Joel A Lewis Youth Against Fascism.pdf

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NOTES 47. Though the Comintern openly embraced similar positions in the past, the Popular Front strategy condemned such assertions as reactionary and unrealistic, therefore making any coordination with the Trotskyist movement incompatible and undesirable by many. See "Founding Conference of the Fourth International 1938: Thesis On the World Role of American Imperialism," in Toward a History of the Fourth International Online Archive . 48. Georgi Dimitrov, "The People's Front," in The United Front: The Struggle Against Fascism And War (San Francisco: Proletarian Publishers, 1975), 199. 49. R. Khitarov, "Right and Left Deviations in the Youth Movement," The International of Youth: Organ of the Executive Committee of the Young Communist International no.1, (April-May, 1930): 9. 50. In striving to be "ideologically correct" Leninists in opposition to other youth organizations, the British and American YCL's often directed their political energies to internal ideological struggles within the Communist Parties since other groups had already been systematically denounced. See Ibid., 13. 51. For an excellent study of the impact of British communism in communities and the interrelationship of the movement with others on a local level see Stuart Macintyre, Little Moscows: Communism and Working-Class Militancy in Inter-War Britain (London: Croom Helm, 1980). Youth campaigns for socialist unity in Britain were part of a larger phenomenon during the twenties to counter the growing coercive power of organized employer's organizations. See Arthur McIvor, Organized Capital. 52. Blame for mutual animosity between these organizations was rooted in divergences in theoretical outlook and in the practical applications of tactics within the larger Labour movement. Discrimination and hostility against communist activists was also a regular feature of Labour politics at the leadership level throughout the inner-war period that was often translated into the socialist youth movements. Though Labour Party discrimination against communists became more of a dogma than a principled strategic stance over the years, the CPGB inflicted much damage in its early years to intentionally breed animosity between itself and the Labour Party. After the Labour Party first refused affiliation of the CPGB in 1921, the CP released an extremely hostile pamphlet describing the correspondence between the two parties. What is obvious from the CP reply was that while discrimination emanated from the Labour Party executive, the CP was not at all an innocent victim in bringing this discrimination upon itself. The CP statement boldly stated, "The reply it will be seen, is a definite refusal that our objects 'do not appear' to be in accord with those of the Labour Party. To be quite frank we never supposed they were. Our worst enemy will not accuse us of ever pretending they were." CPGB, The Communist Party and the Labour Party: All the Facts and all the Correspondence (London: CPGB 1921), 7. When the CP finally came down to a less aggressive stance on socialist unity with the Popular Front era is was realised that coordinated unity between the CPGB and Labour Party would be very unlikely and therefore great hope was put into the youth movement to be able to heal the splits in the socialist movement. 53. YCLGB, The United Front of the Youth (London: YCLGB, 1926), 6. 54. Ibid., 9, 10. 55. YCLGB, A Congress of Young Fighters, 8, 20. 56. YCLGB, Where Shall We Start (London: YCLGB, 1930) 10. 57. Ibid., 16. 58. YCLGB, For Youth Unity: Being the Reply of the Young Communist International to the Independent Labour Party Guild of Youth (London: YCLGB, 1933), 5. 59. Ibid., 10. 60. Ibid., 11. 61. YCLGB, Lenin and the Youth Movement (London: YCLGB, 1934), 3. 62. The irony of the anti-YCL attitude of the ILP was that while it initially denounced the YCL for its revolutionary communist tactics, the ILP later scorned the YCL for giving up the struggle for revolutionary socialism with the adoption of the Popular Front. A 1937 pamphlet from the ILP attacked the Popular Front and British communists for abandoning the class struggle: "As a Revolutionary Socialist Party, the Independent Labour Party bases its policy on the class struggle.… The ILP is therefore opposed to the tactic of the Popular Front, which aims at combining the working class forces with the "democratic" elements within the Capitalist parties in opposition to Fascism and Reaction. This tactic ignores the fact that Fascism and Reaction are inseparable from Capitalism and can only be defeated by the overthrow of Capitalism.