modern antifascism. Anti-fascist underground in Riga

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Anti-fascist underground in Riga- the general name of groups and organizations that fought against the Nazi occupation regime during the Great Patriotic War. It existed during the period of Nazi occupation from July 1941 to October 1944, it functioned, as in all areas occupied by the Nazi invaders, under conditions of severe terror.

The underground at all stages of its existence consisted of various groups and organizations that acted, among other things, under the leadership of the KPL on the territory of the capital and its environs against the Nazi occupation administration (headed by the head of the General Commissariat Otto Drexler) and the local self-government body (of which Oskar Dankers was the chairman) . Despite the numerous actions of a punitive nature that were planned by the chiefs of police and the occupation administration of the region, the underground functioned with varying success throughout the entire period of Latvia's entry into the Ostland occupation territorial entity.

Members and groups of the anti-fascist underground

The first anti-fascist underground groups in Riga were created in early July 1941 by Janis Anton (1905-1941), who organized a Komsomol cell of resistance to fascist aggressors. Later, at the turn of 1941 and 1942, the Central Committee of the Communist Party (b) of Latvia organized the transfer of several active members of the anti-fascist underground across the border, among which Arvids Rendnieks (1919-1943), who was one of the defenders of Riga during the battles for this city, can be noted. at the end of June 1941. Rendnieks headed the Riga Komsomol company for some time, at the very beginning of hostilities he joined the First Latvian Rifle Company, and later participated in the defense of Tallinn. He was sent to Latvia to participate in the organization of the anti-fascist underground movement at the end of August 1941. Later, having survived the injury and arrest by the Schutzmanns, on May 1, 1942, he managed to achieve his release, after which Rendnieks continued his active underground activities, taking the post of secretary of the Riga city illegal committee of the Komsomol. On November 21, 1942, while crossing the front line, Rendnieks was captured by the Nazis for the second time and later shot in the Bikernieks Forest.

In September 1941, the underground organization "Young Guard" was created, headed by Komsomol members Y. Krop and K. Meishan, it united about 100 people. Members of the group collected weapons and ammunition, organized escapes for arrested and Soviet prisoners of war, engaged in sabotage, and published newspapers and leaflets. In 1942, the organization established contacts with other groups of Soviet underground workers, in 1943 it became part of the United Underground Center.

In May 1942, an underground group began to operate in Riga, which included August Leinesar, August Yumikis and G. Goldberg. The group operated for a year and a half before being discovered and destroyed by the enemy.

Among other activists of the underground anti-fascist movement in the occupied territory, one should name Boris Akimovich Vashchonok (1918 -?), Ernest Saulytis (1910-1943), as well as the creator of the Communist Youth International in 1942 Vitold Jauntiran, the leader of the combat detachment of this organization, who was killed in battle formations of policemen near Yumprava.

Many groups of the anti-fascist underground distributed anti-fascist leaflets at enterprises subordinate to the Nazi administration, in which calls for sabotage were voiced, distributed illegal literature (like the Comintern of Yauntiran), provided assistance to Soviet prisoners of war, and, to the extent possible, organized escapes from prison of prisoners and activists of the anti-fascist movement. Also, anti-fascist organizations participated in providing weapons to the Red Army units.

Activities of the Riga Underground Center

The second half of the summer turned out to be difficult for representatives of the anti-fascist underground. In total, in July-August 1941, more than 100 participants were arrested, among whom was the leader of the first underground armed formation, Janis Anton. The period of October-November 1941 and April-May 1942 led to the arrest of another 400 members of the anti-fascist underground. However, the situation gradually leveled off in 1942, when the Riga underground center began to function. The center arose in July-August 1942, when Saulytis' reconnaissance group merged with several anti-fascist organizations and formed the Riga illegal party organization (secretary Arvid Rendnieks) on the basis of the Riga city illegal committee of the Komsomol.

The Riga underground center led the Latvian anti-fascist organization, which, in turn, coordinated the activities of the underground activists in the territories of the Salaspils Stalag, the Riga ghetto, the Riga prisoner of war camp, as well as anti-fascist groups in Ligatne, Cesvaine, Valka, Kuprava, Ogre, in the vicinity of the Sabile railway station etc. Of the acts of sabotage carried out by the Riga Underground Center, the following should be mentioned:

The members of the underground center of Riga also took part in many other acts of subversion, and also tried to establish contact with the French maquis. The Russian Orthodox Church suffered great damage on November 21, 1942, when, while crossing the front line near Staraya Russa, Rendnieks, Saulytis and other participants were arrested, who were taken to the Matissky prison, and then shot in Bikernieks forest.

Activities of the Riga Illegal Committee of the Latvian Komsomol

The first urban illegal committee was created by Rendnieks and Viktorija Misa (1921-1943) as a result of the merger of several underground groups of the Riga Komsomol in the summer of 1942. The first committee, which was engaged in the distribution of leaflets and sabotage, lasted until November-December 1942, when it was defeated by the Nazis, and on May 6, 1943, more than 100 of its members were shot.

The second committee was created in autumn 1943 by Imants Sudmalis. His secretaries were the Riga underground members Dzhems Bankovich and Malds Skreia. Bankovich was involved in the creation of such important institutions as an illegal printing house and an explosives workshop. They organized the disruption of a pro-fascist rally on Domskaya Square on November 13, 1943.

In February 1944, the Nazis defeated the second illegal committee, on February 18, Dzhems Bankovich, Malds Skreia and Imants Sudmalis were arrested, who were later executed.

After the victories of the Red Army in the battles near Stalingrad and on the Kursk Bulge, in 1943 the second stage of the activities of the Riga underground anti-fascist organizations began. Front scouts August Leinesar and August Yumikis in the autumn of 1943 organized new organization resistance, the Comintern of Youth was created, the People's Avengers organization arose under the leadership of the actor of the Leningrad Youth Theater I.K. Olga Grinenberg).

The activities of the underground anti-fascist organization "People's Avengers"

In the early autumn of 1941, a member of the Leningrad militia, actor of the Leningrad Youth Theater Ivan Mashirov, made his way to Riga. This group of militias was cut off by the Germans from Leningrad in the Siverskaya area and, secretly moving west, reached Riga. Being an architect by education, Mashirov was able to get a job in an architectural bureau. Surrounding himself with like-minded people, he created the underground group "People's Avengers". The main activity of his group was the formation of combat units of resistance among the workers of urban enterprises, which in one form or another served the military machine of the occupation regime. Also, the composition of the working combat groups included Soviet prisoners of war sent to the enterprises, who were promptly supplied with weapons.

By the middle of the summer of 1943, the People's Avengers organization officially included more than 170 partially armed participants who opposed the occupation regime. Particularly significant was the production of fake documents put on the conveyor by specialists in the relevant field for new members of the anti-fascist organization who secretly arrived on the territory of the Reichskommissariat "Ostland". In addition, the "People's Avengers" distributed propaganda leaflets calling for sabotage and resistance.

In early July 1943, Ivan Mashirov managed to secure a secret crossing of the border for a group of Soviet pilots who had escaped from captivity, in which he was greatly assisted by reconnaissance and sabotage units of Belarusian partisans. Shortly after this operation, on July 14, 1943, the "People's Avengers" due to lack of conspiracy, and possibly due to a denunciation, were exposed and neutralized by police forces. Ivan Mashirov and many members of the group were executed in the Central Prison in Riga at the end of 1943 or at the beginning of 1944.

The second period of the anti-fascist underground

At a new stage in the functioning of the anti-fascist underground, in the direction of the Central Committee of the CP (b) of Latvia, which by the middle of summer 1944 took responsibility for coordinating the activities of the local anti-fascist underground center, a veteran of the partisan movement Imants Sudmalis arrived in Riga. In the spring and summer of 1944, acts of large-scale sabotage at industrial enterprises subordinated to the needs of the occupation administration increased sharply, the number of local clashes increased, sabotage planned by groups of the Riga underground began to be carried out more intensively. Among the most active are such anti-fascist resistance organizations as “Death of Death”, “Qin” (“Fight”), “Vetrasputns” (“Petrel”), “Young Communards”, as well as an underground militant group under the command of Khado Lapsa (? - 1944) and Eduard Indulens (? - 1944).

Also in July 1944, in the forest near Baldone, a partisan detachment of the Riga region was created, commanded by Professor Paul Matisovich Galienieks (1891-1962) and worker Oleg Voldemarovich Tikhonovsky (born in 1920). On September 24, 1944, Galienieks, Tikhonovsky and their associates organized an ambush on the Baldone-Kekava road, as a result of the operation, 30 officials of the occupation administration were killed. In the summer and autumn of 1944, the Baldonene partisan detachment managed to prevent the export from Latvia to the Third Reich a large number objects of material and cultural value, which was planned in the directorate of culture of local government. In order to preserve valuables, underground vaults were created at several Riga enterprises. In the summer of 1944, representatives of the combat units of the Red Army, mainly professional intelligence officers and partisans (for example, Arvid Roze (1909-1944) and Eric Stepins (1921-1942) launched a wide activity [ ] .

It should be noted that the participants of the Riga anti-fascist underground suffered significant losses. The Nazi occupiers and local collaborators arrested more than 12,000 members of the Latvian resistance movement.

In addition to the Riga underground organizations that were active during different periods of the Nazi occupation, partisan detachments and resistance groups functioned throughout the territory of Latvia.

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Notes

Literature

Riga: Encyclopedia = Enciklopēdija "Rīga" / Ch. ed. P. P. Yeran. - 1st ed. - Riga: Main edition of encyclopedias, 1989. - S. 166-167. - 880 p. - 60,000 copies. - ISBN 5-89960-002-0.

see also

• Partisan movement in Latvia during the Great Patriotic War

An excerpt characterizing the Anti-Fascist Underground in Riga

For three minutes everyone was silent. "Definitely!" Natasha whispered and did not finish ... Suddenly Sonya pushed aside the mirror that she was holding and covered her eyes with her hand.
- Oh, Natasha! - she said.
- Did you see it? Did you see? What did you see? cried Natasha, holding up the mirror.
Sonya didn’t see anything, she just wanted to blink her eyes and get up when she heard Natasha’s voice saying “by all means” ... She didn’t want to deceive either Dunyasha or Natasha, and it was hard to sit. She herself did not know how and why a cry escaped her when she covered her eyes with her hand.
- Did you see him? Natasha asked, grabbing her hand.
- Yes. Wait ... I ... saw him, ”Sonya said involuntarily, still not knowing who Natasha meant by his word: him - Nikolai or him - Andrei.
“But why shouldn’t I tell you what I saw? Because others see it! And who can convict me of what I saw or did not see? flashed through Sonya's head.
“Yes, I saw him,” she said.
- How? How? Is it worth it or is it lying?
- No, I saw ... That was nothing, suddenly I see that he is lying.
- Andrey lies? He is sick? - Natasha asked with frightened fixed eyes looking at her friend.
- No, on the contrary - on the contrary, a cheerful face, and he turned to me - and at the moment she spoke, it seemed to her that she saw what she was saying.
- Well, then, Sonya? ...
- Here I did not consider something blue and red ...
– Sonya! when will he return? When I see him! My God, how I fear for him and for myself, and for everything I am afraid ... - Natasha spoke, and without answering a word to Sonya's consolations, she lay down in bed and long after the candle was put out, with her eyes open, lay motionless on bed and looked at the frosty, moonlight through the frozen windows.

