''My Life'' is the autobiography of the

British Fascist The flash and circle symbol was first used by the British Union of Fascists (BUF). British fascism is the form of fascism which is promoted by some political parties and movements in the United Kingdom. It is based on British nationalism, Brit ...

leader

Sir Oswald Mosley Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet (16 November 1896 – 3 December 1980), was a British aristocrat and politician who rose to fame during the 1920s and 1930s when he, having become disillusioned with mainstream politics, turned to fascism. ...

(1896 – 1980). It was published in 1968.

Background

Oswald Mosley was a British politician that served as a member of parliament under both the

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

and Labour parties, and was appointed a minister by

Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British statesman and politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The first two of his governments belonged to the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, where he led ...

in 1929 before ultimately leaving the Labour party in protest of its economic policies. In 1931 he created his own fascist political party called the New Party, which became the

British Union of Fascists The British Union of Fascists (BUF) was a British fascist political party formed in 1932 by Oswald Mosley. Mosley changed its name to the British Union of Fascists and National Socialists in 1936 and, in 1937, to the British Union. In 1939, f ...

in 1932. His turn to fascism was widely considered to be political suicide, and he never held political office again.

Release

The book was published in 1968. To coincide with the release of the book, the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

broadcast a ''

Panorama A panorama (formed from Greek language, Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any Obtuse angle, wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography (panoramic photography), film, seismic image ...

'' special, seen by a record audience.

Content

The book is structured as a sequential memoir, but it doubles as the author's personal defence against charges of

antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

, as well as a general overview of world politics, both during his ascent, and at the time of its publication in the 1960s. ''My Life'' provides Mosley's justifications for his actions and his claims that he was surprised by the violence his party engaged in, which he claims to have not endorsed. He defends the methods of fascist dictator

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

but condemns the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. However, he argues that

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

was not responsible for the Holocaust, and that it was brought about by nations going to war against him rather than accomodating his fascist ideology.

References

External links

Microsoft Reader versionPortable Document Format (pdf) version
{{Authority control 1968 non-fiction books Fascist books Political autobiographies Fascism in the United Kingdom British autobiographies Oswald Mosley