Joel A Lewis Youth Against Fascism.pdf

UNITY OF YOUTH
While fascism framed its appeals to the youth, Dimitrov asserted that in reality it was the
deadliest enemy of the entire young generation.
The ability of fascism to mobilize youth was, in part, a reflection of the failures of
communists to appeal to the youth. During his addresses to the Comintern's Seventh
Congress, Dimitrov scorned the YCLs as sectarian organizations whose "approach to the
socialist youth and other non-communist youth is not always correct." 25 The YCLs were
instructed that they "must strive in every way to unite the forces of all non-fascist mass
organizations of the youth." 26 Though such positions were traditionally considered
opportunist, Dimitrov insisted this was the only correct tactic to mobilize the youth
against fascism.
Otto Kuusinen spoke on behalf of the Comintern Executive Committee at the 1935
YCI World Congress. Kuusinen reiterated Dimitrov's positions, emphasizing the theme
of youth unity. Kuusinen warned the YCI against an over reliance on "the old doctrinaire
formulas," urging youth to "realize that times have changed ." 27 Kuusinen urged young
communists to make broad appeals to mobilize "the entire youth…in a common
fight…for our rights, the rights of the youth." 28 Other youth groups were no longer
considered to be "enemy organizations" to be approached with "the purpose of destroying
or weakening" them. All non-fascist youth movements were considered potential allies
to be transformed "from centers of bourgeois influence… into centers of proletarian
influence." 29 Kuusinen admitted that these revisions of Leninist theory necessitated an
entire change in communist practice. Under the Popular Front era he insisted, "The
central task of the Young Communist International now is to establish unity of the youth
movement against fascism, war and capitalist oppression." 30 Such unity would "inoculate"
the youth from fascist values, stripping the fascists of a potential mobilizing base.
Kuusinen praised the noble "ideals of youth," highlighting the divergence between
"reactionary ideals and revolutionary ideals" by associating the former with fascism and
the later with the youth. 31 The struggle against fascism and the anticipation of war
necessitated a complete revision of the role of the YCI and its relationship with other
youth movements.
Likewise, Wolf Michal stressed the common values of youth and anti-fascism, positing
a unique and new perspective for the YCI. Michal's speech utilized "youth metaphors,"
associating fascism with the forces of a corrupt and decadent old world and youth
with the progressive forces of peace, democracy and socialism. In his opening statement
Michal stressed that "youth want to live, to work and fight, they want to advance, to
make the world more beautiful....The youth regard the old world with distrust." 32 In
negation to this positive statement, Michal exposed the treacherous realities of fascism
stating, "Never in history was the youth so shamelessly deceived, never were their hopes
shattered so, as by the fascists. Fascism is a movement of the moribund old world." 33
Fascism represented a negation of the values and aspirations of all youth. In Michal's
analysis, fascist values and the youth had nothing in common insisting, "We, and with us
81