Soon after Christmas, Nikolai announced to his mother his love for Sonya and his firm decision to marry her. The countess, who had long noticed what was happening between Sonya and Nikolai, and was expecting this explanation, silently listened to his words and told her son that he could marry whomever he wanted; but that neither she nor his father would give him blessings for such a marriage. For the first time, Nikolai felt that his mother was unhappy with him, that despite all her love for him, she would not give in to him. She, coldly and without looking at her son, sent for her husband; and when he arrived, the countess wanted to briefly and coldly tell him what was the matter in the presence of Nikolai, but she could not stand it: she burst into tears of annoyance and left the room. The old count began to hesitantly admonish Nicholas and ask him to abandon his intention. Nikolai replied that he could not change his word, and his father, sighing and obviously embarrassed, very soon interrupted his speech and went to the countess. In all clashes with his son, the count did not leave the consciousness of his guilt before him for the disorder of affairs, and therefore he could not be angry with his son for refusing to marry a rich bride and for choosing Sonya without a dowry - he only on this occasion more vividly recalled that, if things had not been upset, it would be impossible for Nicholas to wish for a better wife than Sonya; and that only he, with his Mitenka and his irresistible habits, is to blame for the disorder of affairs.
The father and mother no longer talked about this matter with their son; but a few days after that, the countess called Sonya to her, and with cruelty, which neither one nor the other expected, the countess reproached her niece for luring her son and for ingratitude. Sonya, silently with lowered eyes, listened to the cruel words of the countess and did not understand what was required of her. She was ready to sacrifice everything for her benefactors. The thought of self-sacrifice was her favorite thought; but in this case, she could not understand to whom and what she should sacrifice. She could not help but love the countess and the entire Rostov family, but she could not help but love Nikolai and not know that his happiness depended on this love. She was silent and sad, and did not answer. Nikolai could not, as it seemed to him, endure this situation any longer and went to explain himself to his mother. Nicholas then begged his mother to forgive him and Sonya and agree to their marriage, then threatened his mother that if Sonya was persecuted, he would immediately marry her secretly.
The countess, with a coldness that her son had never seen, answered him that he was of age, that Prince Andrei was marrying without the consent of his father, and that he could do the same, but that she would never recognize this intriguer as her daughter.
Blown up by the word intriguer, Nikolai, raising his voice, told his mother that he never thought that she would force him to sell his feelings, and that if this was so, then he would say the last time ... But he did not have time to say that decisive word, which, judging by according to the expression of his face, his mother waited with horror and which, perhaps, would forever remain a cruel memory between them. He did not have time to finish, because Natasha with a pale and serious face entered the room from the door at which she was eavesdropping.
- Nikolinka, you are talking nonsense, shut up, shut up! I'm telling you, shut up! .. - she almost shouted to drown out his voice.
“Mom, my dear, it’s not at all because ... my dear, poor thing,” she turned to her mother, who, feeling herself on the verge of a break, looked at her son with horror, but, due to stubbornness and enthusiasm for the struggle, did not want and could not give up.
“Nikolinka, I’ll explain to you, you go away - you listen, mother dear,” she said to her mother.
Her words were meaningless; but they achieved the result to which she aspired.
The Countess, sobbing heavily, hid her face on her daughter's chest, and Nikolai stood up, clutched his head and left the room.
Natasha took up the matter of reconciliation and brought it to the point that Nikolai received a promise from his mother that Sonya would not be oppressed, and he himself promised that he would not do anything secretly from his parents.
With the firm intention, having arranged his affairs in the regiment, to retire, come and marry Sonya, Nikolai, sad and serious, at odds with his family, but, as it seemed to him, passionately in love, left for the regiment in early January.
After Nikolai's departure, the Rostovs' house became sadder than ever. The Countess became ill from a mental disorder.
Sonya was sad both from separation from Nikolai and even more from that hostile tone with which the countess could not but treat her. The count was more than ever preoccupied with the bad state of affairs, which required some kind of drastic measures. It was necessary to sell the Moscow house and the suburban one, and to sell the house it was necessary to go to Moscow. But the health of the countess forced her to postpone her departure from day to day.
Natasha, who easily and even cheerfully endured the first time of separation from her fiancé, now every day became more agitated and impatient. The thought that so, for nothing, her best time wasted for no one, which she would have used to love him, relentlessly tormented her. Most of his letters annoyed her. It was insulting to her to think that while she lives only by the thought of him, he lives a real life, sees new places, new people who are of interest to him. The more entertaining his letters were, the more annoyed she was. Her letters to him not only did not bring her consolation, but seemed to be a boring and false duty. She did not know how to write, because she could not comprehend the possibility of expressing in a letter truthfully at least one thousandth of what she was accustomed to express in her voice, smile and look. She wrote him classically monotonous, dry letters, to which she herself did not ascribe any significance and in which, according to bruillons, the countess corrected her spelling errors.
The health of the countess did not improve; but it was no longer possible to postpone the trip to Moscow. It was necessary to make a dowry, it was necessary to sell the house, and, moreover, Prince Andrei was expected first to Moscow, where Prince Nikolai Andreevich lived that winter, and Natasha was sure that he had already arrived.
The countess remained in the village, and the count, taking Sonya and Natasha with him, went to Moscow at the end of January.

Pierre, after the courtship of Prince Andrei and Natasha, for no obvious reason, suddenly felt the impossibility of continuing his former life. No matter how firmly he was convinced of the truths revealed to him by his benefactor, no matter how joyful he was at that first time of being carried away by the inner work of self-improvement, which he indulged in with such fervor, after the engagement of Prince Andrei with Natasha and after the death of Joseph Alekseevich, about which he received news almost at the same time - all the charm of this former life suddenly disappeared for him. There was only one skeleton of life left: his house with a brilliant wife, who now enjoyed the favors of one important person, acquaintance with all of Petersburg and service with boring formalities. And this former life suddenly presented itself to Pierre with unexpected abomination. He stopped writing his diary, avoided the company of his brothers, began to go to the club again, began to drink heavily again, again became close to single companies and began to lead such a life that Countess Elena Vasilyevna considered it necessary to make him a strict reprimand. Pierre, feeling that she was right, and in order not to compromise his wife, left for Moscow.
In Moscow, as soon as he drove into his huge house with withered and withering princesses, with huge domestics, as soon as he saw - driving through the city - this Iberian chapel with countless candle lights in front of golden robes, this Kremlin Square with snow that had not been driven, these cab drivers and the shacks of Sivtsev Vrazhka, saw the old men of Moscow, wanting nothing and slowly living their lives nowhere, saw old women, Moscow ladies, Moscow balls and the Moscow English Club - he felt at home, in a quiet haven. He felt calm, warm, familiar and dirty in Moscow, as in an old dressing gown.
Moscow society, everything from old women to children, accepted Pierre as their long-awaited guest, whose place was always ready and not occupied. For the Moscow world, Pierre was the sweetest, kindest, smartest, cheerful, generous eccentric, absent-minded and sincere, Russian, of the old cut, master. His wallet was always empty, because it was open to everyone.
Benefit performances, bad pictures, statues, charitable societies, gypsies, schools, signature dinners, revels, masons, churches, books - no one and nothing was refused, and if not for his two friends, who borrowed a lot of money from him and took him under their guardianship, he would give everything away. There was no dinner in the club, no evening without him. As soon as he leaned back in his place on the sofa after two bottles of Margot, he was surrounded, and rumors, disputes, jokes began. Where they quarreled, he - with his kind smile and by the way said joke, reconciled. Masonic dining lodges were dull and sluggish if he wasn't there.
When, after a single supper, he, with a kind and sweet smile, surrendering to the requests of a cheerful company, got up to go with them, joyful, solemn cries were heard among the youth. At the balls he danced, if he did not get a gentleman. Young ladies and young ladies loved him because, without courting anyone, he was equally kind to everyone, especially after dinner. “Il est charmant, il n "a pas de sehe", [He is very nice, but has no gender,] they talked about him.
Pierre was that retired chamberlain, good-naturedly living out his life in Moscow, of which there were hundreds.
How horrified he would have been if seven years ago, when he had just arrived from abroad, someone would have told him that he did not need to look for and invent anything, that his track had long been broken, determined eternally, and that, no matter how he turn around, he will be what everyone in his position was. He couldn't believe it! Didn't he, with all his heart, wish now to produce a republic in Russia, now to be Napoleon himself, now a philosopher, now a tactician, the conqueror of Napoleon? Didn't he see the opportunity and passionately desire to regenerate the vicious human race and bring himself to the highest degree of perfection? Didn't he establish both schools and hospitals and set his peasants free?
And instead of all this, here he is, the rich husband of an unfaithful wife, a retired chamberlain who loves to eat, drink and easily scold the government, a member of the Moscow English Club and everyone's favorite member of Moscow society. For a long time he could not reconcile himself to the idea that he was that same retired Moscow chamberlain, whose type he so deeply despised seven years ago.
Sometimes he comforted himself with the thought that this was the only way, for the time being, he was leading this life; but then he was horrified by another thought, that for the time being, so many people had already entered this life and this club with all their teeth and hair, like him, and left without one tooth and hair.
In moments of pride, when he thought about his position, it seemed to him that he was completely different, special from those retired chamberlains whom he had despised before, that they were vulgar and stupid, pleased and reassured by their position, “and even now I am still dissatisfied I still want to do something for humanity,” he said to himself in moments of pride. “And maybe all those comrades of mine, just like me, fought, looked for some new, their own path in life, and just like me, by the force of the situation, society, breed, that elemental force against which there is no powerful man, they were brought to the same place as I, ”he said to himself in moments of modesty, and after living in Moscow for some time, he no longer despised, but began to love, respect and pity, as well as himself, his comrades in the fate .
On Pierre, as before, they did not find moments of despair, blues and disgust for life; but the same illness, which had previously expressed itself in sharp attacks, was driven inside and did not leave him for a moment. "For what? What for? What is going on in the world?” he asked himself in bewilderment several times a day, involuntarily beginning to ponder the meaning of the phenomena of life; but knowing by experience that there were no answers to these questions, he hurriedly tried to turn away from them, took up a book, or hurried to the club, or to Apollon Nikolaevich to chat about city gossip.
“Elena Vasilyevna, who never loved anything except her body and one of the most stupid women in the world,” thought Pierre, “appears to people as the height of intelligence and refinement, and they bow before her. Napoleon Bonaparte was despised by everyone as long as he was great, and since he became a miserable comedian, Emperor Franz has been trying to offer him his daughter as an illegitimate wife. The Spaniards send prayers to God through the Catholic clergy in gratitude for having defeated the French on June 14th, and the French send prayers through the same Catholic clergy that they defeated the Spaniards on June 14th. My brother Masons swear by their blood that they are ready to sacrifice everything for their neighbor, and do not pay one ruble each for the collection of the poor and intrigue Astraeus against the Seekers of Manna, and fuss about a real Scottish carpet and about an act, the meaning of which does not know even the one who wrote it, and which no one needs. We all profess the Christian law of forgiveness of offenses and love for our neighbor - the law as a result of which we erected forty forty churches in Moscow, and yesterday we whipped a man who had run away with a whip, and the minister of the same law of love and forgiveness, the priest, gave the soldier a cross to kiss before execution " . So thought Pierre, and this whole, common, universally recognized lie, no matter how he got used to it, as if something new, every time amazed him. I understand the lies and confusion, he thought, but how can I tell them everything I understand? I tried and always found that they, in the depths of their souls, understand the same thing as I do, but they just try not to see her. It has become so necessary! But me, where do I go?” thought Pierre. He tested the unfortunate ability of many, especially Russian people, the ability to see and believe in the possibility of good and truth, and to see the evil and lies of life too clearly in order to be able to take a serious part in it. Every field of labor in his eyes was connected with evil and deceit. Whatever he tried to be, whatever he undertook, evil and lies repelled him and blocked all the paths of his activity. And meanwhile it was necessary to live, it was necessary to be busy. It was too terrible to be under the yoke of these insoluble questions of life, and he gave himself up to his first hobbies, only to forget them. He went to all sorts of societies, drank a lot, bought paintings and built, and most importantly read.

