Joel A Lewis Youth Against Fascism.pdf

YOUTH AGAINST FASCISM
camps, and the threat of imperialist war against the Soviet Union. In fact, many of the
illustrations, formats and themes of the American Young Worker were almost identical to
the YCLGB's Young Worker. Cover illustrations were primarily male dominated,
reflecting on themes of sacrifice and struggle associated with WWI and post-war revolutionary
struggles. (See Appendix) 95 While the threat of war was a consistent theme in the
headlines, the US government was often the primary target of denunciation instead of the
growing fascist movement in Europe. After the onset of the Great Depression, the YCL
addressed fascist tendencies as a natural expression of the progress towards imperialist
war and increased capitalist exploitation. A leading Young Worker comic of November,
1930 showed a caricature of a plump capitalist bringing forth a baby adorned with a
"swastika top-hat" entitled "Capitalism Brings Forth The Little One." (See Appendix) 96
This comic portrayed how fascism was not understood as a distinct movement for a
targeted analysis, but as an organic outgrowth of capitalist reaction.
The YCL significantly underestimated the potential threat of fascism. From January,
1930 until May, 1933 The Young Worker did not carry a single headline mentioning
fascism. The first mention of fascism in The Young Worker headlines came on May 10,
1933 with the US visit of Dr. Hans Luther who was characterized as "the representative
of the bloody Hitler fascist Government of Germany." 97 Though the YCL began to take
the fascist threat more seriously, the ideological discrepancies between fascism and other
movements were still highly distorted in YCL propaganda. In the same May, 1933 issue
of The Young Worker, the YCL carried an article arguing "very little separates the actions
of Dictator Hitler and "democratic" Roosevelt." On the same page a cartoon showed
Roosevelt and Hitler towering above forced labor camps, smiling and shaking hands with
each other. (See Appendix) 98 Fascist terror in Germany was described as an attack
against "militant workers who attempt to defeat hunger and war," contending that in
"America, this same process of fascization is taking place." 99
Though the ideological lines differentiating fascism were often blurred, the YCL began
proposing broad anti-fascist youth alliances prior to the Popular Front. The YCL
said the "increased arrests of young fighters" and "the persecution of the Negro masses"
were evidence that American fascism was trying "to deny the youth the right to live" and
in turn necessitated "united action of all working class youth regardless of political or
religious belief." 100
A major challenge of the Popular Front was revising YCL propaganda techniques.
The YCL addressed problems of propaganda tactics in their internal organizing manuals
prior to the Popular Front. Although The Young Worker still propagated traditional
Leninist slogans, internal organizing manuals increasingly talked about new linguistic
strategies in approaching youth. A 1932 article on youth relief discussed the importance
of simple language in framing debates. A Minnesota YCLer argued that "when we spoke
plainly" that "our meetings were successful;" he found that when YCL organizers "did
not talk about 'Rooshia' and everything, but spoke plainly" that youth were receptive to
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