Joel A Lewis Youth Against Fascism.pdf

YOUTH AGAINST FASCISM
political role of constructing a new "Leninist Generation" of youth as future recruits for
the Communist Parties. 6 Since the YCLs evolved into recruitment organizations for
Communist Parties, most texts limit their treatment of youth to random footnotes and
passing commentary. During the thirties the YCI shifted its focus to constructing a
"Popular Front Generation" of youth dedicated to anti-fascism and the mass mobilization
of youth movements against the outbreak of a new world war. Though the emphasis and
composition of YCLs changed dramatically in the thirties, most historians have continued
to neglect addressing the central role of youth in communist politics.
Communist Historiography and the Youth
A diverse literature exists on the history of youth movements since the 1960s, but few
historians have seriously dealt with radical youth during the inter-war era. During this
period, issues of youth politics and culture were central questions within almost all
political movements. 7 In debating issues of war, peace, citizenship and democratic
inclusion, most politicians and activists explicitly linked their analysis of the role of the
youth with the future of their nation.
Existing histories of communist youth in Britain and the United States are primarily
autobiographical narratives, oral histories and analyses of "red diaper" children in communist
families. 8 Political autobiographies, though often gripping in their accounts,
primarily offer a "romanticized" vision of the past where former activists attempt to
legitimize their youthful political allegiances. Such studies offer fascinating personal
insights about political socialization and generational perceptions, but rarely engage in
any serious commentary on the ideological and organizational evolution of the YCLs.
Other texts have discussed the YCLs by focusing exclusively on their relationship to
the general student protest and youth movements. 9 Most surprising, by neglecting themes
of communist youth, standard histories of communism and youth politics have established
the view that the YCLs were of little historical importance.
Indeed, observations of the YCL's evolution raise important questions about the veracity
of communist historiography relating to youth politics in the inter-war period. Has
communist historiography developed upon divergent paths in Britain and the United
States What new themes can comparative methodologies reveal in communist history
How did youth of the twenties view and understand the communist movement Did the
British and American YCLs construct a unique political identity in the context of international
communism What role did ideologies like fascism play in constructing communist
political identity Can the standard dichotomy between "traditionalist" and
"revisionist" scholars adequately cope with these questions
Much of the field of Communist historiography was developed during the Cold War.
Reflecting the contentious political debates of that era, historians, political scientists and
policy analysts sought to explain the nature of the communist movement in order to
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