Modern History of Freemasons
From About Freemasons
The modern history of Freemasonry mirrors, in many ways, modern history as a whole. For example, just as many countries had to deal with totalitarian governments through the middle of the century, so, too, were Freemasons affected by totalitarianism. Many totalitarian governments thought that the secret rituals of the Masons could be used to disguise political opposition and so tried to suppress the Masons. Other governments, too, worried about national safety, worried about the potential for secret opposition from Freemasons and other like organizations.
Contents |
Hungary and Eastern Europe
Freemasons were often caught up in larger political struggles in modern times. In 1919, for example, a dictatorship was created in Hungary. The new government organized raids on Masonic Lodges and Masonic libraries, records, archives, and other property was looted and destroyed. A number of Masonic buildings were used for anti-Masonic exhibits. By 1920, Freemasonry was outlawed in the country. During the communist era in Eastern Europe, Freemasonry was suppressed.
Freemasonry and the Islamic world
Ever since1738, Freemasonry has been associated with atheism in the Islamic world. In 1978, the Islamic Jurisdictional College issued an opinion about Freemasonry that claimed that it was a "dangerous" and "clandestine" group, which only served to reinforce earlier condemnations of the organization. Only in Lebanon and Morocco is Freemasonry not illegal.
In Iraq, the history of Freemasonry is slightly different. Just after the First World War, a number of lodges were created. After the Revolution of 1958, however, meetings of lodges were banned. Under Saddam Hussein, Freemasonry was designed a Zionist organization and belonging to this illegal group could result in the death penalty.
Freemasonry in Modern Italy and Spain
In 1925, Benito Mussolini decided that Freemasonry was a political organization and made it illegal to belong. Some notable Freemasons who refused to give up their association as Masons to join the Fascist party – notably General Cappello, a prominent Fascist and Deputy Grand Master Italy's leading Grand Lodge – received jail sentences. However, many Mussolini supporters and Fascists became Freemasons, after the fall of fascism in Italy.
Once General Francisco Franco rose to power as dictator in Spain, Freemasonry was made illegal in 1940. Some Masons were arrested and lodges were closed. Being a Mason was publishable by 6 years in jail. Longer jail sentenced were sometimes imparted on those Spanish Masons with higher degrees. Suppression of Freemasonry continued until the 1970s in Spain.
Freemasons in Wartime Europe
Nazis saw Freemasons as part of "the Jewish conspiracy" and by the 1933 Enabling Act disbanded Freemasonry in Germany. Disbandment involved confiscating all the property in all of Germany’s lodges and prohibiting Masons from holding offices. Freemasons who became concentration camp inmates were tagged as Political prisoners, and were forced to wear an inverted red triangle. As Nazi Germany became allied with other countries during the war and took control of other countries, those countries also had to ban Freemasonry. Historians have estimated that between 80,000 and 200,000 Masons were killed by Nazi governments, although the exact number of Masons killed is not known.
