Rolf Henne (7 October 1901 – 25 July 1966) was a Swiss politician who supported a form of

National Socialism 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) in Na ...

. Born in

Schaffhausen Schaffhausen (; gsw, Schafuuse; french: Schaffhouse; it, Sciaffusa; rm, Schaffusa; en, Shaffhouse) is a town with historic roots, a municipality in northern Switzerland, and the capital of the canton of the same name; it has an estimat ...

, Henne was a distant relative of

Carl Jung Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology. Jung's work has been influential in the fields of psychiatry, anthropology, archaeology, literature, phil ...

on his father's side. Henne's own father was himself a prominent physician.Alan Morris Schom, ''A Survey of Nazi and Pro-Nazi Groups in Switzerland: 1930-1945''
Chapter 1
/ref> Educated at Zurich and

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

, Henne worked as a lawyer. Philip Rees, '' Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890'', 1990, p. 178 He joined the New Front in 1932, serving as ''Gaufuehrer'' for his hometown. On 4 February 1934, he took over as leader of the by then renamed National Front at a time when the movement was in trouble over the extent of its support for the

Third Reich 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 ...

. Henne, a strong pro-German, struggled to retain control and in 1938 he was replaced by the more moderate

Robert Tobler Robert Tobler (23 December 1901 – 17 June 1962) was a Swiss far-right politician. Born in Zürich, he followed his father by studying law at University of Zurich and working as a lawyer.Philip Rees, ''Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Rig ...

, his close links to the National Socialists and his advocacy of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion making him too extreme for many National Front members. Unable to serve under Tobler, Henne left to form the fiercely pro-National Socialist ' with Hans Oehler and Jakob Schaffner. Henne was overlooked for leadership of this group, although he was confirmed as Gauführer for Schaffhausen. In 1940 he became a co-founder of the ''

Nationale Bewegung der Schweiz The National Movement of Switzerland (german: Nationale Bewegung der Schweiz or NBS) was a Nazi umbrella-group formed in Switzerland in 1940. The NBS had its roots in the 1938 foundation of the ' by Rolf Henne after the more moderate Robert To ...

''. He took no further role in politics after the war, instead heading up the Argus der Presse press-cuttings agency. He died in Küsnacht in 1966.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henne, Rolf 1901 births 1966 deaths People from Schaffhausen People associated with the University of Zurich Heidelberg University alumni Swiss Nazis 20th-century Swiss lawyers National Front (Switzerland) politicians