Aristocrats see fascism as a route to retaking power lost to the bourgeoisie. While in Brazil planning her "Conservative International", AfD Parliamentarian Beatrix von Storch, granddaughter of Hitler's finance minister, met with Bolsonaro-backers in the Brazilian Monarchy.
AfD Parliamentarian Von Storch's birth name/title was, Her Highness Duchess Beatrix Amelie Ehrengard Eilika von Oldenburg. She is a distant relative of both Prince Charles and Bertrand de Orléans e Bragança, the head of the Brazilian royal family, who she met with last month.
In 2018, Congressman/Prince Luiz Philippe Maria José Miguel Gabriel Rafael Gonzaga de Orleans e Bragança became the first member of the Brazilian Royal Family to take political office since the fall of the Monarchy. Jair Bolsonaro later said, "I should have chosen you as my VP.
Little known fact: Although the Brazilian monarchy was deposed in 1889, the royal family still receives a 2.5% tax, called a Laudêmio, levied on every real estate transaction in the former Imperial Summer headquarters of Petropolis, RJ, which has a GDP of R$12 billion/year.
Von Storch's maternal grandfather, Count Johann Ludwig Graf Schwerin von Krosigk (second from right) was one of the few members of the Third Reich's cabinet to serve continuously from Hitler's appointment as Chancellor until his death.
As Hitler's Finance Minister, von Krosigk and his ministry persecuted Jews, stole their property, and laundered their money. In 1949, he was convicted of war crimes and sentenced to 10 years in prison, but his sentence was commuted in 1951. Those Aristocrats have the best lawyers
The Brazilian Monarchy tried to retake power in a referendum in 1993. I was living in São Luís at the time and remember thinking, "what the hell?". 13% of Brazilians - mostly conservative Catholics - voted for a return to Monarchy. Obviously, many of them supported Bolsonaro too.
During the lead up to the 1964 coup, the CIA funded anti-communist marches by a conservative Catholic group called "Tradition, Family and Property". The meeting between the Brazilian royals and Von Storch took place in its current headquarters, Instituto Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira
Here is a Portuguese language source on libertation theology priest Frei Betto talking about the CIA relationship with TFP during the lead up to the 1964 coup: noticias.uol.com.br/politica/ultim…
Before the 2016 coup, when Brazil was a more hopefull place, Vice Brasil hired to poke some fun at the Monarchy. I went to an encounter with an open mind and met a few nice people there amid a bunch of far-right reactionaries. Here it is in English brasilwire.com/the-curious-ca…
So, recalling the relationship between deposed royal families, Hitler, Mussolini, and the Brazilian military dictatorship, it's noteworthy that a German duchess/AfD Deputy Director, just met with Bolsonaro and the Monarchy, and announced formation of a Conservative International.
A study by Unicamp Professor Adriana Dias shows a 60% increase in Brazilian neo-nazi cells since Bolsonaro took office in 2019, and an increase of nearly 600% since 2015, the year before the coup. Most of their organizing is done online and is supported by the intl far right.
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