Anti-fascism

Dutch Resistance members with US 101st Airborne troops in Eindhoven, September 1944 This section's factual accuracy is disputed. Please help to ensure that disputed facts are reliably sourced. See the relevant discussion on the talk page. (June 2009) Anti-fascism is the opposition to fascist ideologies, governments, groups and individuals. The related term antifa derives from Antifaschismus, which is German for anti-fascism. It refers to individuals and groups that are dedicated to fighting fascism. Most major resistance movements during World War II were anti-fascist. Contents 1 France 2 Germany 3 Italy 4 Spain 5 Sweden 6 United Kingdom 6.1 1970s and later 7 United States 8 See also 9 Notes 10 Further reading 11 External links France See also: French Resistance Maquis members in 1944. In the 1920s and 1930s in France, anti-fascists confronted aggressive far right groups such as the Action Française movement in France, which dominated the Latin Quarter students' neighborhood.1 In France, quite a few people who joined the Resistance against the pro-Nazi Vichy regime came from far right nationalist and royalist backgrounds.citation needed They abandoned the Vichy regime and started fighting against the German occupiers when they saw that Vichy leader Philippe Pétain was subservient to Nazi Germany, and had no intent to stop collaboration.citation needed Germany See also: German Resistance Symbol of the Iron Front In the 1920s and 1930s in Germany, Communist Party and Social Democratic Party members advocated violence and mass agitation amongst the working class to stop Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party and the Freikorps.citation needed Leon Trotsky wrote: Logo of Antifaschistische Aktion. "fighting squads must be created ... nothing increases the insolence of the fascists so much as 'flabby pacifism' on the part of the workers' organisations ... [It is] political cowardice [to deny that] without organised combat detachments, the most heroic masses will be smashed bit by bit by fascist gangs."2 Among the anti-fascist organizations formed to counter the Nazis was the Rotfrontkämpferbund (English:Red Front Fighters' League), which was created in 1924. The Rotfront was a paramilitary organization affiliated with the Communist Party of Germany that engaged in street fights with the Nazi Sturmabteilung. Its first leader was Ernst Thälmann, who would later die in a concentration camp and become widely honored in East Germany as an anti-fascist and socialist. After German reunification in 1990, many anti-fascist groups formed in reaction to a rise in far right extremism and violence, such as the Solingen arson attack of 1993.3 According to the German intelligence agency Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz, the contemporary anti-fascist movement in Germany includes those who are willing to use violence.4 Italy In Italy in the 1920s, anti-fascists — many from the workers' movement — fought against the violent Blackshirts, and against the rise of fascist leader Benito Mussolini. After the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) signed a pacification pact with the National Fascist Party on August 3, 1921, and trade unions adopted a legalist and pacified strategy, members of the workers' movement who disagreed with this strategy formed the Arditi del popolo. The General Confederation of Labour (CGT) and the PSI refused to officially recognize the anti-fascist militia, while the Italian Communist Party (PCI) ordered its members to quit the organization. The PCI organized some militant groups, but their actions were relatively minor, and the party maintained a non-violent, legalist strategy. The Italian anarchist Severino Di Giovanni, who exiled himself to Argentina following the 1922 March on Rome, organized several bombings against the Italian fascist community.5 Italian liberal anti-fascist Benedetto Croce wrote Manifesto of the Anti-Fascist Intellectuals, which was published in 1925.6 Another notable Italian liberal anti-fascist around that time was Piero Gobetti.7 Between 1920 and 1943, several anti-fascist movements were active among the Slovenes and Croats in the territories annexed to Italy after World War I, known as the Julian March.89 The most influential was the militant insurgent organization TIGR, which carried out numerous sabotages, as well as attacks on representatives of the Fascist Party and the military.1011 Most of the underground structure of the organization was discovered and dismantled by the Organization for Vigilance and Repression of Anti-Fascism (OVRA) in 1940 and 1941,12 and after June 1941, most of its former activists joined the Liberation Front of the Slovenian People. During World War II, many members of the Italian resistance left their houses and went to live in the mountainside, fighting against both Italian fascists and German Nazi soldiers. Many cities in northern Italy, including Turin and Milan, were freed by anti-fascist uprisings.13 Spain This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2010) Large-scale anti-fascist movements were first seen in the 1930s, during the Spanish Civil War. The Republican Government and army, the Communist Party(PCE) the International Brigades, the Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (POUM) and Spanish anarchist militias such as the