Did The Daily Mail really support Hitler during the 30's/40'?

RubusRooRubusRoo Posts: 10,262
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Or is that another urban myth?
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  • ohglobbitsohglobbits Posts: 4,479
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    I think they did but not for very long.
  • ftvftv Posts: 31,668
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    RubusRoo wrote: »
    Or is that another urban myth?

    The short answer is Yes it did, from 1934 until the outbreak of war. Lord Northcliffe was a friend of Hitler and the paper published a number of flattering articles about the Nazis and also Oswald Mosley's fascists (Northcliffe being a friend of Mosley as well).One Mail article referred to ''sturdy young Nazis''. It is something its arch-rival the Daily Express has never let the Mail forget and still refers to it from time to time even now. Wikipedia has more.
  • redtuxredtux Posts: 1,241
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    Well the fail supported Hitler until war broke out, when they would have been closed down unless they stopped
  • Robbedin73Robbedin73 Posts: 7,859
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    According to I Ian kershaws book on Hitler he says and i Quote" The Only English newspaper to actually talk to the German chancellor (Hitler) as he then was , was the British Daily mail in which it said that enough was enough, and its time to fight back against the Jews(after the battle of Cable street) and support the brownshirts ,& Mosley , so in a word Yes
  • RussellIanRussellIan Posts: 12,034
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    It often feels like the blackshirts are still there lingering at the back of the wardrobe, as opposed to having been totally discarded.
  • El GuapoEl Guapo Posts: 4,838
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    Yes, hence why they are a bunch of Nazis. I mean have you ever read that tabloid rag? :D
  • Reiver97Reiver97 Posts: 2,491
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    The Daily Mail had the front page headline "Hurrah For The Blackshirts" which praised the British Union of Fascists for their "sound, commonsense, Conservative doctrine".

    The newspaper's proprieter, Lord Rothermere wrote in the Daily Mail in 1933...
    "I urge all British young men and women to study closely the progress of the Nazi regime in Germany. They must not be misled by the misrepresentations of its opponents. The most spiteful distracters of the Nazis are to be found in precisely the same sections of the British public and press as are most vehement in their praises of the Soviet regime in Russia. They have started a clamorous campaign of denunciation against what they call "Nazi atrocities" which, as anyone who visits Germany quickly discovers for himself, consists merely of a few isolated acts of violence such as are inevitable among a nation half as big again as ours, but which have been generalized, multiplied and exaggerated to give the impression that Nazi rule is a bloodthirsty tyranny."

    Hitler replied...
    "I should like to express the appreciation of countless Germans, who regard me as their spokesman, for the wise and beneficial public support which you have given to a policy that we all hope will contribute to the enduring pacification of Europe. Just as we are fanatically determined to defend ourselves against attack, so do we reject the idea of taking the initiative in bringing about a war. I am convinced that no one who fought in the front trenches during the world war, no matter in what European country, desires another conflict."
  • Sven945Sven945 Posts: 4,217
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    I've heard numerous reports about this "Hurrah for the Blackshirts" headline. I seem to remember a couple of well researched books (Flat Earth News by Nick Davies and Where Power Lies by Lance Price suggest it was a leader, rather than a front page. I'd imagine if it was a front page then a scan would be easier to come by? I don't think I've ever seen a scan of the offending piece.

    I'm not doubting the truth of the headline, nor am I suggesting that a leader is more forgiveable than a front page headline (I think they're roughly equal in terms of meaning, if not direct impact).
  • Reiver97Reiver97 Posts: 2,491
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    Sven945 wrote: »
    I've heard numerous reports about this "Hurrah for the Blackshirts" headline. I seem to remember a couple of well researched books (Flat Earth News by Nick Davies and Where Power Lies by Lance Price suggest it was a leader, rather than a front page. I'd imagine if it was a front page then a scan would be easier to come by? I don't think I've ever seen a scan of the offending piece.

    I'm not doubting the truth of the headline, nor am I suggesting that a leader is more forgiveable than a front page headline (I think they're roughly equal in terms of meaning, if not direct impact).


    I suspect you may be right. I have never found a scan online.

    So, who fancies a trip to the British Library to dig up a copy for us (8th July 1934 if that helps) and to settle this once and for all?

