National Socialist Workers Party of Iran حزب سوسیالیست ملی کارگران ایران | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | SUMKA |
| Leader | Davud Monshizadeh |
| Spokesperson | Shapour Zandnia |
| Founded | 1952; 73 years ago (1952) |
| Headquarters | "Black House", Khaneqah Street,Tehran[1] |
| Membership | approx. 600 (1952est.)[1] |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Far-right[1] |
| Anthem | "سرود حزب سومکا " Sumka Party Anthemⓘ |
| Party flag | |
 | |
TheNational Socialist Workers Party of Iran[1] (Persian:حزب سوسیالیست ملی کارگران ایران,romanized: Hezb-e Sosiyālist-e Melli-ye Kārgarān-e Irān), better known by its abbreviationSUMKA (Persian:سومکا), was[3][4] aNeo-Nazi[5] party inIran. The symbol of the party was a highly stylisedFaravahar, on their flag appearing in a similar arrangement to theNSDAP flag.[6]
The party was formed in the early 1950s byDavud Monshizadeh[1][7] and had a minor support base in Iranian universities.[citation needed] Critics of the lateMohammad Reza Pahlavi allege that he provided direct funding to SUMKA at one point.[8]
Monshizadeh formed the SUMKA in 1952 along with Morteza Kossarian.[9] Monshizadeh had lived in Germany since 1937, and was a formerSS member, who fought and was wounded in theBattle of Berlin. Kossarian was also a formerSS Officer, who was part of the planning ofOperation Barbarossa and subsequently fought at theBattle of Kiev and theBattle of Stalingrad, where he was injured. Monshizadeh was also a professor atLudwig Maximilians University of Munich and was deeply influenced byJosé Ortega y Gasset's philosophy.The SUMKA briefly attracted the support of youngnationalists in Iran, includingDariush Homayoon, an early member who would later rise to prominence in the country.[8] SUMKA adopted theswastika and black shirt as part of their uniforms.[8][10]
They were firmly opposed to the rule ofMohammad Mosaddegh during their brief period of influence, and the party worked alongsideFazlollah Zahedi in his opposition to Mossadegh. In 1953, they were part of a large group of Zahedi supporters who marched towards the palace of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi demanding the ousting of Mossadegh.[11] The party would become associated with street violence against the supporters of Mossadegh and theTudeh Party.[1]
The party had an "assault group" (guruhe hamle) with an estimated size of 100 members that openly attacked members of thecommunistTudeh Party of Iran and the Soviet Cultural Center and Hungarian Trade Office in Tehran. Colonel Fateh, a retired officer of theImperial Iranian Air Force, was responsible for training the unit.[1]
Colonel Fateh was the officialpatron of the SUMKA.[1] After the1953 Iranian coup d'état, the party received a monthly stipend of 2,500Iranian rial from thepolice and other security authorities. In 1958, Monshizadeh receivedUS$7,000 fromSAVAK to go to theUnited States.[1] The party was also possibly financed by foreign embassies based in Iran.[1] In April 1952, Iranian police reported that Monshizadeh was seeking to establish ties with theBritish embassy to get financial support. It was allegedly funded by theCentral Intelligence Agency (CIA) throughTPBEDAMN.[1][12]
Although there are no known Neo-Nazi parties in Iran, advocates ofNazism continue to exist in Iran and are active mainly on theInternet, mostly on chat sites dedicated to reviving groups such as SUMKA.[13] As of 2010, they are reported to be a small yet slowly increasing minority of Iranian youths internationally.[14] It is said that the Neo-Nazi forums active in Iran were actually run by one of Monshizadeh's grandsons.[15]
SUMKA was the abbreviation forSosiyalist Melli Kargaran Iran, or Iran's Nationalist Socialist Workers Party. This was a fascist organization founded in April 1951 by Davud Monshizadeh.
Sumka was a small but openly fascist party that in every respect fashioned itself after the defunct German Nationalist Socialist Party.