Iron Column fought the rise of Francisco Franco with military force. The Friends of Durruti were a particularly militant group, associated with the Federación Anarquista Ibérica (FAI). Thousands of people from many countries went to Spain in support of the anti-fascist cause, joining units such as the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, the British Battalion, the Dabrowski Battalion, the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion and the Naftali Botwin Company. Notable anti-fascists who worked internationally against Franco included: George Orwell (who fought in the POUM militia and wrote Homage to Catalonia about this experience), Ernest Hemingway (a supporter of the International Brigades who wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls about this experience), and radical journalist Martha Gellhorn. Spanish anarchist guerrilla Francesc Sabaté Llopart fought against Franco's regime until the 1960s, from a base in France. The Spanish Maquis linked to the Communist Party (PCE) also fought the Franco regime from a base in France, long after the Spanish Civil war had ended. Sweden See also: Antifaschistische Aktion#Sweden Antifascistisk Aktion (AFA) is an anti-fascist group founded in Sweden in 1993. AFA's Activity Guide advocates violence against neo-Nazis.14 Some in the mainstream media have called them "left extremists".151617 An editorial in the tabloid newspaper Expressen argued that the label anti-fascist was misleading, because of the organization's methods,18 such as stealing the subscriber list of the National Democrats newspaper, and threatening the subscribers.18 Other critics say the group does not respect freedom of speech, because some members have attacked fascists and other nationalists.1920 United Kingdom The rise of Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists (BUF) was challenged by the Communist Party of Great Britain, socialists in the Labour Party and Independent Labour Party, anarchists, Irish Catholic dockmen and working class Jews in London's east end. A high point in the struggle was the Battle of Cable Street, when thousands of eastenders and others turned out to stop the BUF from marching. Initially, the national Communist Party leadership wanted a mass demonstration at Hyde Park in solidarity with Republican Spain, instead of a mobilisation against the BUF, but local party activists argued against this. Activists rallied support with the slogan They shall not pass, adopted from Republican Spain. There were debates within the anti-fascist movement over tactics. While many east end ex-servicemen participated in violence against fascists,21 Communist Party leader Phil Piratin denounced these tactics and instead called for large demonstrations.22 In addition to the militant anti-fascist movement, there was a smaller current of liberal anti-fascism in Britain; Sir Ernest Barker, for example, was a notable English liberal anti-fascist in the 1930s.23 After World War II, Jewish war veterans in the 43 Group continued the tradition of militant confrontations with the BUF. In the 1960s, the 62 Group continued the struggle against neo-Nazis.24 1970s and later In the 1970s, fascist and far right parties such as the National Front (NF) and British Movement were making significant gains electorally, and were increasingly bold in their public appearances. This was challenged in 1977 with the Battle of Lewisham, when thousands of black and white people physically stopped an NF march in South London.25 Soon after this, the Anti-Nazi League (ANL) was launched by the Socialist Workers Party (SWP). The ANL had a large-scale propaganda campaign and squads that attacked NF meetings and paper sales. The success of the ANL's campaigns contributed to the end of the NF's period of growth. Tony Cliff of the SWP disbanded the ANL, but many squad members refused to stop their activities. They were expelled from the SWP in 1981, many going on to found Red Action. The SWP used the term squadism to dismiss these militant anti-fascists as thugs. In 1985, some members of Red Action and the anarcho-syndicalist Direct Action Movement launched Anti-Fascist Action (AFA). Their founding document said "we are not fighting Fascism to maintain the status quo but to defend the interests of the working class".2627 Thousands of people took part in militant AFA mobilisations, such as Remembrance Day demonstrations in 1986 and 1987, the Unity Carnival, the Battle of Cable Street's 55th anniversary march in 1991, and the Battle of Waterloo against Blood and Honour in 1992.2829 After 1995, some anti-fascist mobilisations still occurred, such as against the NF in Dover in 1997 and 1998. In 1997, an AFA statement officially banned members from associating with Searchlight magazine, and in 1998, Leeds and Huddersfield AFA chapters were expelled by AFA officials for ignoring this policy. By 2001, AFA barely existed as a national organisation. In 2001, some former AFA members founded the militant anti-fascist group No Platform, but this group soon disbanded. In 2004, members of the Anarchist Federation, Class War, and No Platform founded the organisation Antifa. This predominantly anarchist group has imitated AFA's stance of physical and ideological confrontation with fascists. In 2003, Unite Against Fascism (UAF) formed out of a merger between the Anti-Nazi