Dutch People's Union Nederlandse Volks-Unie | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | NVU |
| Chairman | Constant Kusters |
| Secretary | Peter van Egmond[1] |
| Founder | Guus Looy[2] |
| Founded | 27 May 1971; 54 years ago (1971-05-27) |
| Headquarters | Willem Beijerstraat 17,Arnhem, Netherlands |
| Newspaper | Wij Europa Wij Nederland (formerly) |
| Youth wing | Netherlands Germanic Youth (Germaanse Jeugd Nederland, GJN) |
| Membership(2013) | c. 20[3] |
| Ideology | Neo-Nazism Ethnic nationalism Dutch irredentism |
| Political position | Far-right |
| House of Representatives | 0 / 150 |
| Provincial councils | 0 / 572 |
| Municipal councils | 0 / 8,863 |
| Website | |
| nvu | |
TheDutch People's Union (Dutch:Nederlandse Volks-Unie,Dutch pronunciation:[ˈneːdərlɑntsəˈvɔl(ə)ksˌyni],NVU) is a Dutchfar-rightpolitical party.[4] The party espousesethnic nationalism, advocates for the preservation of "GermanicChristian culture" in the Netherlands, and is a proponent of aGreater Netherlands.[5]
According to theGeneral Intelligence and Security Service, the NVU attracts traditionalanti-Semiticneo-Nazis and aims to establish aone-party state in the Netherlands, in imitation of theNazi Party. In the 2000s, the party was said to organize almost all right-wing extremist public demonstrations in the country.[6]
The Dutch People's Union (NVU) was founded as a political party on 27 May 1971 by Guus Looy, with as key purpose to rehabilitate convicted war criminals ofWorld War II in the Netherlands.[7] In 1973, the BelgianRoeland Raes, vice chairman of theFlemish secessionist political partyVlaams Blok, also became vice chairman of the NVU—reflecting the desire of both parties to unify the Dutch and Flemish political scenes.[7]
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In 1974,Joop Glimmerveen, a formerLabour Party member,[8] joined the NVU and the party began agitating against the growing presence ofmigrant workers andSurinamese people in the Netherlands.[7] With the backing of the party, Glimmerveen participated in the 1974 municipal council election inThe Hague, using the slogan "The Hague must remainwhite and safe!" In the end, he was several hundred votes short of a seat. Later that year, Glimmerveen became chairman of the NVU.[9]
According to a 1975 report from theDomestic Security Service, representatives of the NVU, including Glimmerveen, had been in talks with the Surinamese R.R. Nunes, who was said to be in contact with controversial Dutch military officerRaymond Westerling and who was alleged to have plans to form a mercenary army to seize power inSuriname. Glimmerveen had refused to work with the Surinamese G.A. Baker, who had also wanted to raise a mercenary army in which Glimmerveen, a veteran of theKorean War, had been offered to work as an instructor.[10]
In 1976, the NVU distributed an inflammatory pamphlet during street brawls betweenlocals and immigrants in Schiedam.[7] In 1977, the party organized a demonstration inSoestduinen, in which a number ofneo-fascists and former members of the wartimeNational Socialist Movement in the Netherlands participated. Afterwards, several people were convicted for the content of their speeches.[7]
Attempts by theMinistry of Justice to ban the NVU culminated with a court order in 1978.[2] Owing to a controversial decision to forbid but not actually dissolve the party, the NVU was able to continue its activities after the ban.[9] Party confidence had plummeted, however, and in 1980 several members split to form theCentre Party—which itself would splinter again into theCentre Democrats (CD) and theCentre Party '86 (CP'86)—and the NVU found itself in a competitive struggle.[2]
After a disappointing performance in the 1981 general election, Glimmerveen stepped down as chairman. The party tried to organize partnerships and mergers with other far-right parties, but these initiatives proved unfruitful.[7]
In 1983, Glimmerveen returned as chairman. A large number of street actions and demonstrations were organized in cooperation with the far-right youth organizationNetherlands Youth Front (Dutch:Jongeren Front Nederland, JFN). For example, a counter-demonstration was held at the 1983 anti-nuclear weapons demonstration in The Hague. From 1984, the NVU also increasingly associated itself withNazi Germany and wartime figures like Hitler's deputyRudolf Hess (incarcerated atSpandau Prison until his death in 1987) and Dutch Nazi collaboratorAnton Mussert.[7]
In 1987, Glimmerveen again stepped down as chairman and the party became inactive.[8] The NVU was no longer viable as it had been outcompeted by the CD and CP'86, and it lacked members and funds.
In 1996, young neo-NazisConstant Kusters andEite Homan (both of whom had ties with the AmericanNSDAP/AO) approached Glimmerveen with the request to revive the party. This second iteration of the NVU hosted transnational events in which neo-Nazis from Belgium andGermany participated[7] and the party competed inThe Hague andArnhem during the1998 Dutch municipal elections [nl], though it again failed to win representation.