One of the illegal leaflets of German anti-fascists (invested in prospectuses of various companies). 1933-1936 "Germans! Hitler is the enemy of the German people. Hitler is the enemy of the world. Hitler is the enemy of freedom. Hitler does not renew, but destroys Germany. The German Popular Front is fighting to overthrow Hitler. Support this fight!"

Head out
In August-September 1932, the XII Plenum of the Executive Committee of the Comintern took place. Assessing the international situation as extremely tense, the plenum discussed the problems connected with the mobilization of the masses against the offensive of imperialism and fascism. "The period of relative stability in international relations is over," the plenum said. Fascism unleashes a new world war The events that followed the 12th Plenum of the ECCI showed what a threatening force fascism had become. January 30, 1933 Hitler came to power. This meant that Germany was embarking on the path of enslaving other peoples and gaining world domination. The most reactionary circles of the bourgeoisie saw the way out of the crisis not only in the establishment of an open dictatorship, but also in the preparation of a new war. "German fascism," the resolutions of the Seventh Congress of the Comintern noted, "is the main instigator of a new imperialist war" 1 .

Through the war, the imperialists hoped to destroy the USSR, crack down on the world revolutionary movement and, at the same time, overcome the economic crisis. The problem of the struggle for the unity of the working class became paramount. The Communists, like no one else, understood this. The General Secretary of the Communist Party of Great Britain, G. Pollitt, wrote: "Can anyone doubt that the establishment of the unity of action of the working class on a national and international scale would be the greatest blow to Hitler, for the key to peace lies in the hands of the working masses, and not the government" 2 .

Mass rallies and demonstrations against fascism and war did not stop in European countries. In early March 1933, an anti-war conference was held in Birdmonsey (England), which was attended by 1,300 delegates, among them students of Oxford University, representatives of the "British Legion" - an organization of veterans of the British army. Opening the conference, the secretary of the employees' trade union, Brown, said that the task of the conference was to destroy three illusions among the people: that the League of Nations could prevent war, that the capitalist countries would not dare to start a war, that political parties based on parliamentary democracy and trade unions could not allow wars 3 . In the summer of the same year, 50 responsible leaders of the Labor Party, trade unions, and "independents" issued an appeal to unite their efforts against attempts to hinder the fight against fascism, against any compromises in this fight. On the initiative of the workers of the London bus transport, the beginning of the anti-fascist movement of transport workers was laid. So, in 1934-1935. strikes, demonstrations and performances of passenger transport workers took place in Midland, Chelmsford, Bradford, in the south of England, in Scotland, Cornwall, Plymouth, Brickenhead, Manchester, Birmingham and other cities. Labor Party leader D. N. Pritt wrote to the members of the movement: “Warmly welcome the London anti-fascist transport workers movement. Fascism is the mortal enemy of all the freedoms of the working class and its goals... We cannot for a single moment afford to weaken the struggle against fascism. The mass demonstration on July 31, 1934 in Hyde Park, London, was attended by 40,000 people 6 .

Anti-fascist rallies and conferences were held in France and Belgium. 40,000 people took part in the demonstration led by the Brussels communists.

The provocative process against the leaders of the Communist Party of Germany and the international labor movement, organized by the German fascists and entered into history under the name of the Leipzig process, caused a broad protest movement of the world progressive public. This movement, which stirred up millions of people, reflected all the political problems of the anti-fascist struggle.

The defense of the chief accused G. Dimitrov and others has turned into a truly international campaign. A wave of meetings, rallies and demonstrations swept most countries. In the working-class districts of Paris, on some days, there were 20 protest demonstrations, 16 demonstrations were held in London.

On November 12, 1933, about 4,000 London workers filled the streets adjacent to the building of the German embassy. The delegates elected by them broke into the embassy building and handed over a protest resolution, which sharply condemned the staged trial in Leipzig and demanded the immediate, unconditional release of the defendants, as well as 70,000 anti-fascists who were in prisons and concentration camps in Germany 8 .

Not only communist workers, but also social democrats, members of reformist and Christian trade unions, progressive intelligentsia took part in the movement in defense of G. Dimitrov. At the initiative of the International Committee for Assistance to the Victims of Fascism, organized in Paris in the spring of 1933, it was decided, simultaneously with the Nazi court in Leipzig, to investigate the causes of the Reichstag fire. The court of the progressive public went down in history under the name "counter-trial". The committee involved well-known lawyers from the Netherlands, France, Great Britain, the USA, Denmark, and Belgium to conduct the investigation. The commission of inquiry was headed by a well-known public figure, a member of the Labor Party of England, lawyer D. N. Pritt, who later wrote in his memoirs that at that moment “it was important for the world not only to prove Dimitrov’s innocence, but also to show the real face of Nazism as soon as possible” 9 .

The counter-trial began on September 14, 1933 in London, a week before the trial in Leipzig, in his work he used materials that were not taken into account by the Leipzig court. The counter-trial ended on September 18 with the recognition of the complete innocence of the Communists in the burning of the Reichstag.

The holding of the trial contributed to the exposure of the essence of the fascist regime and contributed to the growth of anti-war sentiment. Subsequently, G. Dimitrov noted that during the Leipzig process, for the first time, a united international anti-fascist front was formed, although formally no agreement was concluded. “Both communists, and social democrats, and anarchists, and non-party people - all opposed German fascism. Millions and millions of workers and working women followed the struggle in Leipzig day after day.

A well-known figure in the Polish labor movement, communist, publicist Julian Brun wrote about the Leipzig process: “Two facts prevented Hitler’s “triumph”: the first was the result of the elections, when 5 million votes cast for the communists showed that a huge proletarian mass stood for the Communist Party Germany did not allow itself to be terrorized and disoriented; the second fact that did not give rest to the Nazis was the unity that manifested itself in connection with the burning of the Reichstag” 11 . The personal courage and political intransigence of G. Dimitrov served as an inspiring example for anti-fascists, anti-fascist committees were created, which found support among the general population.

The public burning of books by the fascists aroused the indignation and anger of the world community, all people of good will. After this barbaric act, the ranks of anti-fascists quickly replenished with writers, scientists, lawyers, artists, and representatives of the clergy. In England, through their efforts, an international monetary fund was created to help those forced to emigrate from Nazi Germany; the children of German anti-fascists were brought up in English families. This activity was headed by the Committee for Assistance to the Victims of Fascism, created at the initiative of the Communist Party of Great Britain.

A broad movement against the war and fascism, led by the communists, unfolded in Czechoslovakia. “We express an angry protest against the barbarism of the Hitler regime and undertake, together with the proletariat of the whole world, to help the German proletariat throw off the yoke of fascism and the bourgeoisie,” wrote K. Gottwald 12 . In many cities of Czechoslovakia - Prague, Prandisse, Pilsen, Maly Boleslav, Trutnov, Rumburg, Teplice, Most, Chomutov, Brno, Moravian Ostrava, Bratislava, mass anti-war demonstrations took place.

Public organizations and individuals sent daily protests to the German embassy in Prague. Solidarity with the struggle against fascism and the war was demonstrated by representatives of the democratic intelligentsia, leading scientists, cultural and artistic figures, among them Z. Neyedly, O. Fischer, F. Shalda. Many of them recognized the need to unite all progressive forces in an anti-fascist movement, directed at the same time against the danger of war. “We need a broad and united front in the struggle against fascism in Europe. A united front of the intelligentsia and the proletariat,” 13 wrote the well-known literary critic and democrat Frantisek Shalda.

An important part of the anti-fascist struggle in Czechoslovakia was assistance to Austrian, German and Polish anti-fascist emigrants, which consisted not only in material support for those who were forced to seek political asylum in the country, but also in the illegal publication of the German political magazines Volksillustirte and Gegenangrif. Many illegal newspapers, such as Rote Fahne, were smuggled into Germany through the mediation of the Czechoslovak communists.

Anti-fascist speeches weakened the fascist movement in Czechoslovakia, which already did not represent a political force.

The high level of the mass struggle of the working people, manifested in numerous anti-fascist and anti-war protests, forced the governments of a number of countries to reckon with their demands. Thus, the British government, in response to the widespread indignation of workers caused by the free trade in weapons, appointed a special royal commission of inquiry. This was supposed to calm the minds and postpone the solution of the issue for a long time. However, the results of the peace plebiscite held in June 1935 at the initiative of the pacifist British Union of Friends of the League of Nations, led by Lord Robert Cecil, showed that the matter was not so simple.

The plebiscite was attended by 38 organizations, including the Labor, Liberal parties, as well as other anti-war and anti-fascist organizations. The Communist Party of Great Britain took an active part in this event. The plebiscite was opposed by the conservative party and the reactionary press. To prepare the vote, 1,000 local committees were created; more than 0.5 million volunteers took part in this work 14 .

The public opinion poll was conducted by distributing a questionnaire that included five questions: “Should Great Britain remain a member of the League of Nations; whether you support a general reduction in armaments through an international agreement; whether you support the general abolition of national military and naval aviation through an international agreement; whether the production and sale of weapons for personal enrichment should be prohibited by international agreement; in case one country is going to attack another, do you think it is necessary that other countries should stop it? The poll results were unexpected for the ruling circles. The overwhelming majority of the population voted in favor of the League of Nations (more than 11 million); for the reduction of armaments - more than 10 million; for the abolition of the air fleet - more than 9.5 million; for the prohibition of the production and sale of weapons - about 11.5 million; for the application of economic and non-military sanctions - more than 10 million, military - about 7 million people 15 . P. Togliatti called the peace plebiscite held in England by the Society of Friends of the League of Nations 16 "a striking example of the enormous scope of pacifist sentiment among the masses."

When the voting results were finally summed up, it turned out that 11.5 million (37.9% of the total number of voters) people took part in the plebiscite. Thus, the plebiscite, on the one hand, again drew the attention of the popular masses of England to topical issues of the struggle for peace, and, on the other hand, revealed the growth of anti-war sentiments in public opinion.

