Joel A Lewis Youth Against Fascism.pdf

THE YOUTH STRUGGLE AGAINST WAR
of theory and practice that dictated correct strategic practices for socialist revolution.
Green's analysis of the flexible and "creative" nature of Marxism undercut this current of
Comintern dogma, reflecting the possibilities of alternative strategies in the West for the
construction of socialism.
The Cold War brought about new challenges for communists, particularly in their relationship
with Moscow. By infusing the struggle for socialism with Western traditions,
Popular Front theory undercut the traditional basis of the Comintern's authority, opening
new paths for the evolution of Western communism. Though the Comintern was officially
dissolved in 1943, many communists continued traditions of deference to Moscow
for leadership initiatives. Institutions like the Cominform and domestic anti-communist
initiatives put communists in an even more precarious position throughout the 1950s.
Those YCLers who stayed within the movement after the international crises of 1956
were often the champions of de-Stalinization and democratic initiatives. Veterans of the
Popular Front Generation of the YCL would later be in the forefront of the Eurocommunist
movement and attempts to democratize the British and American parties. John
Gollan became the head of the CPGB in 1956, attempting to cope with the dual crises of
de-Stalinization and the Hungarian Uprising. Many British YCLers who left the movement
rallied to broad New Left inspired initiatives like the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
(CND). After years of FBI harassment and six years of incarceration, Gil Green
continued to work within the CPUSA the rest of his life to rally his comrades from the
Popular Front era. Santiago Carrillo continued to struggle under the Franco regime to
revive Spanish democracy, becoming the dominant voice of Eurocommunism and
Spanish reforms during the late 1970s.
When further crises plagued communists in 1989, YCL veterans of the Popular Front
Generation led the movement for change. British Popular Front YCLers like Bill Wainwright
openly supported calls for the transformation of the CPGB into the Democratic
Left. Supporters of the Morning Star newspaper rejected this initiative, reforming
themselves as the Leninist inspired Communist Party of Britain. The Democratic Left
has since disbanded in England and Wales, but continues on as a broad grassroots campaign
in Scotland. In the United States, Gil Green and Pete Seeger re-emerged in the late
early nineties to lead the reform minded pro-Gorbachev supporters of the CPUSA in
opposition to Gus Hall's supposed support of the 1991 Soviet coup. Green and Seeger
networked with younger activists like Angela Davis to form the Committees of Correspondence
for Democracy & Socialism (CCDS). Much like the Popular Front Generation,
CCDS activists sought to bring about a broad unity of the American left against a
perceived period of reactionary politics. Though the CCDS floundered in many of its
goals, the CPUSA and YCL have since revisited the Popular Front era and the writings of
Dimitrov under the leadership of individuals like Sam Webb, Jessica Marshall, Docia
Buffington, Tony Pecinovsky and Abdul Hassan. For such communists, the international
struggle for peace, democracy and socialism have become inseparable notions.
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