SUMKA

The National Socialist Workers Party of Iran (SUMKA) was an Iranian Neo-Nazi party founded by Davud Monshizadeh, an Iranian Neo-Nazi and a supporter of Nazism during and after World War II. Monshizadeh and his party continued their activism after WWII ended and the Nazi party dissolved.
Like the Nazis, SUMKA was a militant nationalist organization. Their logo was a simplified Faravahar, a Zoroastrianism symbol (Zoroastrianism is an ancient religion of Iran, a reference used by SUMKA as part of their Aryan heritage).Leonard Willy Michael, National socialist propaganda in late Reza-Shah Iran: the case of Khaterat-e Hitler by Mohsen Jahansuz. British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, Volume 50, 2023, p. 180-198.
==A bit of history==
While World War II was raging on in Europe, some countries such as Iran showed sympathy to the Nazis for their "Aryan cause".Reza Zia-Ebrahimi, Self-Orientalization and Dislocation: The Uses and Abuses of the "Aryan" Discourse in Iran. Iranian Studies 44:4, July 2011, pp. 445-472. One of these people was Davud Monshizadeh, one of Hitler's biggest fanboys outside of Germany. He even fought in the battle of Berlin in 1945 and was wounded in the aftermath. Monshizadeh had been living in Germany in 1937 prior to the rise of the Nazi Party, and became an SS member during that time. In 1940, Monshizadeh founded SUMKA alongside fellow neo-Nazi Morteza Kossarian. Kossarian was also an SS member who fought in the and the Battle of Stalingrad, and was wounded in the process. Monshizadeh would heal from his wounds and return back to Iran after the end of the war.
==Later activities==
SUMKA would go on to spread violence against the opposition (as fascists do), namely against Mohammad Mossadegh (the prime minister of Iran at the time) and the Tudeh Party, a communist party in Iran. SUMKA supported the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and demanded that he stay in power. They got their wish, but at a price: their activity eventually waned after the 1950s when the CIA led a coup against the democratically elected Mossadegh and gave the Shah absolute power. This led the Shah to crack down on various groups, with SUMKA being one of the groups (though the Shah and his government were accused of funding the group at one point).Abrahamian, Ervand. “The 1953 Coup in Iran.” Science & Society 65, no. 2 (2001): 182–215. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40403895.
==Eventual end==
SUMKA’s activity seemed to eventually end sometime during the 1970s, when the ayatollah took power and outlawed all protest and opposition. SUMKA’s activities after this time were not known.
==Legacy==
Despite the party officially no longer being active, advocates for Nazism exist today on blog sites for Nazism, mostly among the younger generation fed up with the current Islamic regime.Leonard Willy Michael (2023) National socialist propaganda in late Reza-Shah Iran: the case of Khaterat-e Hitler by Mohsen Jahansuz, British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 50:1, 180-198, DOI: 10.1080/13530194.2021.1945430 Though they are currently small, they are unfortunately an increasing minority. SUMKA's legacy remains as a way for Iranian youth to become radicalized into neo-Nazism and white supremacy, creating an online army of rabidly xenophobic youth becoming radicalized against minority groups in the country such as Muslims and Arabs. There are even a few chat forums formed around Nazism (think an Iranian version of Stormfront or The Daily Stormer).
==External links==
* One such site
* "Resurrecting the Reich: Middle Eastern and North African Digital Nazi Communities", Global Network on Extremism & Technology.
==References==
Category:Far-right political parties
Category:Fascism
Category:Iran
Category:Neo-Nazism
Category:Racism
Category:White supremacy
Category:Iranian politics