The plebiscite demonstrated the nationwide nature of the movement against war and fascism: it turned out that the majority of the British population is not just pacifist, but also supports an active struggle for peace and international security. The results of the vote were one of the reasons that forced the government to speak out (albeit only in words) against the aggressive act of Italian fascism in Ethiopia. Anti-war sentiment was so palpable that it influenced government policy to a certain extent. In just two years (1935-1937) about 1 million pamphlets devoted to the struggle for peace were sold in England. In May 1936, a major publisher, V. Gollans, founded the Left Book Club, an organization that became the center for propaganda and distribution of political, anti-war and anti-fascist literature of the left direction. The popularity of the club was so great that by the middle of 1937 it had 46 thousand members, and in April 1939 - 60 thousand. 18

Not only the number, but also the degree of influence of the club exceeded the expectations of its founders. In a short time, all sorts of related organizations formed around him: these are discussion groups, a weekly magazine, a seminar. One of the organizers of the club later recalled that it was easy to determine the views or interests of any of the members of the club: it was enough to go to his house, look at the bookshelves and see the orange bindings of the Left Book Club publications 19 .

Perhaps the club's success was also due to the fact that it operated at a time when the Popular Front was victorious in Spain, and anti-fascist and anti-war sentiments were growing in England. The goals that the club set for itself were “to fight for world peace; contribute to the creation of a new social and economic order, to help those who have already realized the need to fight against fascism; to attract new forces that, out of ignorance or apathy, are still on the sidelines of the struggle” 20 - corresponded to the aspirations of many people who were deeply concerned about the offensive of fascism, who understood that this offensive was a threat to peace. The slogan of the club "The world depends on you" was close and clear to everyone. In addition, the club sought to unite anti-fascist forces both in their own country and internationally. His activities played a big role in awakening anti-war public opinion.

The German ambassador in London, Dirksen, wrote on July 10, 1939, in a report to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, that if before the broad masses were not inclined to fight, then “now they have seized the initiative from the government and are pushing the cabinet forward. However unfounded and however dangerous this position of the English public may be, it must be taken as a serious reality, especially in a country like England, where public opinion plays such a decisive role.

The problem of the unity of the working-class and democratic movements gained ever greater importance every day and became a necessary condition for the successful struggle of the masses of the people against the war. It had to be solved in conditions when a significant part of the population was under the influence of military propaganda, when the governments of the capitalist countries were spending millions not only on armaments, but also on preparing public opinion for war. They tried in every possible way to militarize women, who were drawn into all branches of production and whose contribution to the coming war could be very significant. As far back as 1931, Major General of the American Army Eli said on this occasion: "Women in a future war will play a huge role" 22 .

The Italian Parliament passed a law on the participation of women over 16 years of age in the defense of the fatherland. Polish girls underwent two years of military training. In addition, in Poland, as in Germany, there were civil defense detachments - "Rodzina Troops", in which working women also underwent military training.

Women's military training was often carried out through sports clubs. Created in 1926 in Germany, the Union of Queen Louise consisted of 50 thousand people. By the end of the 1930s, 750,000 German women deceived by Nazi propaganda were members of militarized sports organizations. Taking advantage of the backwardness and conservatism of women when they were involved in paramilitary organizations, the ruling circles of Germany often resorted to the authority of the church, recruiting new comrades-in-arms with its help. The press of the paramilitary unions and clubs had a lot of money and had an impressive circulation, the magazine "Working Women" was published with a circulation of 40 thousand copies.

The Nazis knew the psychology of the philistines and, putting forward the appropriate slogans, achieved some success. At one of the major metallurgical enterprises in Berlin, 45,000 women were members of the NPD. The Communist International wrote: “Fascism ... managed to throw out the slogans followed by well-known circles of working women in their time. It is impossible to underestimate the size of his ideological influence on female workers” 23 . But it would be wrong to say that the activity of women was manifested only within the paramilitary organizations. The very reality of the world of capital, the penetration of communist ideas into the environment of working women led many of them into the ranks of opponents of imperialism and war.

In August 1932, an international women's conference was held in Amsterdam, in pursuance of its decisions, the International Women's Committee was created, which organized in Paris on the 20th anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War. International Women's Congress against fascism and war, which was characterized by the VII Congress of the Comintern as " new stage in the development of the united front.

The Paris Congress was attended by delegates from 26 countries, representing a total of 341 women's organizations, including pacifist 24 .

The International Women's Committee, which consisted of 65 members, supported the struggle of women for their rights, organized assistance to the revolutionary liberation struggle of the Spanish people. He initiated the campaign for the release of the German anti-fascist L. Herman from prison.

Young people were more and more actively involved in political life. “Never before has the bourgeoisie made so much effort to influence the working youth ideologically. Each ... reformist party seeks to win the trust of the working youth in order to use them later in their own interests,” wrote G. Pollit 25 . As already noted, there were many ways to influence youth - through clubs, boy scout organizations, sports unions, cinema, print, radio. Thanks to skillful propaganda and demagogy, sophisticated methods of indoctrination of young people in many countries, the reactionary forces managed to achieve certain successes.

The communist parties, in connection with the growth of the political activity of the youth, increased their influence on it, contributed to the development of a mass youth movement against the war and fascism. O. Kuusinen, then secretary of the ECCI, noted that such work was especially important, since otherwise it would be impossible to say that the communists are preparing the working people for the struggle against the war.

Certain successes achieved by the young Communists of Great Britain in this direction were demonstrated by the VIII Congress of the English section of the KIM. Its meetings were attended by 260 delegates and 1,000 guests, among whom were representatives of three large and influential organizations of Christian youth - the Christian Social Council, the youth department of the Congregational Church of England and Wales and the student Christian movement, an association of Christian university youth. It also featured such political youth organizations as the national League of Young Liberals and the University Labor Association. The English Komsomol ceased to be isolated.

Along with social issues, the youth forum discussed the problem of peace. Noting the great achievements in uniting British youth in the anti-war struggle, its participants stated that “any attempt to improve the situation of young people will be unsuccessful if there is no peace. Therefore, all those who want to achieve an improvement in public order should unite to fight for peace” 27 .

The youth of Czechoslovakia actively joined the anti-war struggle. "The future of youth," said the young Czechoslovak communists in their appeal to the youth of the country, "depends on how public opinion and young people understand the importance of collective security for the world" 28 . Shortly after the publication of this call, committees for the protection of peace were formed in Prague, Kladno, Duks, Olmutz, Turnau and other cities.

The youth press has achieved great success. The organ of the French sections of the KIM "Avangard" became a mass newspaper, the circulation of which by November 1934 had grown to 22,000, and by March 1935 reached 28,000. 29

In 1935, a newspaper of English Komsomol members was distributed with a circulation of 50,000; The Czechoslovak Komsomol members published their printed organ in Czech, German, Slovak and Hungarian 30 .

Work intensified in the army. The XIII Plenum of the ECCI, held in November-December 1933, which gave a clear definition of the class nature of fascism and characterized fascist Germany as the main warmonger in Europe, against which the main forces of the anti-war struggle should be concentrated, set a number of practical tasks for the communist parties: In addition to intensifying the practical agitation of mass actions, it was not possible to achieve, in addition to strengthening the practical agitation of mass actions, the delay in the dispatch of weapons and troops, the sabotage of the fulfillment of military orders, the holding of demonstrations against military maneuvers, to intensify political educational work in the troops and navy.

The results of anti-war activities in the army were noted at the congress of the Communist Youth in 1933, where representatives of the French soldiers announced from the rostrum the readiness of young proletarians and peasants dressed in soldier's overcoats to fight the military danger. A letter of welcome to the congress was sent by the sailors of the Danish navy.

In May 1933, at the initiative of the French Communist Party, an anti-fascist national conference was held in Paris, in which, in addition to the communists, representatives of the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO), the General Confederation of Labor (CGT), and radical socialists took part. The conference approved the initiative of the progressive, democratic forces of France, who proposed to convene an international congress against the war. In June, the European Anti-Fascist Congress gathered in Paris, in the Salle Pleyel, with 3,000 delegates. Despite the prohibition of the leadership of the Socialist International, 335 members of the Social Democratic parties participated in the work of the congress. In the documents of the congress, in particular in the report of M. Kashen "Against famine, fascism and war", the splitting policy of the leadership of the Socialist International was sharply criticized. The Congress put forward a concrete program of struggle against the offensive of fascism and the intensification of the military danger; the task of creating a united effective front of all anti-fascist forces without distinction of party, social and religious affiliation, ready to unite in order to prevent a new imperialist war, was set as a priority. Just as in Amsterdam, at the congress in Paris, an International Committee was elected to coordinate and organize the struggle against fascism in European countries. Soon both movements - anti-war (Amsterdam) and anti-fascist (Pleyel) - united first on a French scale, and then internationally. The French National Committee for the Struggle against War and Fascism included A. Barbusse, R. Rolland, M. Cachin, P. Langevin, and others. World Committee for the Struggle against War and Fascism.

The movement led by the committee went down in history under the name "Amsterdam-Pleyel" 31 . It played an important role in exposing the external and domestic policy German fascism, in mobilizing the working people of Europe to fight the fascist danger; its committees, in essence, were the first organizations where, along with the communists, the socialists and the progressive intelligentsia collaborated. The movement managed to attract representatives of all social strata to its side; this was the first experience of joint actions of anti-fascists.

Based on the platform adopted by the Paris Congress, the anti-fascist and anti-war committees of the USA, England, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Spain, Canada, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Holland, Switzerland, Belgium, Romania, Greece, and Bulgaria launched mass protests against war and fascism. An important factor in expanding the united front of the struggle against the military threat was the beginning of the joint work of all committees, including the vigilance committees, which were under the influence of the socialists. One of the French committees for the struggle against war and fascism established contact with the vigilance committees and sought their participation in the campaign in defense of the leader of the German Communists, E. Thalmann, against emergency laws. The Vigilance Committee of Anti-Fascist Intellectuals, headed by P. Langevin, a prominent public figure, scientist, organizer of anti-fascist congresses, and founder of the progressive socio-political magazine Poncet, enjoyed great prestige among French intellectuals. It brought together a large number of local committees.

One of the leaders of the Unitary General Confederation of Labor (UVKT), a member of the National Committee for the Struggle against War and Fascism - Racamon wrote in the newspaper "L'Humanite": at rallies and demonstrations of workers and members of various organizations” 32 . In France, there were 650 struggle committees, and they not only organized mass rallies and demonstrations, protest campaigns, but also provided material assistance to the victims of Nazism.

The circulation of newspapers and magazines published by the committees of struggle increased noticeably, for example, the organ of the International Committee of the struggle, the monthly magazine Fron Mondial, from 1934 began to appear twice a month with a circulation of 25 thousand copies. In addition, the committee began to publish magazines for youth "Attack" and "University Front".

