“Deeds, Not Words”: Right-Wing Terrorism in Twentieth-Century Europe

This chapter focuses on the manifestations and characteristics of right-wing terrorism in twentieth-century Europe, particularly on developments in Germany and Italy. When viewed from a comparative perspective, a central characteristic for right-wing terrorism is the Tatglaube, the faith in deeds. Although the worldview justifying such terrorism is grounded in racism, ethnocentrism, and nationalistic concepts of superiority, the decisive factor is violence as an end in itself, a violence that generally forgoes any justifying pattern of argument and strives to annihilate the enemy physically. The repertoire of actions taken and the formulized language of right-wing terrorism have remained largely unchanged throughout the twists and turns of twentieth-century history. Nevertheless, it is possible to differentiate various phases of right-wing terrorism, which were also influenced, in turn, by the political and societal environment. Despite the ethnocentric and nationalistic worldview from which this terrorism springs, it also becomes evident here that right-wing terrorism has always been marked by transnational influences, particularly since the end of the twentieth century.