    Either way it is pretty disgraceful stuff, but a scan of the offending piece would be appreciated.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,882
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    Lets write to the Daily Mail and ask them. :)
  • ftvftv Posts: 31,668
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    Whirliegig wrote: »
    Lets write to the Daily Mail and ask them. :)

    I think you might get more help from the Daily Express, they have been taunting the Mail ever since 1939.
  • onecitizenonecitizen Posts: 5,042
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    ohglobbits wrote: »
    I think they did but not for very long.

    They stopped when the Nazi's started mass bombing British cities and the U boats were sinking our ships.
    When the Nazi's were just murdering other foreigners they probably weren't too bothered.
    Not that the Mail is bigotted or anything ;)
  • jzeejzee Posts: 25,498
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    If it had any relevance now I'm sure Melanie Philips wouldn't be working for them, Daily Mail is really far tamer than the red tops.
  • wns_195wns_195 Posts: 13,556
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    It depends how you define support. If a paper prints an article which expresses positive views of a football team, that doesn't mean it supports that football team.

    If the Guardian interviews Nick Griffin, there won't be suggestions that the Guardian has links with or supports the BNP. Newspapers want to get information, and will use what ever tactics are necessary. That includes establishing good relationships with people in organisations they wish to cover.

    In the 1930s we weren't at war with the Germans, and the public wasn't hostile to Hitler. Nor did the government or the public think about discrimination as we do now. None of this means we were a nation of fascists.

    In the 1930s, though the Nazis were discriminating against the Jews, they weren't exterminating them. The only teritory they took until 1939 was predominantly German. Our government wasn't giving serious consideration to going to war with the Nazis when they went into Austria. There were plenty of people who didn't want to see another war, so we must take this into account when considering articles against fighting Germany.

    I think it is fair and more accurate to say that the Daily Mail expressed positive views about the Nazis during the 1930s, when the government and the public were not as hostile towards the Nazis as they became during World War 2 and as subsequent generations have been.

    If because of what they did in the past we were to give newspapers a bad reputation that they couldn't change or refuse to read them, we wouldn't have a positive opinion of or read any newspapers.
  • Chelseafan101Chelseafan101 Posts: 2,538
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    I believe that TV Tropes calls it "Values Dissonance".

    A little known fact is that the Guardian supported the Confederates during the US Civil War.
  • spiney2spiney2 Posts: 27,058
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    Not only did quite a lot of people support Hitler - particularly the upper classes - the official British policy was appeasement, right up till "peace in our time".

    Amazingly, anti-semitism was continued in Britain right after world war 2!

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/43_Group
  • rhodrhod Posts: 3,995
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    The way stateless Jews from Germany are pouring in from every port of this country is becoming an outrage: the number of aliens entering the country through back door - a problem to which the Daily Mail has repeatedly pointed

    -Daily Mail,20 August 1938
  • wns_195wns_195 Posts: 13,556
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    rhod wrote: »
    -Daily Mail,20 August 1938

    That comes across as expressing concerns about immigration to the UK rather than expressing support for the Nazis.
  • rhodrhod Posts: 3,995
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    The support for the Nazis in the 1930s by the Daily mail (not to mention their support for Mussolini and Oswald Mosley's blackshirts) is pretty well documented. I suggest you google it, wns.
  • johnythefoxjohnythefox Posts: 1,021
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    rhod wrote: »
    -Daily Mail,20 August 1938

    Change a word or so, and this could have come out in the Mail today.
  • butterworthbutterworth Posts: 17,872
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    Apparently 'Germans' supported the Nazis too. Let's hold that against all of them too....
  • rhodrhod Posts: 3,995
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    Not all 'Germans' supported the Nazis; particularly those Germans that were Jewish, Gypsy, homosexual, mentally or physically disabled, political or religious dissidents etc.

    The owner and management of the Daily Mail should have known better. Instead, Rothermere fawned over Hitler like a lovesick puppy. In correspondence he addressed him as "My Dear Fuhrer..."
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3,360
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    The Mail started distancing itself after violence at the BUF's Olympia Rally. Some commentators believe Jewish advertisers in The Mail were also (understandably) putting pressure on Rothermere to ditch his support of Mosley.
  • deadwood dandeadwood dan Posts: 4,616
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    ftv wrote: »
    I think you might get more help from the Daily Express, they have been taunting the Mail ever since 1939.

    A bit rich from the Express, who sometimes make even the Mail appear moderate.
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