In February 1934, stormy events took place in France. About 4 million workers took part in anti-fascist demonstrations on February 9 and 12. The idea of ​​this mass action was put forward by the CGT and supported by the CGT, which was under the influence of the communists, directly by the PCF. The Soviet researcher S. A. Pokrovskaya wrote that the unity of anti-fascists demonstrated at that time was the result of the efforts of the Unitarians and Communists and, of course, the committees for the struggle against war and fascism 34 . Noting the enormous political significance of the Amsterdam-Pleyel movement in the deployment of a united front in the struggle against war and fascism, A. Barbusse wrote: "Amsterdam-Pleyel" is a special organization of the united front, capable of doing organizational work of a much greater volume, with an agreed minimum program, than a political party, strictly limited by the framework of the program, from which it cannot deviate ... It is not only socialists and communists who oppose the reaction that kindles war and feeds fascism. There are people who belong to other parties, there are non-party, unorganized, sincere pacifists, and even active and militant idealists, of whom, however, there are quite a few in our ranks. There are also not only workers. There are other strata of workers, other social categories - peasants, intelligentsia, middle classes, men, women, youth" 35 .

In some countries, the anti-fascist movement embraced large sections of the population both in large cities and in remote areas, in others it was not so powerful, its ranks consisted mainly of communists, and then only in industrial centers. It was necessary to study the experience of struggle, draw conclusions and outline new tasks. These questions were considered by the 7th World Congress of the Comintern in July-August 1935.

P. Togliatti delivered a report "On the Tasks of the Communist International in Connection with the Imperialists' Preparations for a New World War". Giving an assessment of the international situation, he said: “There is not a single corner on this continent, in that part of it that is still subject to the capitalist regime, where states would not take up arms against each other and would not be ready in a few hours to move from the current state of unstable a world armed to the teeth and unreliable, to a state of open war. This is a direct consequence of the onslaught ... and intrigues of fascism, and especially of German National Socialism ... We know ... that all questions of the development of human society are ultimately decided ... by the struggle of the masses. To those broad masses who do not want war, we address our appeal: “Join our forces! Let's fight for peace together! Organize a united front of all ... who wants to defend and preserve the peace»» 36 .

Touching upon the problems of the pacifist movement, Tolyatti noted that it exhibits "extremely curious differentiation, caused by the awareness of the horrors of the war that the capitalists and fascists are preparing" 37 . (Let's say right away that the 7th Congress of the Comintern raised the question of the attitude towards pacifism in a new way, which was reflected in its resolutions: "Communists must enlist in cooperation all pacifist organizations that are ready to go with them at least part of the path of genuine struggle against imperialist wars" 38 .

Further, in his report, Tolyatti paid much attention to the women's and youth movement. Emphasizing the importance of work in this direction, he said that "communist parties do not oppose the forms and methods used by the bourgeoisie, in particular the fascists, to the forms and methods of organizing the masses of women with sufficient effective work" 39 .

Describing fascism as "the striking fist of the international counter-revolution, as the main instigator of the imperialist war", the congress focused on the struggle for peace, pointed out the importance of creating a united front - the main, immediate task of the international workers' movement, called for combining the struggle against fascism with the struggle against the imperialist war ".

The decisions of the Seventh Congress of the Comintern were of international importance for the development of the struggle of all revolutionary and democratic forces against fascism and war. The congress armed the communist movement with a clear understanding of the tasks ahead, outlined real ways to solve them.

After the 7th Congress, the Communist International actively joined in the campaign for the convening of the International Peace Congress, which took place in September 1936 in Brussels and at which the World Peace Association was created, which organizationally formalized the peace movement. The platform of world unification for peace was the minimum program in the anti-war struggle 40 .

The struggle of the communists for the united front, against fascism and the war, was successful at some stages. In early October 1935, after the attack of fascist Italy on Ethiopia, the Communist Party of Great Britain offered to organize an international meeting of socialist, communist parties and trade unions in order to once again discuss the problems of a united front of all anti-fascist forces.

When the Executive Committee of the Socialist International did not respond to the proposal of the British Communists, the CPV sent a telegram to the annual conference of the Labor Party, which said: “We ask, in the name of humanity, to support G. Dimitrov’s call for the unity of efforts of the Socialist and Communist Internationals ... We ask you to take the initiative and explain workers that without international unity it is impossible to save the world” 41 . The next day the conference delegates received a copy of the Daily Worker, in which the telegram was published. This is one example of how the British Communists tried to implement the decisions of the 7th Congress of the Comintern on the creation of a united front. Despite the fact that the Executive Committee of the Socialist International and representatives of the Laborites rejected the proposal of the Communists, the Central Committee of the CPV continued to call on the workers to unite and demand from the government 1) to annul the naval agreement with Germany, concluded in June 1935 and allowing her to increase naval armaments within 35% of the tonnage of the English fleet; 2) refuse any form of assistance to Hitler and Mussolini; 3) support the Franco-Soviet pact; 4) sign a peace treaty with the Soviet Union; 5) review their own foreign policy 42 . Under pressure from the anti-fascist masses, the leadership of the Labor Party was forced to retreat from the policy of "appeasement", condemning the entry of Nazi troops into the Rhine demilitarized zone in March 1936. It published a declaration "The Labor Movement and the Defense of Peace", which, as stated in the notes, contained responses to numerous requests from the British public, outraged by the position of the ruling circles of Great Britain in relation to the aggressive policy. In the document, Germany, Italy and Japan were accused of preparing and unleashing a new war.

The success of the struggle for a united front against fascism and the war in England was demonstrated by the National Peace Congress held in Leeds on June 26-29, 1936, organized by the National Peace Council, created in pursuance of the decisions of the International Peace Congress, to which 40 national and 30 local organizations adjoined. Among its participants were liberals, members of the Labor Party, prominent writers and members of the clergy.

A wave of anti-war protests swept Poland. More than 65,000 people took part in the three-day protest strike against fascism and the war.

The Polish communists called for the creation of a broad anti-fascist front, which at that stage and in those conditions of the development of the working-class movement in the country was fraught with great difficulties. The Central Committee of the Polish Communist Party was ready to move closer to every organization that united the working masses, which sought to fight for democratic freedoms, against the onslaught of capital, against fascism, against the instigators and organizers of a new world war. Through the efforts of the communists in April 1935, demonstrations were organized in many parts of the country, in which 80-100% of the entire Polish proletariat took part. In the first quarter of 1936 the number of strikers reached 300,000, more than half of the entire industrial proletariat of Poland.

The ideas of a united front of struggle against fascism and war also penetrated into the Polish youth movement. In February 1936, the Central Committee of the Union of Communist Youth of Poland prepared a document that outlined the platform for the organizational unity of the socialist and communist youth. It became the basis for the “Declaration of the rights of the young generation of Poland” signed in March 1936 by representatives of the communist and socialist youth and members of other leftist youth organizations. In addition to the demand for the creation of a united Front, it contained a protest against the military preparations of the fascist states.

The same ideas found support among representatives of the progressive intelligentsia, who actively demonstrated their solidarity with the workers in the struggle against fascism and the war. Among them were public figures, publicists, writers, such as V. Vasilevskaya, L. Kruchkovsky, V. Bronevsky, L. Struk, E. Shimansky, I. N. Miller, M. Dombrovskaya, X. Dembinsky.

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In the mid-1930s, the League for the Defense of Human Rights and the International Red Aid were active in Poland. These organizations exposed the policies of the Nazis and warned against the danger of the fascistization of Poland, called for the consolidation of leftist forces, and held numerous rallies and demonstrations in defense of peace. Significant changes in the social life of Poland were evidenced by the growth in the number of left-wing magazines, among which one can name "Poprostu", "Levar", "Levi Tor", "The Image of the Day" and others. The editorial offices of these publications worked in close contact with the communists and sympathizing with them, the Social Democrats, members of the peasant party.

A special role among these publications was played by the Popular Dzevnik, which provided its pages for discussing the most pressing political issues. He popularized the experience of the Popular Front of France, called for the defense of the Spanish Republic from external and internal fascism, pointed out the danger that threatened Poland from fascist Germany, wrote that only a collective security system in which Poland would take an active part together with the Soviet Union , France and England, is able to prevent the aggression of the fascist states and protect Europe from a new world war. The Polish authorities closed the magazine in early 1937, accusing the editors of spreading communist propaganda and calling for the overthrow of the government.

The task of creating a broad anti-fascist front was set by the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. The Communists of Czechoslovakia were well aware that the question of allies in the face of the threat of fascism and war was of particular importance. Based on the experience gained in 1930-1932, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in November 1934 put forward the slogan "Against cooperation with the bourgeoisie, for militant unity with the socialists." The communists believed that the cooperation of the leaders of the reformist parties with the reactionaries and their participation in bourgeois governments further increased the danger of a fascist offensive. The communists saw the formation of a united anti-fascist front as a prerequisite for the successful struggle of the working class and all democratic forces.

Resistance to fascism and the military threat was reflected in the works of Czechoslovak writers and artists in the first half of the 1930s. Despite the fact that only a small part of the Czechoslovak creative intelligentsia was in the ranks of the Communist Party, the ideas of a united front became an increasingly important factor in its political activity, which, in turn, contributed to the mobilization of the masses against fascism and war.

Among the communist and left-wing organizations of the Czechoslovak progressive intelligentsia, one can name such as the Left Front, which actively supported the striking workers and fought against reaction in the field of culture. Its members were scientists, artists and writers - B. Vaclavek, J. Kratokhvil, P. Shlemnitsky, L. Novomessky, S. K. Neumann, R. Vanchura, I. Olbracht, F. Halash, E. F. Burian, E E. Kish, F. S. Weiskopf, L. Furnberg, M. Brod, Z. Nejedly, etc.

Until today, millions of people read the immortal works of Karel Capek "War with Salamanders", "White Disease", "Mother", in a sharp satirical form denouncing militarism. Of great moral significance at that time was Chapek's anti-fascist revue The Donkey and the Shadow, staged at the Free Theater and excluded from the repertoire at the request of the diplomatic representatives of fascist Germany.

The majority of students in Czechoslovakia adhered to the communist orientation. This had a great influence on the formation of public opinion among students of higher and secondary schools, the entire younger generation. Thus, the core of future young anti-fascists was gradually formed, who actively joined during the years of the Second World War in the direct struggle against the invaders, and after the victory successfully carried out the program of socialist transformations.

By the mid-1930s, some experience in the anti-fascist struggle had been accumulated in European countries.

The mass international anti-fascist movement of all progressive forces, which entered a new stage in the struggle for a united front, unfolded in support of the national revolutionary war of the Spanish people, against the combined forces of internal reaction and fascism in 1936-1938. People of different social affiliations, different professions, political and religious beliefs demanded to lift the blockade of the Spanish Republic, to restore the legal rights of the Spanish government to acquire weapons, to provide comprehensive assistance to the Spanish people.

Emphasizing the international significance of this movement, G. Dimitrov wrote: “The soldiers of the Republican army at the walls of Madrid, in Catalonia, in the mountains of Asturias and on the entire peninsula defend not only the freedom and independence of Republican Spain, but also the democratic gains of all peoples and the cause of peace from fascist incendiaries war" 44 . Spain was the scene of the first armed confrontation between the forces of democracy and international fascism.

