The World Union of National Socialists (WUNS) is an organisation founded in 1962 as an umbrella group for neo-Nazi organisations across the globe.
History
Formation
The movement came about when the leader of the American Nazi Party, George Lincoln Rockwell, visited England and met with National Socialist Movement chief Colin Jordan and the two agreed to work towards developing an international link-up between movements. This resulted in the 1962 Cotswold Declaration, which was signed by neo-Nazis from the United States, the United Kingdom, France (Savitri Devi),[1] West Germany (Bruno Ludtke),[2] Austria, and Belgium. More member nations would join later throughout the decade, including Argentina, Australia, Chile, Ireland, Iran, India, South Africa, Korea, Japan, Peru, and Ukraine.
Splits
Following Rockwell's assassination in 1967, control of the WUNS passed to Matt Koehl, who attempted to extend the influence of the group by appointing Danish neo-Nazi Povl Riis-Knudsen as general secretary. However a split began to develop over the insistence of Koehl that Nazism should also serve as a religion, and eventually he broke away from the WUNS to lead his own version of Nazi mysticism. The split fundamentally weakened the WUNS and its influence declined strongly, despite attempts by Jordan to reinvigorate it. Jordan remained the nominal leader of the organization until his death in 2009, when he was succeeded by Koehl, who was the titular leader until his own death in 2014.
Associated groups
A number of groups have become members of the WUNS or accepted association to the group down the years.
Americas
Given the leadership of Rockwell and Koehl, the American Nazi Party and its successor the National Socialist White People's Party were the main constituent groups of the WUNS.
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