During this period, the NVU mainly functioned as the political arm of Homan'sAktiefront Nationale Socialisten (ANS).[7] This was a small group ofAutonomous Nationalist activists inspired by the formerAction Front of National Socialists/National Activists in West Germany, and which claimed solidarity with the Palestinians in theIsraeli–Palestinian conflict and with other groups they considered to beanti-imperialist.
In 2001, Constant Kusters became party chairman and set out to moderate the NVU's appearance. In the same year, Glimmerveen left the party on bad terms, followed by other prominent members such as Eite Homan and "Hitler imitator"Stefan Wijkamp [nl].[11] Glimmerveen became one of Kusters' biggest critics when he publicly aired the NVU's dirty laundry in 2003 and even threatened Kusters with legal action unless he quietly left the party. Nonetheless, the NVU was the most active far-right party in the Netherlands throughout the 2000s. During street actions it was supported by a Dutch chapter of the British neo-Nazi groupRacial Volunteer Force (RVF).
In 2015, the NVU attracted media attention when supporters of the party appeared in various municipalities on consultation evenings about the arrival of processing facilities forasylum seekers in the context of theEuropean migrant crisis.[12]
The party has claimed close cooperation with the right-wing populistForum for Democracy (Forum voor Democratie, FvD). These claims were substantiated by, among other things, screenshots of bank statements of payments by the FvD to the NVU to rent a venue for a party meeting with FvD prominentsThierry Baudet andTheo Hiddema, and logs ofFacebookMessenger conversations and email traffic between the FvD and NVU.[13] Baudet has denied this collaboration, but did expel an FvD member who was also active for the NVU.[14]
One of the biggest critics of NVU leader Constant Kusters was Joop Glimmerveen, who had been the face and leader of the party since the early 1970s and its ideologue until the end of the 1990s. In 1996, after almost 11 years of inactivity, Glimmerveen handed the NVU over to Kusters and Eite Homan.
Glimmerveen had given up party membership in 1994 but remained in control of the editorial rights of the party newspaperWij Nederland. Kusters writes and edits the current party newspaperWij Europa, which Glimmerveen could not stand for both its ideological course and its "shoddy production".
In 2003, Glimmerveen published a special edition ofWij Nederland, subtitledDe handel en wandel van NVU-clown Kusters (English:The Conduct of NVU Clown Kusters), filled with letters to Kusters, the latter's responses, and Glimmerveen's own vision for the NVU. Among other things, Glimmerveen accused Kusters ofembezzling party funds to "supplement his meagreunemployment". He also threatened Kusters with court action if he did not sort out the financial management of the NVU.
In a combined effort with theAnne Frank Foundation, the former trade unionAbvakabo forbade its members from being affiliated with organizations such as the NVU, ANS, and RVF.[15] Other affiliations it proscribed were those of the ethnonationalistVoorpost andNetherlands National Youth (Dutch:Nationale Jeugd Nederland, NJN), the Dutch chapter of the British neo-Nazi groupBlood & Honour, the Turkish ultranationalistGrey Wolves, and the NVU/CP'86 splinter groupAssociation for Dutch Nationalists (Dutch:Vereniging voor Nederlandse Nationalisten, VNN).[15] In 2012, theDutch Equal Treatment Commission ruled that barring members of the NVU and Voorpost from other memberships is prohibited discrimination on the basis of political affiliation.[16]
The Dutch People's Union participated eight times inmunicipal council elections in different cities between 1974 and 2022. In none of these elections did party members gain enough votes for a seat on the council. The NVU also participated in theprovincial council election forGelderland in 2003 and 2007, but here too did not receive enough votes for a seat on the council.[17] In 1977, 1981, and 1982, the party participated in the general election for theHouse of Representatives, but was unable to secure parliamentary representation.[18]
| House of Representatives | 1977 | 1981 | 1982 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nederlandse Volks-Unie (NVU) | 0.4% | 0.1% | 0.0% |
| Provincial council | 2003 | 2007 |
|---|---|---|
| Gelderland | 0.15% | 0.27% |
| Municipal council | 1974 | 1982 | 1986 | 1998 | 2002 | 2006 | 2010 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Apeldoorn | – | – | – | – | – | 1.0% | – | – |
 Arnhem | – | – | – | 0.0%* | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.3% |
 The Hague | 1.8% | 1.1%* | 0.2% | 0.0%* | – | – | – | – |
 Heerlen | – | – | – | – | – | – | 0.6% | – |
 Kerkrade | – | – | – | – | 0.8% | – | – | – |
 Landgraaf | – | – | – | – | 0.75% | – | – | – |
 Nijmegen | – | – | – | – | – | 0.6% | 0.5% | – |
 Oss | – | – | – | – | – | 1.0% | – | – |
 Rotterdam | – | – | – | – | 0.1% | – | – | – |
 Venray | – | – | – | – | – | 0.4% | – | – |
* Party was listed asLijst Glimmerveen
