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‘The European’ was an unique publishing initiative in the post-War world. It provided a forum for two generations of intellectual writers whose interest was to explore the definition, opportunities and structure of the coming union of all Europe.
In his biography of Oswald Mosley, Robert Skidelsky called it “an impressive achievement”. Besides the surviving pre-War intellegencia that included Raven Thomson, Ezra Pound, Roy Campbell, Henry Williamson, A. James Gregor and Hugo Charteris, ‘The European’ provided a focal point for a new vanguard of young British writers, poets and intellectuals. Among these contributors were Desmond Stewart, Alan Neame, Noel Stock, Peter Whigham and Denis Goacher.
As its reputation grew, these were joined by many writers from mainland Europe such as Jacques Brousse, Henri Gilbert, Michael Mohrt and Doctor Otto Strasser who had been expelled from Germany by Hitler for his left-wing National Socialist views. Its continuing themes were Nationalism v. Europeanism and the study of practical forms of syndicalism.
Based on the same concept as the pre-War ‘British Union Quarterly’ magazine, ‘The European’ was launched in March 1953 and was published monthly until 1959 when its work was absorbed by the Union Movement publications ‘Action’ and ‘The National European’.
During the six years of its existence, the magazine was edited by Diana Mosley. Oswald Mosley himself wrote a regular commentary as ‘European’ and contributed many major essays under his own name. These are considered by many to be his best polemical writings.
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