Joel A Lewis Youth Against Fascism.pdf

YOUTH AGAINST FASCISM
Clearly in our fight against the spread of these ideas, we must take hold of this incompatibility
between fascism and Americanism. A most appropriate place to drive home
this incompatibility is in citizenship training for young people, at young citizens day
ceremonies. Here we must move at once, for the reactionaries, Hearst and the Republicans,
are organizing Young Citizens' Day ceremonies using the slogan 'I am an American'
deliberately to build up a chauvinist, intolerant, and super-patriotic feeling among
the youth, to set the young voters against the New Deal, and to distort the true meaning
of Americanism. 96
Such campaigns were utilized by the YCL to portray it as a patriotic American organization
dedicated to strengthening democracy by promoting active citizenship.
Spain: Nationalism, Internationalism and Youth
Communists also used nationalist rhetoric to discuss foreign policy issues. In sum, it was
Spain that served as the vital reference point for Popular Front nationalist propaganda.
The British and American YCLs used distinct nationalist propaganda techniques in
rallying youth support for the Spanish Republic. Though the Spanish solidarity campaign
was an inherently internationalist phenomenon, the YCLs framed their appeals in primarily
nationalist terms. The British YCL utilized the geographic proximity of Britain to
Spain and the fascist nations to infer that a fascist victory in Spain was not in Britain's
national interests; the outcome of Spanish events had direct implications for the future of
the British nation. In an article on the International Brigades the YCL proclaimed, "What
happens in Spain will determine what happens elsewhere during the next few years. A
victory for Germany and Italy will mean war for all of us instead of a few." 97 John
Gollan addressed the 1938 YCL convention in similar terms stating, "[Chamberlain's]
policy is bringing nearer the day when air squadrons of fascism will bomb Prague, Paris
and London.... Defence of Spain means our defence." 98 Articles on fascist bombing
campaigns pleaded that "helping Spain's people to defeat fascism means saving ourselves
from Barcelona's fate!" 99 After the withdrawal of the International Brigades in 1939, the
urgency of YCL statements was heightened. The YCL appealed to the British people to
demand a change in government policy using bold statements like, "If we are to save our
own homes, let us allow the Spanish Government to buy arms so that it can defeat these
fascist powers." 100 Other Challenge articles asserted that securing the Spanish Republic's
"legal right to buy arms" was the best defense that the British people had against future
fascist aggression. 101 Other articles took on an emotional and personal tone stating,
"Never forget Spain's people are defending our future, saving our families and friends by
sacrificing theirs." 102 The violence perpetuated against the Spanish Republic served as a
foreshadowing of the destructive capacity the fascist powers were willing to inflict upon
their perceived enemies. The YCLs Spanish rhetoric attempted to find a balance between
national and international interests, insisting the victory of the Spanish Republic was
intimately linked with the future of the British nation.
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