Joel A Lewis Youth Against Fascism.pdf

THE POPULAR FRONT GENERATION
of the New Party, Mosley stated, "We appeal to youth, which turns in despair form a
world threatened with ruin by the mistakes of its predecessors." 66 A former Liberal MP,
Sellick Davies, spoke of the characteristics of the New Party in positive youthful terms as
possessing a "new vision, courage… a Party of youth, which yet respected the wisdom of
experience." 67 A later pamphlet of the British Union of Fascists, the descendent of
Mosley's New Party, personified fascism as a movement composed of "young realists"
who were inspired by a "physical fire and a spiritual urge to creative action." 68 Fascists
embraced the impatience, disillusionment and vitality of the youth as positive characteristics
to be moulded into action against the "old world." British fascists contended youth
of the twenties had been helpless against the forces of the "old world" because the
"generation who would normally have stood between the men of fifty and the men of
thirty… lie rotting in fifteen million graves." 69 The BUF contended the young generation
of the thirties was a "fascist generation" that needed to embrace their "young manhood to
rescue great nations from decadence" in order to build "a nobler order of civilization." 70
The YCLGB was sensitive to the youth content of BUF propaganda and attempted to
counter its potential influence. The YCL contended that although the fascists spoke of
organizing the "new generation," that in practice "Fascism hits at the youth, because it
leads to war, to concentration camps, to wage cuts and unemployment." 71 Pre-empting
the adoption of the Popular Front, in 1934 the YCLGB began characterizing fascism as
"the policy of the most reactionary section of the bankers and bosses" that embraced "the
rule of terror and brutality against the workers." 72
Prior to the Popular Front, the YCLGB had embraced anti-fascist techniques based on
public confrontations similar to the anti-fascist methods of the German Rote Jungfront. 73
YCL anti-fascism utilized violent street confrontations to ward off the BUF threat. 74
Most of the early confrontations with the BUF were directed by the YCL in the Manchester
area. 75 The Manchester YCL was composed primarily of Jewish youth who were
extremely sensitive to the question of fascism; "the growth of British fascism visible on
the streets of Manchester coupled with the rise to power of Hitler in Germany" led many
young Jews to join up with the YCL. 76 Although young Jews embraced the YCL, local
Jewish elites expressed concern about the confrontational form that youth anti-fascism
took. 77 Confrontational anti-fascism was replicated throughout Britain, especially in
districts with high concentrations of Jewish youth. However, the techniques of the
Manchester YCL were ultimately rejected by the YCL and CPGB national leadership
during the transition to the Popular Front period. 78 Violent confrontations often ended up
discrediting both the BUF and YCL in public perception as equally violent organizations.
Mosley hoped to gain public interest in his movement by harnessing media attention.
The BUF was often witnessed "interfering with working-class meetings and distributing
leaflets at factories and depots" to stir up confrontations for media coverage. 79 Mosley
also courted Lord Rothermere to utilize his publishing empire to help spread fascist
doctrine through positive coverage of the BUF. After securing Rothermere's allegiance,
47