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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YOUTH AGAINST FASCISM<br />
In both Britain and the United States, Dimitrov's analysis of fascism challenged traditional<br />
communist notions of nationalism, facilitating unique opportunities for communist<br />
youth propaganda. Popular Front theory embraced a flexible concept of nationalism,<br />
enabling YCLs to embed their rhetoric with distinct national symbols and traditions that<br />
resonated with their nation's youth. The Leninist Generation's propaganda was framed in<br />
strict internationalist terms, dominated by a consistent deference to the Comintern on all<br />
national matters. Though the Popular Front line emanated from the Comintern, young<br />
communists distanced themselves from the Comintern in their rhetoric. 108 By engaging in<br />
nationalist propaganda, British and American young communists invoked a language that<br />
was responsive to their distinct national political culture. Communist rhetoric justified<br />
internationalism through nationalist rhetoric and traditions, positing that modern antifascist<br />
struggles were intimately linked with their own progressive national histories.<br />
<strong>Fascism</strong> utilized nationalism to destroy radical working-class movements. Young<br />
communists insisted nationalism had to be utilized to unite and mobilize all segments of<br />
the nation against fascism. The Popular Front Generation propagated a balance between<br />
nationalism and internationalism, insisting they were the "true patriots" of the nation.<br />
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