Around the turn of the century 1800-1900, “youth” became an important concept in politics and society at large. Across Europe political parties and other groups founded their own youth organizations. This also occurred in Sweden. This study examines the fascist and national socialist youth movement Nordisk Ungdom (Nordic Youth), active 1933 until the early 1950s. Nordic Youth was part of the fascist party NSAP/SSS, also known as Lindholmsrörelsen (the Lindholm Movement). This study deals with Nordic Youth’s upbringing of the ‘New Youth’, an ideal youth sharing many similarities with the fascistic theory of the “New Man”. In their eyes, the Swedish youth were destined to become the protectors and defenders of both the nation and the future. The study also takes a closer look on Nordic Youth’s view on gender and the different ways boys and girls were to be raised according to their ideology. Furthermore, this study explores the role of youth in the ideological struggle Nordic Youth advocated for. This ideological struggle was intended to result in a new nation reborn from the ashes of the previous society.

The purpose of this master thesis is to study and compare conservative, fascist and nationalist youth movements active in Sweden during the 1930s and 40s. The political youth movements at the centre of this study are the Young Swedes (Ungsvenskarna), Swedish Rural Youth League (Svenska Landsbygdens Ungdomsförbund), Nordic Youth (Nordisk Ungdom) and National Youth League of Sweden/National League of Sweden (Sveriges nationella ungdomsförbund/Sveriges nationella förbund). During the early 1900s, youth was often described as both the reviver of society and the future of the nation. Regardless of different ideological and political alignments, the youth movements were all invested in shaping and educating young people to prepare them for the future. In this study, the focal point has been the question why these youth movements wanted the role as educators of young people, as well as what was expected of the young after this education. The main task of the political youth movements seems to have been to give young people ideals to fight for through physical and spiritual education. Through this education the young would realize what was expected of them and finally transform into an ideal youth that could inherit the responsibility as caretakers of the nation as well as the future. The view on the ideal youth varied between the studied youth movements. The Young Swedes wanted to create a conservative youth, actively engaged with the main political party of the movement, the Right (Högern). The ideal youth of the Swedish Rural Youth League were aware of their responsibilities towards the rights of the rural areas and agriculture. The ideal youth of Nordic Youth and National Youth League would have very similar personalities and would be ready to fight and sacrifice for the future rebirth of the nation into similar, yet different, fascistic utopias.