… The ILP rejects the view that it is necessary to adopt the Popular Front tactic and to modify the class struggle in order to win the support of the middle class. The winning of effective support from the middle class can only be achieved within the framework of the fight for a Socialist solution, by showing this class that their best interests are served by assisting the working class to establish Socialism." See ILP, Through the Class Struggle to Socialism: The ILP Attitude and Resolutions Adopted at Annual Conference, Easter, 1937 (London: ILP, 1937), 3. 63. Ibid., 4. 64. Ibid., 8. 65. V. Chemodanov, Struggle or Go Down: The Right of Youth Independence in the Struggle for Socialism (London: YCLGB, 1934), 16. 66. William Potter, "Lessons of the ILP," in Marxism and the British Labour Party: The Open Turn Debate . 67. YCLGB, Young Workers Advance! One Fight! One Foe! One Front! A Brief Report on the Meeting of the Representative of the ILP Guild of Youth and the Young Communist International, Paris, May 5-6 th (London: YCLGB, 1934), 8. 68. Gollan, Raise High the Banner, 1. 69. Ibid., 2. 70. Ibid., 3. 71. Ibid., 5. 72. Ibid., 11-12. 73. Gollan's pamphlets of 1935 contained elements of traditional Leninist rhetoric speaking of creating a "Soviet Britain," but the YCL position on youth unity against common enemies began falling in line with Popular Front theory. See John Gollan, Answer If You Dare! Youth Challenges the National Government (London: YCLGB, 1935), 14-15. 74. Secretariat of the Communist Party of Great Britain, Correspondence on Merger of the Young Communist League with the Labour League of Youth (London: Internal Memo, June 24 th , 1936. (CP/CENT/CIRC/70/04), 2. 75. Martin Upham, "The History of British Trotskyism to 1949: The Bolshevik-Leninists And The Militant Group," in Revolutionary History . 76. Throughout the thirties the overwhelming majority of the Labour Party leadership sought an aggressive anti-communist policy, resorting to methods of mass expulsions of Labour leaders and members to hinder unity campaigns within Britain 171
YOUTH AGAINST FASCISM and the Second International as a whole. For a detailed narrative of the role of the British Labour Party National Executive in attempting to destroy unity efforts of the communists and Labour Popular Front sympathizers see G.D.H. Cole, A History of Socialist Thought, 85-89. See also J.S. Middleton, "The Labour Party and the So-Called Unity Campaign: An NEC Memorandum to All Members of Affiliated Organisations," in William Gillies Papers (LP/WG/COM/25). 77. National Council of Labour, British Labour and Communism (London: National Council of Labour, 1935), 9. (WG/COM/13). 78. Ibid., 4. 79. "Memorandum by the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party to be Presented to the League of Youth Conference at Manchester on April 11, 12 and 13, 1936," in William Gillies Papers (LP/WG/LOY/7), 2. 80. "Minutes of the League of Youth Advisory Committee Held at the Offices of the London Labour Party on Sunday, May 10 th , 1936," in William Gillies Papers (LP/WG/LOY/10), 1. 81. Duncan Hallas, "Revolutionaries and the Labour Party: The Trotskyists and Entrism," in Duncan Hallas Internet Archive . 82. Arthur Marwick, "Youth in Britain," 46. 83. "Minutes of a Meeting of the League of Youth National Advisory Committee Held at the House of Commons on March 9 th , 1938," in William Gillies Papers (LP/WG/LOY/21i), 1. 84. NCYCL, "Your Conference Can Take Decisions Which Can be of Far-Reaching Importance for Youth: Young Communist League to Labour Youth Conference," Challenge: The Voice of Youth 4, no.9 (March 3, 1938): 10. 85. In a 1938 memorandum on the development of the LLOY, the Labour Party NEC dedicated well over half of this 17 page document particularly to the issue of chastising Willis and exposing his coordinated activities with the YCL. The NEC gave a detailed list of the activities of every major national youth movement that the LLOY was working in coordination with and contended that communist participation in any of these coalitions, no matter how small, made LLOY participation incompatible with Labour's ban on united front activity. See Labour Party NEC, "League Of Youth Memorandum. Progress Made Since The Reconstitution Of The League," in William Gillies Papers (LP/WG/LOY/22). 86. Wolf Michal, "The Capitulators of the Second International Split the Labour Youth Movement," World Youth Review 1, no. 7 (July, 1939): 142. 87. John Douglas, "More and Better Activity," Our Youth: Discussion Magazine of the Young Communist League 1, no.1 (April, 1938): 16. 88. "The National Youth Campaign," Our Youth: Discussion Magazine of the Young Communist League 2, no.4 (April, 1939): 134. 89. Mick Bennett, "Building the Young Communist League," Our Youth: Discussion Magazine of the Young Communist League 1, no.2 (May, 1938): 3-4. 90. Molly McCulloch, "Who Can Be a Member of the League," Our Youth: Discussion Magazine of the Young Communist League 1, no.3 (June, 1938): 21. 91. "For Peace and Social Advance by the Defeat of the Chamberlain Government," Our Youth: Discussion Magazine of the Young Communist League 2, no.4 (April, 1939): 108. 