Jean-François Thiriart facts for kids

Jean-François Thiriart (born March 22, 1922, in Brussels, Belgium – died November 23, 1992) was a Belgian political thinker. He is often known simply as Jean Thiriart.

During World War II, he was involved with groups that supported Nazi Germany. Because of this, he spent time in prison. In the 1960s, he started a group called Jeune Europe (Young Europe). This group aimed to unite Europe under a specific political idea. Thiriart believed in a strong, united Europe that would be a single country.

Early Life and Beliefs

Jean-François Thiriart grew up in a family with left-wing political views. At first, he joined some socialist and anti-fascist groups. However, he later changed his mind and became involved with far-right politics.

In 1940, he joined a group that supported working with Nazi Germany. Thiriart himself served in a military group called the Waffen SS. After the war, he was imprisoned for his actions. Once released, he became an optometrist, which is someone who helps people with their eyesight.

Return to Politics and European Unity

Thiriart became active in politics again in the 1960s. This was after Belgium gave independence to the Belgian Congo in 1960, which led to a difficult period known as the Congo Crisis. Thiriart strongly disagreed with this independence.

He joined a group called the Mouvement d'Action Civique (MAC). He also started to think about politics on a bigger, international scale. Thiriart connected with French groups who also opposed decolonization. Over time, he became convinced that Europe needed to be united.

The Jeune Europe Movement

Because of his belief in a united Europe, Thiriart created Jeune Europe. This movement wanted to spread its ideas across Europe. Soon, it had branches in countries like Italy, Spain, and France. In Belgium, Jeune Europe worked closely with the MAC group.

Thiriart publicly said he was against fascism and called Nazism old-fashioned. However, some people still thought his movement had fascist ideas. This was partly because Jeune Europe used the Celtic cross as its symbol, which is used by some neo-fascist groups. Also, their magazine promoted activities of a group that was seen as neo-Nazi.

Thiriart's Vision for Europe

Thiriart's ideas were against both the United States and the Soviet Union. He believed Europe was the true home of civilization. He was also against uncontrolled immigration and powerful countries controlling others. Instead, he supported the idea that all European people should be free and govern themselves. He also included what he called "allied ethnicities" of Europe in this vision.

His views made him unpopular with many people, both on the traditional right and the left. Thiriart denied being a Nazi and claimed his views were more in the political center. He tried to create a Europe-wide nationalist party called the National Party of Europe, but it was not successful.

Thiriart also wanted to support revolutionary groups in Latin America and Black Power movements in the United States. He started to develop the idea of creating "Political Soldiers" and set up training camps for them. He also admired leaders like Nicolae Ceauşescu of Romania and the People's Republic of China. Some historians have described his ideas as a form of fascist Maoism.

In the 1970s, Thiriart reportedly advised Fatah, a group within the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Later Life and New Ideas

Later in his life, Thiriart became interested in a political idea called National Bolshevism. He worked closely with people who supported this idea, such as Aleksandr Dugin.

Thiriart supported the idea of a "Euro-Soviet empire." He imagined this empire stretching from Dublin in Ireland all the way to Vladivostok in Russia. He also believed it would need to expand south to reach the Indian Ocean. Aleksandr Dugin liked this idea so much that he put it on the front page of his 1997 book, Foundations of Geopolitics.

Thiriart was also a member of a small pan-European group called the European Liberation Front. He spent a lot of time in Russia, where he saw a lot of potential for European nationalism to grow. He wrote several books about his ideas.

Jean-François Thiriart passed away from a heart attack in 1992.

Major Publications

• Un empire de 400 millions d'hommes l'Europe (Brussels: Imprimerie Sineco, 1964)
• La grand nation : 65 thèses sur l'Europe (Brussels, 1965)
• Editoriaux de Jean Thiriart (1965-1969) : la nation européenne (Charleroi: Edition Maciavel, 1969)
• The Great Nation: Unitarian Europe - From Brest To Bucharest (Manticore Press, 2018) ISBN: 978-0648299684
• Istanbul, the geopolitical capital of the United States, of Europe, Russia, and Asia, trans. Alexander Jacob (Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen Press, 2019) ISBN: 978-1495507571
• The geopolitical unification of Europe, Russia, and Central Asia : creating a unitary transcontinental multinational state, trans. Alexander Jacob (Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen Press, 2019) ISBN: 978-1495507564

See also

• National Bolshevism
• European Liberation Front
• Francis Parker Yockey