Joel A Lewis Youth Against Fascism.pdf

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