Adrian Leopold Molin (5 March 188010 August 1942) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

far-right writer and political activist.

Early ideas

Born in

Varberg Varberg () is a locality and the seat of Varberg Municipality, Halland County, Sweden, with 35,782 inhabitants in 2019. Varberg and all of Halland are well known for their "typical west coast" sandy beaches. In Varberg the coast changes from ...

, Molin attended the

University of Gothenburg The University of Gothenburg ( sv, Göteborgs universitet) is a university in Sweden's second largest city, Gothenburg. Founded in 1891, the university is the third-oldest of the current Swedish universities and with 37,000 students and 6000 st ...

and received his doctorate from the institution in 1906.Franklin Daniel Scott, ''Trans-Atlantica'', 1979, p. 317 He then joined the right-wing ''Göteborgs Aftonblad'', then the ''Svenska Dagbladet'' before setting up his own monthly in 1907, the '' Det Nya Sverige'', which continued until 1926. The young Molin was a disciple of

Rudolf Kjellén Johan Rudolf Kjellén (, 13 June 1864, in Torsö – 14 November 1922, in Uppsala) was a Swedish political scientist, geographer and politician who first coined the term " geopolitics". His work was influenced by Friedrich Ratzel. Along with Ale ...

and a leading figure in the so-called 'Young Right' movement. Ideologically he was highly

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

socially but also anti-capitalist. Molin flirted with

corporatism Corporatism is a collectivist political ideology which advocates the organization of society by corporate groups, such as agricultural, labour, military, business, scientific, or guild associations, on the basis of their common interests. The ...

by supporting an occupational franchise as well as some state intervention designed to bring the

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colo ...

into a national consensus. He combined these ideas with a hatred of both

socialism Socialism is a left-wing Economic ideology, economic philosophy and Political movement, movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to Private prop ...

and the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

Fascism and Nazism

His main political involvement was a founder and leading figure in the National Society Against Emigration, set up in 1907 to oppose the drain of Sweden's population to, mainly, the USA. In this capacity he edited its publication '' Hem i Sverige'' and advocated widespread home ownership and the settlement of northern Sweden to stem the flow of migrants from the country. He also supported the building of traditional rural dwellings based on the use of indigenous architecture as part of his fascination with traditional ruralism.Hildor Arnold Barton, ''Sweden and visions of Norway'', 2002, p. 143 Heavily influenced by the philosopher

Vitalis Norström Vitalis may refer to: People Given name * Vitalis Chikoko (born 1991), Zimbabwean professional basketball player * Vitalis Takawira (born 1972), Zimbabwean footballer * Vitalis Zvinavashe (1943–2009), Zimbabwean military figure and politician ...

, he became highly pro-

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and showed characteristics of an early form of

fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

. During the 1920s and 1930s his ruralism began to develop along lines reminiscent of the blood and soil rhetoric of the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

.Rees, ''Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right'', p. 267 Soon Molin became a supporter of

Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) i ...

and hoped to apply its principles to Sweden, although he dismissed the indigenous Nazi leader Birger Furugård as a 'parody' of the ideology. His own political activity was restricted to the National Youth League of Sweden, where he became a leading voice on the far right, Nazi wing. Near the end of his life Molin's enthusiasm for

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 ...

cooled as he became disillusioned with some of the excesses of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. However he retained his admiration for their

anti-Semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

, hierarchical society and especially the ruralism endorsed by the likes of Richard Walther Darré. It was these themes, as well as his desire for a union of Sweden and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

as a defensive move against the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, that dominated his writings until his death in

Lidingö Lidingö, also known in its definite form ''Lidingön'' and as ''Lidingölandet'', is an island in the inner Stockholm archipelago, northeast of Stockholm, Sweden. In 2010, the population of the Lidingö urban area on the island was 31,561. It is ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Molin, Adrian 1880 births 1942 deaths People from Varberg Swedish collaborators with Nazi Germany Swedish Nazis Swedish political writers Swedish magazine founders Swedish magazine editors