92. W. Spence, "Decisions Influencing All Youth," Our Youth: Discussion Magazine of the Young Communist League 2, no.4 (April, 1939): 118-119. 93. John Gollan, We Ask For Life: Based on the Report of John Gollan to the Eighth National Conference of the Communist Youth Movement (London: YCLGB, 1936), 20. 94. John Gollan, "Democracy Wasn't A Gift – Our Fathers Had to Fight For Every Freedom We Enjoy Today," Challenge: For the Defense of the People 4, no.32 (August 20, 1938): 9. 95. Prior to the Popular Front, guest columns in the YCL press emanated from other national sections of the YCI or the Comintern leadership and were almost never open to members of other youth organizations to express alternative views. See J.L. Cottle, "Christian and Political Organisations: The Conditions of Co-Operation," Challenge: The Voice of Youth 4, no.41 (October 22, 1938): 11. 96. John Moon, "We Need a National Youth Administration in Britain," Challenge: The Voice of Youth 4, no.42 (October 29, 1938): 11. 97. While Stalin's campaign against Trotskyism, embodied in the Moscow "Show Trials," was primarily based on unwarranted slander and false accusations, the British YCL confirmed its anti-Trotskyist disposition during the Spanish Civil War. British communists perceived that the Spanish POUM was a Trotskyist organization. When the POUM led revolts against the Spanish Republican government communists used this as evidence to show that Trotskyist theory in practice simply assisted fascism. Trotskyists also identified their movement with traditional Bolshevism, denouncing the Popular Front. One of the main British Trotskyist groups in the late 1930's referred to itself as the "Bolshevik-Leninist group" to show their opposition to the Popular Front and their insistence on returning to traditional Bolshevik practices and theories. 98. Bennett, "Building the Young," 8. 99. Alec Massie, "Trotskyism and the Youth Movement: Part 1," Our Youth: Discussion Magazine of the Young Communist League 1, no.3 (June, 1938): 29. 100. YCLGB, We March To Victory, 16. 101. Alec Massie, "Trotskyism and the Youth Movement: Part 2," Our Youth: Discussion Magazine of the Young Communist League 1, no.4 (July, 1938): 13. 102. Ibid, 13, 14, 17, 18. 103. YCLGB Executive Committee, "Some Problems Facing the League." Our Youth: Discussion Magazine of the Young Communist League 1, no.6 (September 1938): 4. 104. Gollan, "Democracy Wasn't A Gift," 9. 105. The American Youth Congress was founded in 1934 primarily as a youth lobbying body to criticize the failures of Roosevelt's relief programs for youth. In May, 1936 the Canadian youth followed the lead of their American counterparts and in coordination with the YCLC established the Canadian Youth Congress reflecting "how intensely young Canadians felt the need for action to save their generation." See Tim Buck, "The Story of the Communist Movement in Canada, Chapter Nine: Canada's Youth Comes Of Age," in The Comintern Internet Archive: The Communist Party of Canada . 106. The main organizational representation for British youth at the World Youth Congress came from the British Youth Peace Assembly and the League of Nations Union Youth Groups. 107. J. Picton, "The Campaign For the Charter," Our Youth: Discussion Magazine of the Young Communist League 1, no.1 (April, 1938): 15. 172
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This book is dedicated to the memor
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Hulett, Fatima Uygun, Janey Buchan,
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INTRODUCTION: COMMUNIST HISTORIOGRA
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COMMUNIST HISTORIOGRAPHY AND THE YO
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THE LENINIST GENERATION youth could
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THE LENINIST GENERATION By upholdin
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THE LENINIST GENERATION especially
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THE LENINIST GENERATION young, who
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THE LENINIST GENERATION in the happ
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THE LENINIST GENERATION warnings, i
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THE LENINIST GENERATION organizatio
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THE LENINIST GENERATION such relati
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THE LENINIST GENERATION critiquing
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THE LENINIST GENERATION Although th
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THE LENINIST GENERATION radicalism,
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THE LENINIST GENERATION The communi
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THE LENINIST GENERATION first publi
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2 YOUTH AGAINST FASCISM: THE CONSTR
