Rhodesian White People's Party | |
|---|---|
.svg) | |
| Abbreviation | RWPP |
| President | Ken Rodger |
| Founded | 30 January 1976 |
| Banned | November 1976 |
| Split from | Rhodesian Front |
| Headquarters | P.O. Box 1929,Bulawayo |
| Membership(1976) | c.700 |
| Ideology | Neo-Nazism White nationalism White supremacy Anti-communism Anti-liberalism Antisemitism Anti-Zionism |
| Political position | Far-right |
| International affiliation | World Union of National Socialists |
TheRhodesian White People's Party (RWPP) was aRhodesianneo-Nazi political party led by James Kenneth "Ken" Rodger and the organizing secretary Frederick Lewis.[1] The movement was founded inBulawayo on 30 January 1976;[1] it mainly inspired theAmerican Nazi Party and later with it theNational Socialist White People's Party to prevent the black rule in Rhodesia.[2][3] It was outlawed in November 1976 by the government ofIan Smith for anti-Semitic incidents by US citizens who were members of the party against the Bulawayo Hebrew Congregation. Among the expelled citizens were the neo-Nazis Eric Thompson andHarold Covington.[4] This political party was the only one of theWorld Union of National Socialists that was active in Africa.[5] Its main activity was distributing Nazi literature and harassing Jews in the area.[6] The group has been described by the BishopHeinrich Karlen as having the "Nazi mentality of the superman."[7]
The political party was founded at a meeting in Bulawayo, 30 January 1976, by 30 former members of theRhodesian Front. Among its founders were the British Kenneth Rodger (former member of theNational Front),[8][9] the Rhodesian Eric Thompson (aka Eric Campbell), the French Jean-Pierre Marechaux, and the American Harold Covington.[6][9] It was founded with the aim of fighting Communism and "terrorism", and opposing Zionism and liberalism.[1][10]
The party collaborated with small racist groups such as the Valkyrie Group and had a training camp atMount Darwin. The group had an estimate of 700 active members and 120 armed men divided into groups of 10.[9]
The party was opposed to the government of Ian Smith for his allegedly Zionist policies and supposed defeatism in theRhodesian Bush War, and Smith was considered by the party to be the country's greatest enemy, instead of theZANU guerrillas who were fighting against the government in Rhodesia.[2] Ken Rodger accused Ian Smith for being an agent of an international Communist conspiracy, backed by “international Zionism,” which he said planned to destroyChristian civilization.[8]
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