The German National Movement in Liechtenstein (German: Volksdeutsche Bewegung in Liechtenstein, VDBL) was a Nazi party in Liechtenstein that existed between 1938 and 1945.[1]
Nazi groups had existed in Liechtenstein since 1933, primarily because of the rise of Nazi Germany and the introduction of anti-Jewish laws in the country. Liechtenstein experienced a large rise Jewish emigrants to the country.[3][4]
A slogan associated with the party was Liechtenstein den Liechtensteinern! (Liechtenstein for the Liechtensteiners!). This implied a radical populism that would threaten the allegiance of the people of Liechtenstein to ruling Prince of LiechtensteinFranz Josef II.[6]
The party offered Patriotic Union leader Otto Schaedler leadership of the party primarily due to his contacts with Nazi Germany, but he refused and distanced himself from the party.[7]
In March 1939, the VDBL staged an amateurish coup attempt, first trying to provoke a German intervention by burning swastikas, followed by declaring an Anschluss with Germany. The leaders were almost immediately arrested and the hoped-for German invasion failed to materialise.[11][12] The party was effectively defunct from this point until 1940.[11]
The Liechtenstein Loyalty Association was formed following the party's coup attempt in order to oppose National Socialist activities in Liechtenstein, particularly that of the VBDL. The association launched a signature campaign to reaffirm Liechtenstein's independence in addition to a commitment to Franz Joseph II and the country's continued economic and political alignment towards Switzerland.[13] This campaign was signed by 2492 people in Liechtenstein.[14]
The inability of the party to participate in the 1939 elections (after a pact between the main parties to keep the election date a secret), combined with the drastic decrease in Nazi sympathies following the outbreak of World War II led to a temporary demise of the party. However, in June 1940 it was reconstituted under the leadership of Alfons Goop. During 1941 and 1942, the party was involved in vehement anti-Semitic agitation, urging a solution to the country's presumed "Jewish Question," accusing Jewish families in Liechtenstein of spying for the Allies. Until 1943, the party attempted to recruit Liechtensteiners into the Waffen-SS and gain public sympathy for the Nazi cause, which infuriated Switzerland.[6]
The German Ministry of Foreign Affairs in March 1943 forced the VDBL to hold talks with the Patriotic Union (VU), in Friedrichshafen under auspices of the Waffen-SS, in order to reach a fusion of both parties, which shared an anti-Bolshevik and anti-clerical programme. Severely disappointed, Goop resigned as party leader and it was taken over by Sepp Ritter. In the end the VU only consented to some "cultural cooperation." When Germany's war fortunes declined, in July 1943 Der Umbruch was forbidden by the authorities.
In 1946, party leaders were prosecuted for the 1939 coup attempt.[15] In 1947, Goop and other leaders were tried for high treason. Goop was sentenced to a thirty-month imprisonment.[1]
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