In the conditions of an extremely tense political situation in Europe, fascist reaction launched a war against the Spanish Republic. The fascist states, Germany in particular, made no secret of their daily growing plans for conquests in Europe. At the same time, the aggressiveness of fascist Italy grew, which occupied Ethiopia in October 1935, and on May 5, 1936, the capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa. On July 18, 1936, a fascist rebellion broke out in Spain and a national revolutionary war began, in which the Spanish people stubbornly defended their revolutionary gains with the support of all international progressive forces. Germany and Italy came to the aid of the Francoists, who sent planes and tanks to Spain. The German legion "Condor" numbered 50 thousand people. On the side of the fascists, the armies of the Portuguese and Moroccans fought.

Events in Spain became the subject of close attention of the Communist International. Realizing that the intervention of Germany and Italy in Spain poses a threat to the independence of all European countries, the Communists raised the broad masses of the people to defend the Spanish Republic.

As the former general secretary of the Spanish Communist Party, José Diaz, wrote, “The struggle of revolutionary Spain became the vital cause of the working masses of the whole world, who regarded this struggle as their own. It awakened significant forces of the working class and its allies and directed them against ... reaction.

The Republicans were supported by progressive circles in all countries who regarded the defense of the Spanish Republic as part of the struggle of the peoples against imperialism, fascism and war, for peace, democracy and socialism.

The Communist International and its section took the lead in a campaign of solidarity with the Spanish people. Relying on the decisions of the 7th Congress of the Comintern and the experience gained by the international working-class movement in the struggle against imperialism, fascism and war, they set about mobilizing the masses of the people to repel fascist aggression. The appeal of the Executive Committee of the Comintern in November 1936 stated: “Fascism organizes terrorist acts and conspiracies in foreign territories. He is sowing counter-revolutionary anarchy and disorder, instigating riots and fanning the flames of an imperialist war... trying to arm the executioner Franco, to split the Popular Front in Spain. The heroes of Madrid, at the cost of their lives, are defending the entire European democracy from fascist attack, all mankind from a new imperialist war” 46 . The Comintern called on the working men and women, all honest supporters of democracy and peace, to actively support the Spanish people in their struggle. In many countries committees have been set up to help Spain. Some members of the solidarity movement joined because the events in Spain threatened the international position of their countries; others sympathized with the Spanish anti-fascists, being adherents of bourgeois democracy, still others saw the intervention in Spain as a threat to world peace; the fourth acted in defense of civilization and culture. I. Brown, a member of the Communist Party of Great Britain, wrote: “The organized workers, taking part in the struggle, understood its class character. Representatives of the intelligentsia were aware of the danger of fascism for culture, the priests saw the threat of fascism to freedom of religion and were guided by their humane attitude - to help the suffering. The leaders of the Labor Party wanted to subdue the masses... The liberals thought of defending bourgeois liberalism... Conservative groups assumed a threat to the British Empire. Supporters of the active struggle against fascism and the war sent their best representatives to Spain. The names of F. Dahlem, L. Longo, G. Beimler, F. Konich, E. Kozlovsky, F. Vlahovich, M. Zalka and many others will forever remain in the memory of the grateful Spanish people. Known in the Spanish war is the role of international brigades, which were a reliable part of the Spanish people's army and obeyed the orders of its command. At the suggestion of G. Dimitrov, the Presidium of the ECCI developed specific measures for maximum assistance to the Spanish people. The French Communist Party, with the approval of the ECCI, turned to the French socialists, to the Socialist Workers' International (SRI) and the Amsterdam Trade Union International with a proposal to organize joint assistance to the Spanish Republic.

In accordance with these appeals, on October 6, M. Thorez and M. Cachin sent a telegram to the HRE with a proposal to organize a joint campaign in support of the Spanish Republic. On October 10, the ECCI Secretariat approved the "Decision on the Campaign for the Defense of Spain", which formulated 5 points of joint action between the Comintern and the HRE. These points provided for the mobilization of world public opinion in favor of the Spanish Republic, the struggle for the elimination of the agreement on "non-intervention" and the establishment of an embargo on the supply of arms to the rebels, the supply of food and clothing to the Republic, and the provision of assistance to women and children suffering from hostilities.

To coordinate actions in Paris on August 13, 1936, a conference was held in defense of the Spanish Republic and the world, at which the International Coordinating and Information Committee for Assistance to Spain was created; prominent figures of the Socialist Workers' International E. Vandervelde, J. Zhyromsky, N. Backer took part in its work. E. Bevin, G. Branting, well-known radicals and liberals, chairman of the French League for the Defense of Human Rights V. Bash, D. Nehru; writers and poets M. A. Nekse, L. Aragon, V. Bredel, V. X. Faulkner, E. Hemingway, G. Mann, P. Neruda, A. Zegers, D. Steinbeck, E. Weinert, artists P. Picasso, D. Rivera, scientists A. Einstein, F. Joliot-Curie, P. Langevin, etc. 48

Republican Spain was greatly supported by the solidarity movement that unfolded in the Soviet Union: trade unions, women's and children's organizations, workers, peasants, scientists, writers, artists unanimously supported the national revolutionary struggle of the Spanish people. Workers of the Trekhgornaya Manufactory factory collected clothes, shoes, food, and medicines for Spanish children and women. On September 18, 1936, the first steamship arrived in Spain with parcels from the Soviet people. Dozens of other ships followed. The arrival of each ship in the ports of Spain was perceived by the Republicans as a holiday and resulted in a demonstration of friendship with the USSR. "We are not alone. The Soviet Union is with us,” the republican press wrote in those days.

Many Soviet people gave their lives in the fight for the freedom of Spain. About 600 Soviet volunteers fought shoulder to shoulder with the Spaniards. These were pilots, tankers, artillerymen, sailors, signalmen, military doctors 50 . In Spain, A. I. Rodimtsev, G. Ya. Malinovsky, K. A. Meretskov, N. G. Kuznetsov, P. I. Batov and many others acted as advisers and military specialists - later major military leaders who glorified their names in years of the Great Patriotic War.

The Soviet Union provided military assistance to Spain. Starting in October 1936, despite the blockade and the threat of attack, Soviet transports delivered tanks and aircraft to Spanish ports. Soviet ships in the Mediterranean were attacked 86 times (some of them were sunk) by unknown submarines, ships and unmarked aircraft.

The Soviet Union used every opportunity to support Republican Spain: in the League of Nations, at international conferences, through diplomatic channels, in the Non-Intervention Committee, it defended the rights of the Spanish people to be protected from the Nazis. The Soviet position aroused deep gratitude among the Republicans.

The powerful wave of solidarity with the Spanish people that swept across the world was expressed in various forms. Under the slogans of solidarity with Republican Spain, numerous rallies and demonstrations took place in England. During the demonstrations on September 6 and 20, 700l. Art. to help the Spanish people - the largest amount collected during a street demonstration 51 . Everywhere there were committees for the defense of Spain, committees for helping Spain, which united representatives of various political parties.

In support of the Spanish people, the communist, liberal and labor press of England launched a struggle. The question of Spain was one of three items on the agenda of the British Trade Union Congress. Speaking at a meeting of Congress, one of the reformist leaders of the Labor Party, Herbert Morrison, said: “I cannot reconcile myself to this “neutrality” (we are talking about disguised assistance to the rebels from the imperialist circles of England. - G.S.). This is too unfair and wrong in relation to the people who are heroically fighting in such difficult conditions” 52 .

For several months, the Labor Party sent protests to the Foreign Office against the assistance to the Spanish fascists from the governments of Italy and Germany. Later, Labor called on the English people to set up a fund to support the Spanish Republic. The movement of solidarity with Republican Spain covered different social strata. Enormous work was done by the Communist Party to arouse sympathy among the British for the fighting Spanish people. The London correspondent of the Swedish Social Democratic newspaper Arbeiter wrote at the time: “The impression is now that the British Communist Party has taken the lead in order to give vent to the feeling of deep anxiety that has gripped the liberal circles and the labor movement of Great Britain in connection with the policy of non-intervention in Spanish affairs. » 53 . This is confirmed by the results of public opinion polls, which showed that different stages wars of 1936-1939 from 57 to 72% of the British population was on the side of the republican government and only 7-14% on the side of Franco 54 .

Shortly after the outbreak of the national revolutionary war of the Spanish people in England, the Committee of Medical Assistance was created, which brought together representatives of the Communist Party, numerous trade unions and church organizations. The Committee had a representative in the General Assistance Committee - a member of the Communist Party, I. Brown. The range of his activities was very wide. The Committee sent a medical train to Spain, collected about 2 million pounds. Art., sheltered 4 thousand Basque children.

Already in the early autumn of 1936, the first contingent of British volunteers was in Spain. 2,000 fighters fought in a British battalion, half of whom were communists. In January 1937, the British government banned the sending of volunteers, but the number of those who wanted to join the fight on the side of the Republicans did not decrease. Many of them went to Paris, from where the French communists transported them through the Pyrenees to Spain. The sympathies of the English people, despite the official position of the British government, remained on the side of the Spanish Republic.

Representatives of the English intelligentsia took the side of the Spanish people. The appeal, signed by such well-known writers as G. Wells, E. Norman and others, emphasized the legitimacy of the Spanish government elected by the people. Medical students and young doctors from London and Cambridge organized sanitary detachments, placing them at the disposal of the republican government.

The movement of solidarity with the Spanish Republic thus turned out to be a vivid demonstration of the anti-war and anti-fascist sentiments of the masses. The understanding of the threat of fascism and war for Europe in connection with the civil war in Spain penetrated deeper and deeper into the consciousness of the peoples.

In Czechoslovakia, the Communist Party was the only party that consistently and permanently supported the peace-loving policy of the Soviet Union and the Spanish Republic. Drawing the attention of the world community to the danger of fascist aggression, the CPC put forward the slogan "Fight in Madrid for Prague." Her appeals said: "The struggle of the Spanish people teaches us that the independence and freedom of Czechoslovakia can be preserved only if the peoples unite against a common enemy, against fascist warmongers and invaders of foreign lands" 56 .

The communists of Czechoslovakia took the initiative to organize help in the country for the struggling Spanish people. For these purposes, a commission was created that united 30 organizations to collect money, medicines, food.

The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia led the recruitment of volunteers who were smuggled into Spain. As a result, 2,500 Czechoslovak volunteers fought on the side of the Republicans 57 . They were in police units and in international brigades, in particular in the Klement Gottwald unit, machine-gun company of the battalion. Dimitrov "Jan Zizka"

Meetings and rallies of solidarity with the fighting Spain, fundraising in favor of the Republicans were held in many cities of Czechoslovakia. Numerous delegations of Prague workers demanded the immediate expulsion of the Spanish ex-King Alphonse from the country and achieved success: under the pressure of the protest campaign, he was forced to leave Czechoslovakia.

French policy on the Spanish question became an important subject of struggle between the forces of democracy, peace and social progress, on the one hand, and the forces of reaction, war, fascism, on the other. The leader of the socialists L. Blum, and later the radical E. Daladier, who led the French government of the Popular Front, took a position of non-intervention, which actually supported the putschists. On July 25, 1936, L. Blum returned to Paris from London, where it was agreed between the French and British leaders to adhere to a policy of "non-intervention" in Spanish affairs. On August 2, 1936, the French government called on other countries to adhere to a policy of "neutrality" in relation to Spain, and on August 8, it terminated the Franco-Spanish trade agreement of 1935, according to which Spanish orders were placed in France, in particular for weapons.

