Adrian Molin

Adrian Leopold Molin (5 March 1880 – 10 August 1942) was a Swedish far-right writer and political activist.

Born in Varberg, Molin attended the University of Gothenburg and received his doctorate from the institution in 1906.^[1] He then joined the right-wing Göteborgs Aftonblad, then the Svenska Dagbladet before setting up his own monthly in 1907, the Det Nya Sverige, which continued until 1926.^[1] The young Molin was a disciple of Rudolf Kjellén and a leading figure in the so-called 'Young Right' movement.^[2] Ideologically he was highly conservative socially but also anti-capitalist.^[3] Molin flirted with corporatism by supporting an occupational franchise as well as some state intervention designed to bring the working class into a national consensus. He combined these ideas with a hatred of both socialism and the Russian Empire.^[4]

His main political involvement was a founder and leading figure in the National Society Against Emigration, set up in 1907 to oppose the drain of Sweden's population to, mainly, the USA.^[5] In this capacity he edited its publication Hem i Sverige^[6] and advocated widespread home ownership and the settlement of northern Sweden to stem the flow of migrants from the country.^[7] He also supported the building of traditional rural dwellings based on the use of indigenous architecture as part of his fascination with traditional ruralism.^[8] Heavily influenced by the philosopher Vitalis Norström, he became highly pro-Germany and showed characteristics of an early form of fascism.^[1]

During the 1920s and 1930s his ruralism began to develop along lines reminiscent of the blood and soil rhetoric of the Nazi Party.^[9] Soon Molin became a supporter of Nazism and hoped to apply its principles to Sweden, although he dismissed the indigenous Nazi leader Birger Furugård as a 'parody' of the ideology.^[9] His own political activity was restricted to the National Youth League of Sweden, where he became a leading voice on the far right, Nazi wing.^[9]

Near the end of his life Molin's enthusiasm for Adolf Hitler cooled as he became disillusioned with some of the excesses of Nazi Germany.^[9] However he retained his admiration for their anti-Semitism, hierarchical society and especially the ruralism endorsed by the likes of Richard Walther Darré.^[9] It was these themes, as well as his desire for a union of Sweden and Norway as a defensive move against the Soviet Union, that dominated his writings until his death in Lidingö.^[9]