Joel A Lewis Youth Against Fascism.pdf

YOUTH AGAINST FASCISM
present policy does not coincide with his speeches on peace before the election." 260 After
Roosevelt gave his infamous Chicago "Quarantine Speech" in October, 1937 the YCL
increasingly identified him as a potential ally for Spain and collective security. The YCL
asserted that "the struggle against the international and domestic reactionary forces…
demands today the implementation of President Roosevelt's Chicago speech." 261 The
YCL insisted that the only way to achieve this was "uniting all labor, progressive and
democratic forces of the people to put pressure upon Congress to adopt a course of action
in line with President Roosevelt's Chicago speech." 262
The YCL blamed the Roosevelt's inability to act on behalf of Spain, not upon his own
personal will, but upon the existence of pro-fascist elements in the government. The
YCL blamed inconsistencies in his foreign policy practices on the influence of domestic
reactionaries, most notably within the State Department:
It seems that President Roosevelt, Secretary Hull and powerful Congressional leaders
decided that the arms embargo upon Republican Spain was a grave mistake, nothing
more than helpful to Hitler and Mussolini. Breckenridge Long, the former ambassador
to Italy, informed the President that it was within his power to lift the embargo by proclamation
without revision of the Neutrality Acts… the reactionary clique at the State
Department has been exposed as operating even against the desires of the President of
the Nation, running circles around the Secretary of State, in pursuance of their profascist
policies. Observe how a handful of fascist-minded men nullify the wishes of the
majority of the American people. 263
When the Spanish Republic finally fell, the YCL did not blame Roosevelt, but the
American embargo that was "maintained by the Hoover and Coughlin reactionaries" that
"prevented the United States from giving the aid that could have brought victory." 264
A large number of YCLers in Britain and the United States joined the ranks of the
International Brigades to fight for Spanish democracy. The YCLGB spoke praised the
legacy and role of the British volunteers in Spain. At their 11 th National Congress the
YCL boldly stated, "Chamberlain doesn’t represent the real Britain. The real Britain is
represented by the British youth who upheld the honourable traditions of British history
in the International Brigade in Spain." 265 When the British volunteers returned from
Spain the YCL invoked similar images of anti-fascist youth representing Britain's democratic
heritage:
We cheer and cheer, for these are our heroes, men who faced death and fascism, and
conquered it in Spain… men who left home and work to fight great odds and cruelty because
they believed in liberty.... This International Brigade, formed by men of all
classes, that arose at the call of freedom, is part of the heritage, part of the most noble
traditions of our people. The Brigade is Britain. 266
To the YCL, the International Brigades represented "no ordinary army that marched out
to do battle with the Fascists. It was the Peoples' Front with a gun on its shoulder,
meeting the issue of Fascism versus Democracy." 267
The YCLUSA countered arguments that the communists in Spain were trying to establish
a Soviet Republic by highlighting "the unselfish work of our boys" in the Interna-
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