The policy of non-intervention of the French government was, in essence, beneficial to the Francoist rebels, since it deprived the legitimate government of Spain of any assistance, while the putschists enjoyed the broad support of Italy and Germany.

The French Communist Party qualified the Francoist rebellion as part of the international offensive of fascism. Faithful to the principles of proletarian internationalism, it supported the just struggle of the Spanish people and condemned the policy of "non-intervention". The French committees led a broad campaign of solidarity with the Spanish Republicans under the slogans "Arms for Spain", "Down with Fascism", and raised funds for the working people of Spain. The number of French volunteers who fought in the Paris Commune and Henri Barbusse battalions, the Marseillaise division and other international brigades reached 9,000. More than 3,000 Frenchmen did not return to their homeland. They died for the freedom of the Spanish people and at the same time for the freedom of France and all of Europe, fighting against the fascist threat.

The French communists sought to explain to the people that “the courageous Spanish soldiers defended not only their freedom and their fatherland, but also the security of France ... In Spain, the fate of France was at stake,” the French communists later said in an appeal 59 .

The Communist Party of Germany, which was underground, at the beginning of August 1936 called on German anti-fascists who knew how to hold weapons in their hands to take part in the struggle on the side of the Spanish Republicans. This call was answered by 3,000 German anti-fascists, many of whom were in exile. “They, like thousands of other volunteers, joined the fight not because of money, not out of personal self-interest, but out of a sense of solidarity with the Spanish people who fought for their freedom,” wrote the former fighters of the international brigades 60 .

The democratic forces of Italy did not stand aside from the support of the Spanish Republic, despite the cruel repressions of the Mussolini regime against all those who dared to take the side of the Spanish people. Thus, in 1936, the Italian police arrested several hundred people for participating in solidarity events with Spain. In Bologna, she confiscated funds raised by subscription for the benefit of Spanish workers. Demonstrations in support of the Spanish Republic were held in Milan, Genoa, Turin, and Venice.

The solidarity movement grew in other countries as well. In Poland, the port workers and sailors of Gdynia boycotted the export of weapons and equipment for the fascist troops to Spain. At the same time, thanks to the efforts of the Polish communists, Polish and German volunteers were sent to Spain under the guise of sailors through the port of Gdansk. The bulk of those wishing to fight for the freedom of the Spanish people were sent in late 1936 - early 1937 on Scandinavian and Greek ships. The Valka newspaper reported that Spain received aid from the Polish democrats in the amount of 15,000 zlotys 62 .

The movement of solidarity with the Spanish people also embraced numerous youth organizations, religious, cultural and sports societies. All of them actively acted in support of the Spanish revolution.

The governments of France, England and other countries resisted the pressure of the masses in every possible way. Thus, in an effort to prohibit the departure of volunteers from Great Britain to Spain, the Cabinet of Ministers decided to resort to the 1870 law on voluntary service abroad, according to which the service of British citizens in the Spanish army was punishable by two years in prison.

In the autumn of 1936, the Polish government issued a decree forbidding Poles, under threat of deprivation of citizenship, to voluntarily join international brigades. Similar measures were taken in Czechoslovakia and some other countries. The governments of neighboring states have strengthened the protection of their borders. On the Franco-German border, 60 Czechoslovak citizens were arrested, making their way to Spain. The then general secretary of the Communist Party of Spain, José Diaz, said: "We received every year from our friends from abroad, especially from countries under fascist oppression, thousands of requests to be enrolled in the ranks of our army" 63 .

Noting the active role of the intelligentsia in the Spanish events, L. Aragon wrote: “Never before, even at the greatest moments of history, a poet, scientist, artist, engineer and doctor was not given such high confidence, they were not assigned such a high mission through the Communist Party, as at this tragic moment in the life of the whole world.

As has been repeatedly noted, the progressive intelligentsia stood on the side of Spanish democracy. “For the first time in my life,” G. Mann wrote, “I now feel envy for some of my comrades in the profession - for those that age allows them to fight in the ranks of the Republican Spanish army. I, too, would like to hold in my hands a weapon that should liberate humanity, pave the way for it to life in labor and peace…” 65

The editorial staff of the English magazine Left Review published a collection called Writers Make Choices, which included answers from some English writers to a questionnaire about their attitude to the events in Spain. Most of the respondents were against Franco, for a republican government. B. Shaw called the policy of "non-intervention" the policy of "active intervention in favor of Franco" 66 .

The German writer Ludwig Renn, who had just been released from a fascist concentration camp, fought in the international brigades, the English communist writer Ralph Fox, the 65-year-old Italian literary critic Professor Piero Iacchini, the editor of the Belgian socialist newspaper Pöpl, Pierre Brachet, and the young English artist Felicia Brown.

The most prominent representatives of the French intelligentsia, on the initiative of the writer-publicist J. R. Blok and professors P. Langevin, A. Wallon and M. Prenan, appealed to the French people with an appeal to support the demand to lift the blockade of republican Spain. They drew the government's attention to its responsibility for the security of France and the defense of peace.

The non-intervention agreement and the US policy of neutrality did not prevent 2,800 Americans and 1,000 Canadians from fighting for the Popular Front in Spain 67 . But if the first American volunteers with cries of "Hurrah!" rushed to the Spanish border, then they began to act more carefully: in small groups they silently boarded trains, quietly left them, hid on fishing schooners, jumped overboard to swim to the Spanish coast. What made them go against the governments in order sometimes to die in Spain? Many have asked themselves this question, and the answer has always been the same: undoubtedly, all these people were guided by the desire to fulfill their duty to themselves and to history. It was this that made them again "return to this hell and experience its horrors." Approximately 35,000 "freedom volunteers" arrived in Spain from about 54 countries of the world 68 . in the International Brigade. Dombrowski was 16% communists, 4% members of the Polish peasant party, 3% Polish socialists. The overwhelming majority of the brigade were non-partisan 69 . “Fighters of the international brigades,” wrote the secretary of the Central Committee of the KKE since 1938, Franz Dalem, “are not only soldiers who know how to handle weapons. These are political fighters... closely connected by common trials with the Spanish comrades” 70 . The fighters of the international brigades, regardless of party affiliation, fought under the banner of the Spanish Republic. The goals of their struggle were formulated in an appeal to the population of Madrid in the difficult days of its protection from the Francoists (the text of the appeal is given by L. Longo, who was the inspector general of the international brigades): “Men and women of Madrid, we have come to help you defend your capital, so as if it were our capital. Your honor is our honor. Your fight is our fight” 71 .

The high combat effectiveness of the international brigades was determined by the clarity of purpose, the high level of discipline and military training, unity and solidarity. The struggle of the International Brigades on the side of the Spanish people gave the Republicans confidence that revolutionary Spain was not alone, that the enemy could be defeated.

From the beginning to the end of the war, the volunteers of the international brigades had close ties not only with the Republican army, but also directly with the Spanish population. This union arose on the basis of solidarity, common goals and victims. The fighters of the international brigades helped the Spanish peasants to harvest, provided them with transport, sent money and food to children's institutions, opened schools and medical institutions. The internationalists understood that the war of the Spanish people was at the same time a struggle against European fascism as a whole, against the reactionary imperialist forces in different countries. The dialectical unity of the fate of independent Spain and the cause of freedom and independence of peoples determined the nature of the national revolutionary war, its main goal was to counteract fascism. This is evidenced by the slogans of Polish, Czechoslovak and German anti-fascist volunteers: “For your and our freedom”, “Fight for Prague near Madrid”, “We have not lost our homeland, our homeland is today at the walls of Madrid”, as well as the names of the international brigades: “ Ernst Telman", "Paris Commune", "Chapaev", "Dimitrov", "Karl Liebknecht", "Abraham Lincoln", "Mickiewicz", "Tudor Vladimirescu". These names are imbued with the spirit of revolution, proletarian internationalism, the continuity of the revolutionary traditions of the labor movement. Republican Spain was helped by the progressive public of all countries.

The pressure of public opinion explains the periodic relaxation of tight controls on the Franco-Spanish border, which made it possible to transit goods, including military materials from the Soviet Union. According to the report of the International Committee for the Coordination of Aid to Spain, food and other materials worth 800 million francs were sent from 18 countries. 72

The events in Spain played an important role in mobilizing international public opinion against fascism, as they clearly demonstrated to the people that fascism is war. They contributed to the transition from "abstract" pacifism and passivity to active opposition to fascist aggression. The experience of the struggle in Spain has confirmed that victory over fascism and war is impossible without the firm unity of all anti-fascist, democratic forces.

In the struggle against fascism and the war, the international democratic youth movement grew stronger. It reflected the profound changes taking place in the views and moods of the younger generation. The nature of the movement, which included numerous, most diverse youth organizations, has noticeably changed. If earlier they were isolated, sometimes even because of political differences they were at enmity with each other, but now, under the influence of the hardships of the economic crisis and its consequences, the onset of fascism and the threat of war, young people began to realize the need for unification.

The Communist parties attached great importance to work among the youth. O. Kuusinen, speaking at the VII Congress of the Comintern, said: “The most important, the main thing is the development of the general militant movement of youth. Whether we succeed in developing a powerful mass revolutionary or radical youth movement is of decisive importance both for the struggle against the danger of war and for the struggle against fascism, and it is especially important to develop a broad youth united front movement. The youth of England, the USA, France, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Austria and other countries were involved in the struggle against the military danger, against fascism. At a conference of various Austrian youth organizations in Vienna in January 1936, 200 delegates representing 150,000 young people were present. In mid-October 1938, a conference was held in London to unite the English youth fighting for peace. It was attended by 269 delegates and 125 representatives from 26 different youth organizations 75 .

Students joined the peace movement. In many countries student corporations have raised the issue of joining the mass movement for peace. A noticeable evolution was observed among the Christian students, who began to re-evaluate their duties to society.

Progressive tendencies developed among the English students of Oxford and Cambridge, who were always in a privileged position. The magazine Youth International in 1938 reported on a conference organized by the students' union at Oxford University, at which one of the decisions of the union was amended, stating that from now on "the students' union stands for the creation of a bloc of peaceful powers and will willingly participate in the struggle for such a bloc, against fascist aggression” 76 . The University Labor Federation, with 3,500 members in 1937, campaigned in defense of Republican Spain. The Federation sent volunteers to the international brigades, took part in equipping sanitary detachments, and raised funds to send two ships with provisions to Spain. All these events were held in cooperation with the liberal students and the youth Union of Friends of the League of Nations.

National organizations of English students participated in the work of the subcommittee of the English youth committee for the struggle for peace, published the newspaper Student Forum, which called for cooperation in the defense of peace. All this acquired special significance in conditions when the struggle for influence on the youth became one of the primary tasks.

K. Liebknecht said that "he who has the youth in his hands, he has the army in his hands" 78 . This was well understood and taken into account by the bourgeois governments: in a future imperialist war they leading role they turned away the youth, doing everything possible to attract them to serve the goals of their aggressive policy, and trying to give them appropriate military training.

