The fifth NISE Lecture will be held by Johannes Koll in Antwerp on 23 November 2017. His subject is the relationship between fascist movements and nationalism in Europe from 1918 to 1945. You can listen to his lecture here

In most European countries, fascist movements arose after the First World War. In contrast to nineteenth-century national movements that worked for the democratisation and modernisation of Ancien Régime society, fascists based themselves on a kind of hyper-nationalism in their quest for anti-parliamentary dictatorship. Moreover, they harboured imperialistic and irrendentist ambitions and some of them were overtly anti-Semitic. Notwithstanding the fact that the programmes of these movements resembled each other, there were many differences between them.

What do we mean by ‘fascism’? What role did fascism play in the Low Countries in general and in Flanders in particular? In answering these questions, this lecture will also examine the transnational contacts and forms of international cooperation within European fascism up until 1945.

Caricature of the international fascist conference in Montreux (Switzerland) in 1934
(by Robert Fuzier in Le Populaire, organe du Parti Socialiste)

Johannes Koll (°Cologne 1964) heads the University Archives and is ‘senior scientist’ at the Vienna University of Economics and Business (Austria). His scientific expertise includes nation formation, the history of both Belgium and The Netherlands as well as nazism. A.o. he published on the national movements in Belgium (2009) and recently on the head of the German occupation in Holland during the second World War, Arthur Seyss-Inquart.

NISELectures are always held in Flanders in appreciation for the financial support by the Flemish government to NISE. This year the lecture will be given in Dutch.

Date and Time: Thursday 23 November 2018 from 18h-20h

Location: the Nottebohm Room at the Flemish Heritage Library Hendrik Conscience in Antwerp (Belgium)

Entrance is free, but please register beforehand with Elly Broes (elly.broes@nise.eu)

The lecture is organised in cooperation with the Flemish Heritage Library Hendrik Conscience and POHIS-the Centre for Political History at the University of Antwerp (UA).