties {{Fascism-stub