Joel A Lewis Youth Against Fascism.pdf

YOUTH AGAINST FASCISM
and women decide who they are by reference to who and what they are not." 64 Communist
rhetoric, particularly after the rise of fascism, relied increasingly upon simple "dualisms"
in their propaganda to differentiate their movement from perceived ideological
opponents. 65 Due to this rhetorical style, Colley's methodology offers unique insights
into the nature and function of communist propaganda in identity construction. In terms
of identity negation, Lenin consciously constructed communism as a rejection of the
theories, practices and organizational forms of the Second International. 66 Then during
the Popular Front era of the thirties, communism was constructed in complete negation to
fascism. This transition was and continues to be a source of intense controversy from
political contemporaries and historians since the inter-war period.
In evaluating this phenomenon, this book distinguishes between the existence of two
distinct generations of communist youth who posited two divergent political identities. 67
The first generation of communist youth, reflecting the period of 1919-1933, is termed
here as the Leninist Generation. The Leninist Generation was founded on a rejection of
the Second International, framing their revolutionary political identity in strict opposition
to all elements of social-democratic political culture. With the rise of Nazi fascism and
the looming threat of world war, a new generation of communist youth was constructed
encompassing the period of 1933-1945. This Popular Front Generation framed their
identity in negation to the perceived political values of fascism, positing their movement
as defenders of progressive Western political traditions. To justify this transition, the
Comintern revised Leninist theory on the contentious issues of nationalism, unity and
democracy to legitimize their anti-fascist program.
This book is broken down into two sections, one providing a chronological narrative
of young communist organizations and practices to provide a historical framework, the
other addressing the thematic evolution of communist theory. Each chapter traces the
influence of the Comintern and the YCI on each of these generations, using the examples
of the British and American YCLs as case studies to explore the development of communist
theory, practice and political identity. In order to understand the evolution of communist
identity, this research makes constant reference to evolving and competing
definitions of social democracy and fascism that framed and defined the worldview of
communist propaganda. This research appreciates the important insights of other works,
but does not intend to explore the "clandestine" world of Western communism or the
"personal" world of individual activists. Propaganda was the primary medium communists
used to recruit and indoctrinate its membership base. Instead of focussing on who
defined policy or how individuals acclimated to policy, this study explores the propaganda
and rhetoric communists utilized to communicate and interpret policy, ideology
and political values to its membership base. 68 By studying the evolution of communist
propaganda, this research seeks to evaluate the values and political identity that the
leadership of the international communist movement consciously sought to construct in
their youth membership base in Britain and the United States. Finally, this research
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