Youth against fascism: The construction of communist youth identity in Britain and the United States

Communism framed itself as a rebellion against the past and a vanguard of modernity, consciously shaping the present forces of history to achieve a "proscibed" future. In this process communists placed great emphasis upon the role of the youth. Young Communist Leagues were established to politicize youth and train them in Marxist-Leninist ideology. Communists contended that such "correct" political education would enable young people to "construct" a socialist future. Though communists emphasized youth, traditional historical narratives have neglected this theme.; Communist historiography has been dominated by an emphasis upon the role of Moscow and the Communist International; "traditionalist" narratives emphasize Moscow domination while "revisionist" histories distance national parties from the Comintern. While revealing important elements of communist history, such a dichotomy distorts the dynamics of communism as both a national and international movement. Communism was consciously a highly centralized international movement that had to function in distinct national contexts and political cultures. Communists actively identified with and were directed by the Comintern, implementing their national tactics within the limited political space accorded to them. Though initially boastful of this relationship, western communists later distanced themselves from the Comintern in their Popular Front propaganda, consciously distorting the nature of this relationship in the public mind. This premise should not be an area of contention, but should enable scholars to "move on" and explore other diverse elements and themes of communist history.; This research explores the evolution of the communist youth movement in Britain and the United States through the medium of political propaganda. Propaganda was the primary method utilized by communists to transmit political values to their membership. Such sources offer an invaluable resource in tracing the evolution of communist identity and the diverse strategies employed to "attract" youth. This research identifies the existence of two distinct political generations; the "Leninist Generation" of the twenties who defined their movement in negation to social democracy and the "Popular Front Generation" of the thirties, defining their movement as the antithesis of fascism. Tracing the development of this phenomenon in a trans-Atlantic context, this research explores how young people understood communism by studying the "ideal" political identity communists sought to construct in two generations of British and American youth.