Joel A Lewis Youth Against Fascism.pdf
Joel A Lewis Youth Against Fascism.pdf
Joel A Lewis Youth Against Fascism.pdf
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NOTES<br />
47. Though the Comintern openly embraced similar positions in the past, the Popular Front strategy condemned such assertions<br />
as reactionary and unrealistic, therefore making any coordination with the Trotskyist movement incompatible and<br />
undesirable by many. See "Founding Conference of the Fourth International 1938: Thesis On the World Role of American Imperialism," in<br />
Toward a History of the Fourth International Online Archive .<br />
48. Georgi Dimitrov, "The People's Front," in The United Front: The Struggle <strong>Against</strong> <strong>Fascism</strong> And War (San Francisco:<br />
Proletarian Publishers, 1975), 199.<br />
49. R. Khitarov, "Right and Left Deviations in the <strong>Youth</strong> Movement," The International of <strong>Youth</strong>: Organ of the Executive<br />
Committee of the Young Communist International no.1, (April-May, 1930): 9.<br />
50. In striving to be "ideologically correct" Leninists in opposition to other youth organizations, the British and American<br />
YCL's often directed their political energies to internal ideological struggles within the Communist Parties since other<br />
groups had already been systematically denounced. See Ibid., 13.<br />
51. For an excellent study of the impact of British communism in communities and the interrelationship of the movement with<br />
others on a local level see Stuart Macintyre, Little Moscows: Communism and Working-Class Militancy in Inter-War Britain<br />
(London: Croom Helm, 1980). <strong>Youth</strong> campaigns for socialist unity in Britain were part of a larger phenomenon during<br />
the twenties to counter the growing coercive power of organized employer's organizations. See Arthur McIvor,<br />
Organized Capital.<br />
52. Blame for mutual animosity between these organizations was rooted in divergences in theoretical outlook and in the practical<br />
applications of tactics within the larger Labour movement. Discrimination and hostility against communist activists<br />
was also a regular feature of Labour politics at the leadership level throughout the inner-war period that was often translated<br />
into the socialist youth movements. Though Labour Party discrimination against communists became more of a<br />
dogma than a principled strategic stance over the years, the CPGB inflicted much damage in its early years to intentionally<br />
breed animosity between itself and the Labour Party. After the Labour Party first refused affiliation of the CPGB in 1921,<br />
the CP released an extremely hostile pamphlet describing the correspondence between the two parties. What is obvious<br />
from the CP reply was that while discrimination emanated from the Labour Party executive, the CP was not at all an innocent<br />
victim in bringing this discrimination upon itself. The CP statement boldly stated, "The reply it will be seen, is a<br />
definite refusal that our objects 'do not appear' to be in accord with those of the Labour Party. To be quite frank we never<br />
supposed they were. Our worst enemy will not accuse us of ever pretending they were." CPGB, The Communist Party<br />
and the Labour Party: All the Facts and all the Correspondence (London: CPGB 1921), 7. When the CP finally came<br />
down to a less aggressive stance on socialist unity with the Popular Front era is was realised that coordinated unity between<br />
the CPGB and Labour Party would be very unlikely and therefore great hope was put into the youth movement to be<br />
able to heal the splits in the socialist movement.<br />
53. YCLGB, The United Front of the <strong>Youth</strong> (London: YCLGB, 1926), 6.<br />
54. Ibid., 9, 10.<br />
55. YCLGB, A Congress of Young Fighters, 8, 20.<br />
56. YCLGB, Where Shall We Start (London: YCLGB, 1930) 10.<br />
57. Ibid., 16.<br />
58. YCLGB, For <strong>Youth</strong> Unity: Being the Reply of the Young Communist International to the Independent Labour Party Guild<br />
of <strong>Youth</strong> (London: YCLGB, 1933), 5.<br />
59. Ibid., 10.<br />
60. Ibid., 11.<br />
61. YCLGB, Lenin and the <strong>Youth</strong> Movement (London: YCLGB, 1934), 3.<br />
62. The irony of the anti-YCL attitude of the ILP was that while it initially denounced the YCL for its revolutionary communist<br />
tactics, the ILP later scorned the YCL for giving up the struggle for revolutionary socialism with the adoption of the<br />
Popular Front. A 1937 pamphlet from the ILP attacked the Popular Front and British communists for abandoning the class<br />
struggle: "As a Revolutionary Socialist Party, the Independent Labour Party bases its policy on the class struggle.… The<br />
ILP is therefore opposed to the tactic of the Popular Front, which aims at combining the working class forces with the<br />
"democratic" elements within the Capitalist parties in opposition to <strong>Fascism</strong> and Reaction. This tactic ignores the fact that<br />
<strong>Fascism</strong> and Reaction are inseparable from Capitalism and can only be defeated by the overthrow of Capitalism.… The<br />
ILP rejects the view that it is necessary to adopt the Popular Front tactic and to modify the class struggle in order to win<br />
the support of the middle class. The winning of effective support from the middle class can only be achieved within the<br />
framework of the fight for a Socialist solution, by showing this class that their best interests are served by assisting the<br />
working class to establish Socialism." See ILP, Through the Class Struggle to Socialism: The ILP Attitude and Resolutions<br />
Adopted at Annual Conference, Easter, 1937 (London: ILP, 1937), 3.<br />
63. Ibid., 4.<br />
64. Ibid., 8.<br />
65. V. Chemodanov, Struggle or Go Down: The Right of <strong>Youth</strong> Independence in the Struggle for Socialism (London: YCLGB,<br />
1934), 16.<br />
66. William Potter, "Lessons of the ILP," in Marxism and the British Labour Party: The Open Turn Debate<br />
.<br />
67. YCLGB, Young Workers Advance! One Fight! One Foe! One Front! A Brief Report on the Meeting of the Representative<br />
of the ILP Guild of <strong>Youth</strong> and the Young Communist International, Paris, May 5-6 th (London: YCLGB, 1934), 8.<br />
68. Gollan, Raise High the Banner, 1.<br />
69. Ibid., 2.<br />
70. Ibid., 3.<br />
71. Ibid., 5.<br />
72. Ibid., 11-12.<br />
73. Gollan's pamphlets of 1935 contained elements of traditional Leninist rhetoric speaking of creating a "Soviet Britain," but<br />
the YCL position on youth unity against common enemies began falling in line with Popular Front theory. See John Gollan,<br />
Answer If You Dare! <strong>Youth</strong> Challenges the National Government (London: YCLGB, 1935), 14-15.<br />
74. Secretariat of the Communist Party of Great Britain, Correspondence on Merger of the Young Communist League with the<br />
Labour League of <strong>Youth</strong> (London: Internal Memo, June 24 th , 1936. (CP/CENT/CIRC/70/04), 2.<br />
75. Martin Upham, "The History of British Trotskyism to 1949: The Bolshevik-Leninists And The Militant Group," in Revolutionary<br />
History .<br />
76. Throughout the thirties the overwhelming majority of the Labour Party leadership sought an aggressive anti-communist<br />
policy, resorting to methods of mass expulsions of Labour leaders and members to hinder unity campaigns within Britain<br />
171