League and the National Assembly Against Racism, in response to electoral successes of the British National Party (BNP). The UAF have held many demonstrations against far right groups such as the BNP and the English Defence League, some of which resulted in violent confrontations and arrests, alongside local anti-fascist groups such as the Edinburgh Anti-Fascist Alliance. According to an article published by the Anarchist Federation, a British anarcho-communist organization, militant anti-fascists advocate the use of violence against fascists.30 Historian Dave Renton argues, however, that "for anti-fascists, violence is not part of their world view", and calls militants "professional anti-fascists."31page needed United States This section requires expansion. Premature anti-fascism is a term that was used in the United States to describe the views of those who opposed fascism at a time when the US government was on relatively friendly terms with fascist Italy and (to a lesser extent) Nazi Germany.32 The term was applied especially to supporters of the Second Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War, including members of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. See also Antifa graffiti in Trnava, Slovakia. Anti-authoritarianism Antifascist Circle Anti-racism Denazification List of anti-fascists Resistance during World War II Resistance movement Redskin (subculture) Slovak National Uprising Squadism Notes ^ Worker Insurgency and Statist Containment in Portugal and Spain, 1974-1977 - Loren Goldner ^ quoted Fighting Talk no.22 October 1999, p.11 ^ (German) Opfer-Rechter-Gewalt ^ (German) Verfassungsschutz-bericht 2004, p. 168-172 ^ Anarchist Century ^ David Ward Antifascisms: Cultural Politics in Italy, 1943-1946 ^ James Martin, 'Piero Gobetti's Agonistic Liberalism', History of European Ideas, vol. 32, (2006), 205-222. ^ Milica Kacin Wohinz, Jože Pirjevec, Storia degli sloveni in Italia : 1866-1998 (Venice: Marsilio, 1998) ^ Milica Kacin Wohinz, Narodnoobrambno gibanje primorskih Slovencev : 1921-1928 (Trieste: Založništvo tržaškega tiska, 1977) ^ Milica Kacin Wohinz, Prvi antifašizem v Evropi (Koper: Lipa, 1990) ^ Mira Cenčič, TIGR : Slovenci pod Italijo in TIGR na okopih v boju za narodni obstoj (Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga, 1997) ^ Vid Vremec, Pinko Tomažič in drugi tržaški proces 1941 (Trieste: Založništvo tržaškega tiska, 1989) ^ Intelligence and Operational Support for the Anti-Nazi Resistance ^ (Swedish) AFA - Aktivitetsguide för antifascister, Antifa.se, 2004, pp. 9-11 ^ (Swedish) http://svt.se/2.33538/1.1750213/polisen_afa_bakom_upplopp_i_fittja&from=rss?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Svtse-NyheterABC+%28svt.se+-+Nyheter+ABC%29 ^ http://mobil.svt.se/2.33538/1.1752021/10_afa-anhangare_begardes_haktade ^ (Swedish) http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/article5784027.ab ^ a b (Swedish) http://www.expressen.se/ledare/1.1466908/090215-stoppa-afa ^ (Swedish) Poohl, Daniel (2006-10-18). "Ta avstånd från våldet mot SD". EXPO. http://www.expo.se/index_1.php?pg=http%3A//www.expo.se/www/1_1735.html. Retrieved 2006-12-08.  ^ (Swedish) "Vänsterextrema infiltrerade IOGT-NTO". Svenska Dagbladet. 2006-09-07. http://www.svd.se/dynamiskt/inrikes/did_10487676.asp. Retrieved 2006-12-08.  ^ Jacobs, Joe Out of the Ghetto. London: Phoenix Press, 1991 (originally published in 1977). http://libcom.org/tags/joe-jacobs ^ Phil Piratin Our Flag Stays Red. London: Lawrence & Wishart, 2006. ^ Andrezj Olechnowicz, 'Liberal anti-fascism in the 1930s the case of Sir Ernest Barker', Albion 36, 2005, pp. 636-660 ^ Diethelm Prowe, 'Classic' Fascism... ^ Lewisham '77 history site ^ Anti-Fascist Action: Radical resistance or rent-a-mob?" Soundings issue 14 Spring 2000 ^ AFA (London) Constitution Part 1.4 ^ It Woz AFA Wot Done It! ^ Diamond in the Dust - The Ian Stuart Biography ^ ORGANISE! for revolutionary anarchism, Magazine of the Anarchist Federation, Summer 2008, Issue 70 ^ Fascism: Theory and Practice. Pluto Press, ISBN 0-7453-1470-8 ^ Politics and politicians in American film by Phillip L. Gianos p.62. Further reading Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Antifascist resistance Key, Anna (ed.), ed. Beating Fascism: Anarchist Anti-Fascism in Theory and Practice. ISBN 1-873605-88-9.  External links The Anti Fascist Encyclopedia ‘Fascism or Revolution !’ Anarchism and Antifascism in France, 1933-39 "Anti-Fascist Action 1985-2001" Gilles Dauve/Jean Barrot on liberal anti-fascism "Bash the Fash: Anti-Fascist Recollections 1984-1993" Interview from Beating Fascism: Anarchist Anti-Fascism in Theory and Practice "Intellectuals and Anti-Fascism: For a Critical Historization" New Politics, vol. 9, no. 4 (new series), whole no. 36, Winter 2004 Liberal anti-fascism page at Red Action Remembering the Anarchist Resistance to fascism v · d · eFascism  Theory Core tenets Nationalism · Imperialism · Authoritarianism · Single party state · Dictatorship · Social Darwinism · Social interventionism · Indoctrination · Proletarian nation · Propaganda · Anti-intellectualism · Eugenics · Heroism · Militarism · Economic interventionism · Anti-communism Topics Definitions · Economics · Fascism and ideology · Fascism worldwide · Symbolism Ideas Actual Idealism · Class 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