Karl-Heinz Priester
Encyclopedia
Karl-Heinz Priester was a German
far right
political activist. Although he played only a minor role in Nazi Germany
he became a leading figure on the extreme right in Europe
after the Second World War.
before going on to serve as an officer in the Waffen SS.
around the time of its formation and became associated with the hard-line neo-Nazi tendency of the party. He was in attendance at the 1951 conference in Malmö
that saw the foundation of the European Social Movement
. Priester, who by that time was leading his own Deutsch-Soziale Bewegung group, initially had problems attending after his visa was refused but ultimately he was appointed to the four man council of leadership alongside chairman Per Engdahl
, Maurice Bardèche
and Augusto De Marsanich
. Priester was an enthusiastic supporter of the idea of a united Europe although his co-operation with another leading light of that position, Oswald Mosley
, was hamstrung by the stormy nature of their persoanl relations.
Priester was a featured essayist for Nation Europa
from the journal's foundation in 1951. Working closely with Otto Skorzeny
, Priester attempted to utilise the magazine as a rallying point for his dream of European unity and travelled widely promoting this aim, including meetings in London
with his rival Mosley. The two even worked together on their shared aim of exporting the idea to South Africa
, where Mosely had already secured an alliance with former cabinet minister Oswald Pirow
.
. The Verlag also published Advance to Barbarism, an attack on the validity of the Nuremberg Trials
by British Union of Fascists
and Union Movement
activist F.J.P. Veale, with an introduction written by another prominent critic of the trials Maurice Hankey, 1st Baron Hankey
.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
far right
Far right
Far-right, extreme right, hard right, radical right, and ultra-right are terms used to discuss the qualitative or quantitative position a group or person occupies within right-wing politics. Far-right politics may involve anti-immigration and anti-integration stances towards groups that are...
political activist. Although he played only a minor role in Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
he became a leading figure on the extreme right in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
after the Second World War.
Under the Nazis
Priester had been head of propaganda for the Hitler YouthHitler Youth
The Hitler Youth was a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party. It existed from 1922 to 1945. The HJ was the second oldest paramilitary Nazi group, founded one year after its adult counterpart, the Sturmabteilung...
before going on to serve as an officer in the Waffen SS.
Post-war
Priester joined the Deutsche ReichsparteiDeutsche Reichspartei
For the party that existed in Imperial Germany, see Free Conservative Party.The Deutsche Reichspartei was a nationalist political party in West Germany...
around the time of its formation and became associated with the hard-line neo-Nazi tendency of the party. He was in attendance at the 1951 conference in Malmö
Malmö
Malmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...
that saw the foundation of the European Social Movement
European Social Movement
The European Social Movement was a neo-fascist Europe-wide alliance set up in 1951 to promote Pan-European nationalism.The ESM had its origins in the emergence of the Italian Social Movement , which established contacts with like-minded smaller groups in Europe during the late 1940s, setting up...
. Priester, who by that time was leading his own Deutsch-Soziale Bewegung group, initially had problems attending after his visa was refused but ultimately he was appointed to the four man council of leadership alongside chairman Per Engdahl
Per Engdahl
Per Claes Sven Edvard Engdahl was a leading Swedish far right politician. He was the leader of Sveriges Fascistiska Kamporganisation, SFKO during the 1920's.-Career:...
, Maurice Bardèche
Maurice Bardèche
Maurice Bardèche was a French essayist, literary and art critic, journalist, and one of the leading exponents of Neo-Fascism in post-World War II Europe...
and Augusto De Marsanich
Augusto De Marsanich
Augusto De Marsanich was an Italian National Fascist Party politician and the second leader of the Italian Social Movement ....
. Priester was an enthusiastic supporter of the idea of a united Europe although his co-operation with another leading light of that position, Oswald Mosley
Oswald Mosley
Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet, of Ancoats, was an English politician, known principally as the founder of the British Union of Fascists...
, was hamstrung by the stormy nature of their persoanl relations.
Priester was a featured essayist for Nation Europa
Nation Europa
Nation Europa is a monthly magazine, published in Germany, that was originally established in support of Pan-European nationalism...
from the journal's foundation in 1951. Working closely with Otto Skorzeny
Otto Skorzeny
Otto Skorzeny was an SS-Obersturmbannführer in the German Waffen-SS during World War II. After fighting on the Eastern Front, he was chosen as the field commander to carry out the rescue mission that freed the deposed Italian dictator Benito Mussolini from captivity...
, Priester attempted to utilise the magazine as a rallying point for his dream of European unity and travelled widely promoting this aim, including meetings in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
with his rival Mosley. The two even worked together on their shared aim of exporting the idea to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, where Mosely had already secured an alliance with former cabinet minister Oswald Pirow
Oswald Pirow
Oswald Pirow was a South African lawyer and far right politician, who held office as minister of Justice and Defence.-Early life:...
.
Publishing
He controlled his own publishing house, the Verlag Karl-Heinz Priester, which produced the works of a number of authors including Paul RassinierPaul Rassinier
Paul Rassinier was a French pacifist, political activist, and author. He was also an anti-Nazi French Resistance fighter, and a prisoner of the German concentration camps at Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora. A journalist and editor, he wrote hundreds of articles on political and economic subjects...
. The Verlag also published Advance to Barbarism, an attack on the validity of the Nuremberg Trials
Nuremberg Trials
The Nuremberg Trials were a series of military tribunals, held by the victorious Allied forces of World War II, most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, and economic leadership of the defeated Nazi Germany....
by British Union of Fascists
British Union of Fascists
The British Union was a political party in the United Kingdom formed in 1932 by Sir Oswald Mosley as the British Union of Fascists, in 1936 it changed its name to the British Union of Fascists and National Socialists and then in 1937 to simply the British Union...
and Union Movement
Union Movement
The Union Movement was a right-wing political party founded in Britain by Oswald Mosley. Where Mosley had previously been associated with a peculiarly British form of fascism, the Union Movement attempted to redefine the concept by stressing the importance of developing a European nationalism...
activist F.J.P. Veale, with an introduction written by another prominent critic of the trials Maurice Hankey, 1st Baron Hankey
Maurice Hankey, 1st Baron Hankey
Maurice Pascal Alers Hankey, 1st Baron Hankey, GCB, GCMG, GCVO, PC was a British civil servant who gained prominence as the first Cabinet Secretary and who later made the rare transition from the civil service to ministerial office.-Life and career:The third son of R. A...
.