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THE POPULAR FRONT GENERATION counte
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THE POPULAR FRONT GENERATION Comint
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THE POPULAR FRONT GENERATION energy
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THE POPULAR FRONT GENERATION this w
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THE POPULAR FRONT GENERATION of the
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THE POPULAR FRONT GENERATION erful
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THE POPULAR FRONT GENERATION YCL me
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THE POPULAR FRONT GENERATION The gr
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THE POPULAR FRONT GENERATION First
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THE POPULAR FRONT GENERATION In con
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NATIONALISM put them to the test in
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NATIONALISM men, women or child mer
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NATIONALISM The second type of issu
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NATIONALISM with chauvinism.... Com
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NATIONALISM Parliament. Youth force
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NATIONALISM Political liberty is es
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NATIONALISM Civil War, whose result
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NATIONALISM constitution stated, "T
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NATIONALISM The YCLUSA could not ut
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4 UNITY OF YOUTH: FROM SECTARIANISM
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UNITY OF YOUTH countries." 12 The Y
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UNITY OF YOUTH While fascism framed
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UNITY OF YOUTH In stark contrast to
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UNITY OF YOUTH Though the YCL propa
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UNITY OF YOUTH At the earliest poss
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UNITY OF YOUTH The Leninist YCL den
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UNITY OF YOUTH strating that if "ou
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UNITY OF YOUTH nists made for a uni
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UNITY OF YOUTH Circle League insist
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UNITY OF YOUTH ated the themes of y
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5 DEMOCRACY: FROM DENUNCIATION TO D
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DEMOCRACY Young communists did not
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DEMOCRACY of freedom, the slogan of
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DEMOCRACY racy. YWL rhetoric dismis
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DEMOCRACY lenge offered such a foru
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DEMOCRACY Army men have a share in
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DEMOCRACY the imperialist role of B
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DEMOCRACY Road to Victory: Marching
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DEMOCRACY Popular Front strategies
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DEMOCRACY by fighting "to defend an
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DEMOCRACY Another component of the
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Page 156 and 157: APPENDIX Illustration 3 (Page 49).
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Page 162 and 163: NOTES reductionist in its methodolo
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Page 166 and 167: NOTES scribe themselves and the per
Page 168 and 169: NOTES 44. "Minutes of the Second Co
Page 170 and 171: NOTES Socialist Party." See Earl Br
Page 172 and 173: NOTES movement. See "The Language B
Page 174 and 175: NOTES 35. Leninist state theory had
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Page 180 and 181: NOTES 68. See Thomas Ricento, "The
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Page 188 and 189: NOTES 42. For an insightful comment
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Page 196 and 197: BIBLIOGRAPHY Communist Party Collec
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Page 202 and 203: BIBLIOGRAPHY YCLGB. A Congress of Y
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Page 206 and 207: BIBLIOGRAPHY Pecinovsky, Tony. "A H
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Page 218 and 219: BIBLIOGRAPHY Lindemann, Albert S. A
Page 220 and 221: BIBLIOGRAPHY Rosenhaft, Eve. Beatin
Page 222: YOUTH AGAINST FASCISM Todd, Nigel.
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