However, the younger generation resisted. In the Neuss in Germany, 150 people were arrested for refusing to register with the Bureau of Fortifications. Young Italian soldiers took an active part in anti-war demonstrations in Milan, Naples, Turin and other cities 79 .

Young people who did not know the horrors of war, who heard about them only from their fathers, began to realize that with the onset of fascism the danger of war became a reality, that it was they who would have to pay with their health and life in a new war. The striving for unity as the most effective means of a successful struggle for peace and against war manifested itself already at the first youth congress against war and fascism in 1933 in Paris. Among the 1,100 delegates from 34 countries were 111 socialists, 387 young communists, and 553 non-partisans. Then, in Brussels in December 1934, the International Student Congress was held, 380 delegates of which adopted the "Manifesto" and the "Proclamation of the rights of student youth." “We are united by a common will to save culture and science from the gloomy reaction of fascism ... - it was said in the Manifesto. We don't want war. We will fight against it with all our strength in close alliance with the working people of all countries. At the congress it was noted that in the Soviet Union the youth of the world sees the foremost fighter for disarmament and peace.

The question of unity as a necessary condition for a successful struggle against war was again raised in 1953 at the Paris International Youth Conference. Representatives of 27 countries participating in the conference adopted an appeal “To all advanced youth organizations in all countries”, which stated: “Is not the split of our, in fact, huge forces, the cause of our weakness? Prevent war, defeat fascism. We must complete this task. But we will be able to fulfill it only by joining the forces of those who at the present moment have the courage to fight against the catastrophe that threatens humanity” 82 . This is how the main goals of the youth movement were formulated.

Fascism was also denounced by another international peace youth conference held in Brussels in February-March 1936. It condemned the aggressive policy of Italy in Ethiopia and responded to Mussolini's letter to the students of Europe, who was trying to win over the youth to the side of the aggressor: “The youth of Europe, to whom you dare cry out, and the youth of the whole world denies you in the most emphatic manner the right to speak in the name of peace,” the conference replied 83 .

The unification of youth took place in a sharp struggle. Fascist parties had a certain influence on the youth. Pro-fascist youth organizations in Germany, Italy, Japan, as well as the Socialist Youth International, refused to participate in the Geneva Youth Congress, which worked from August 31 to September 6, 1936. Nevertheless, the Geneva forum also reflected a trend towards rapprochement between young people of different political orientations. Contrary to the decision of the Socialist Youth International, representatives of the socialist youth of Czechoslovakia, the United States, Spain, England, Bulgaria, Poland, Switzerland and Belgium took part in its work. The prohibition of the Catholic Church, which opposed the participation of Catholic youth organizations in Congress, was also violated. If representatives of 34 countries participated in the work of the Paris Congress, then 36 countries were represented at the Geneva Congress. The popularity of the ideas of the congress among young people is evidenced by the fact that the special preparatory committee in France included members of 25 national organizations, in Belgium - members of 45 organizations, uniting more than 200 thousand people 84 .

The youth of the world could not but react to the acts of aggression of the fascist states. On December 19, 1936, the Paris Conference of European Youth took place, dedicated to the events in Spain; in England, the second conference of English youth in defense of peace was held, representing 40 youth organizations; members of 30 mass youth organizations gathered in the USA to discuss the decisions of the Geneva Congress. All this testified to the fact that huge masses of young people were involved in the anti-war struggle, in the movement for unity.

At the initiative of the youth organizations of France, numbering several tens of thousands and representing the largest section of the CIM from the capitalist countries, organizations of girls and rural youth were created. Significant changes took place among the English youth: gradually freeing themselves from the influence of the conservatives, they joined the struggle for collective security. By August 1938 the National Peace Councils of Youth were active in most countries. Only in France there were about 600 of them 85 .

Despite the fact that the process of turning to the left of the students went in parallel with the consolidation of its conservative part, by 1936 the anti-war movement united 40 million boys and girls all over the world. Delegates from 56 countries took part in the Second World Congress of Youth for Peace, which was held at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, from August 15-23, 1938. They unanimously refused to recognize any Italian "rights" over Ethiopia; branded the Nazi annexation of Austria; demanded recognition by the League of Nations of the fact of the aggression of Germany and Italy against the Spanish people and the rights of the legitimate Spanish government; condemned racial discrimination, nationalism and violence as a way to settle international disputes. On August 23, the congress adopted a resolution (Vassar Pact), which was a program for the further intensification of the struggle for peace of the youth democratic movement 86 . The participants of the congress pledged to strengthen the fraternal cooperation of the youth of all countries; they vowed that they would not allow the participation of young people in military aggression, that they would in every possible way prevent the outbreak of war, and if it began, they would provide effective assistance to the victims of aggression and seek this from the governments of various countries. The delegates demanded the immediate establishment of a special organization for the peaceful settlement of international disputes. Considering the urgency of the problem of the unity of the youth movement in the struggle against the aggressive foreign policy, the congress delegates paid special attention to the need to establish contact with the Socialist Youth International, Catholic and trade union organizations.

Congress showed a significant increase in anti-fascist and anti-war sentiment among American youth. Many representatives of youth organizations that had previously insisted on the neutrality of the United States in relation to events in Europe now demanded the lifting of the ban on the sale of weapons to Republican Spain and called for an international boycott of Japan because of the aggression in China. One of the American delegates said: “I have never been to Spain or China. But I cannot remain silent, I cannot be indifferent to the fact that thousands of young lives are dying somewhere. What do I care what political views the delegates present here have. What do I care if one is called a socialist and the other a Catholic. We have one common enemy - fascism. And when it is necessary to defend culture and justice against fascist barbarism, we cannot have any disagreements” 87 . While resisting the preparations for the new coin, the young democrats at the same time declared their readiness to defend the independence of peoples. When the fascist threat loomed over Czechoslovakia, the communist youth of Yugoslavia turned to the government with a statement stating:

“We want to volunteer for Czechoslovakia, because we know that the struggle for the independence of Czechoslovakia is the struggle for the independence of Yugoslavia. We go to help, so that later we ourselves do not ask for help.

Women became more and more actively involved in the anti-war movement. This was demonstrated with great clarity by the events in Spain: many women voluntarily went to Spain as doctors, nurses, pharmacists. Women of all countries demanded from the governments and the Council of the League of Nations energetic measures against the rebels, the opening of the Spanish border, granting the Republicans the right to buy weapons. Attempts to put pressure on governments that pursued a policy of non-intervention, along with the International Committee against Fascism and War, were made by the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, the League of Mothers and Educators for Peace, the Women's Committee for Peace and Disarmament, the Women's Union of Friends of the League of Nations and many other organizations . Women's Catholic, Protestant and other religious organizations collected money and food to help the women and children of Spain.

The women's movement developed widely in Holland and Czechoslovakia. English women, united in various anti-war organizations, put pressure on the conservative government and demanded opposition to the fascist aggressors. The women of France spoke out against fascism and the military threat; their National Committee united 200,000 people and more than 2,000 local committees 89 . Around the world, more than 1 million women participated in organizations affiliated with the Committees for Peace and Women's Rights, and several million were involved in the anti-war movement.

The mass movement for peace and international security included representatives of science and culture. Of particular note is the role of writers who drew themes and images from the struggle of the people for their best works. The people found in these works heroes who inspired them to fight for freedom, democracy and peace. However, earlier writers often fought for a just cause alone, lacking broad support. After the First World War, writers acutely felt the need to unite their creative forces. “... A writer is a public person, and a book is a public act,” A. Barbusse considered. - What we say, we say out loud; what we write, we sow it in the midst of a huge, known to us and unknown turmoil, and this is public opinion. Next to the daily flow of the press and radio, these strong powers, which are led by the strongest sitting on thrones in the capitals, literature appears as a kind of public, to some extent autonomous, power ... "90

Paul Vaillant-Couturier, chairman of the Association of Revolutionary Writers and Artists of France, wrote back in the mid-1930s about the process of turning to the left among the European intelligentsia: “The events of recent days have forced all those who still had some doubts to see clearly. And they saw the whole reality of the fascist danger and all the heroism of the proletariat, which alone is able to thwart the plans of the fascist gangs.

Many cultural figures, who previously stood aloof from politics, including mass anti-war protests, could not but respond to the call for unity. Thus, the well-known English pacifist Norman Angell took part in a conference held in Paris in 1935 in defense of the Ethiopian people. His joining the active anti-war struggle testified not only to the turning point of his views, but also to the profound shifts that had taken place in the minds of those pacifists whose sentiments he expressed.

Despite all the obstacles, politics interfered in the activities of organizations that were very far from it, for example, the PEN Club, an international association of writers created on the initiative of English writers. (In 1936, PEN was an association of writers from 44 countries, consisting of 56 sections 92). Its chairman, the French writer J. Romain, protested in the press against the bombing of peaceful Spanish cities, and in 1938 resolutely took the side of the opponents of fascism and the war. Changes in PEN's position were vividly demonstrated by its 16th Congress, which adopted resolutions of protest against the bombing of the cities of Spain and China, against the persecution of the intelligentsia and Jews by the Nazis. Members of the PEN Club showed solidarity with the German anti-fascist writers by taking part in the celebration of K. von Ossietzky in connection with the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to him. When Czechoslovak writers in 1938 addressed the whole world with an appeal "To the conscience of mankind", English writers responded to it. The answer was signed both by left-wing writers who had long participated in the struggle against fascism and the war, and by a group of Pep Club leaders.

The changes in the activities of the club and the shifts that took place in the minds of its members testified to a decisive turn on the part of the intelligentsia towards an active struggle for peace, against fascism. The 19th International Congress of PEN strongly rejected the position of the "apostle of futurism and fascism" Marinetti, who believed that "war is the only hygiene of the world." The congress adopted the appeal "To Governments and Peoples", which reflected the anti-fascist and anti-war sentiments of a significant part of bourgeois writers, their readiness to make efforts to preserve peace.

The best representatives of the intelligentsia drew closer to the revolutionary proletariat in the struggle against fascism and war. The well-known French writer J. Giono explained his joining the front of peace fighters as follows: “Until now, I passionately fought against the war. I was mistaken in believing that I could wage this struggle, remaining outside any parties, acting individually and relying only on my own ardor, patience and courage…” 93 .

The Association of Revolutionary Writers and Artists of France issued 6,000 copies of the "Red Leaflet", sold out within two hours, where they protested against fascist provocations, the Reichstag fire, and terror. The literary and art magazine Storm was first published in England in February 1939 under the motto "Artists and writers cannot remain neutral any longer." The American Executive Committee of the John Reed Clubs, together with the League of Trade Unions and the National Committee of Political Prisoners, appealed to all the most prominent representatives of the American intelligentsia to protest against the rampant fascist terror and demand the immediate release of its victims.

In Czech literature, the anti-fascist patriotic orientation united the work of such different authors as V. Nezval, V. Zavada, I. Gora, J. Seifert, V. Galas. All of them opposed the threat of Hitlerite aggression and war. The editors of the Czechoslovak newspaper Leva Fronta organized on their pages a "protest rally" against fascist terror.

The most prominent representatives of science, art and literature in Sweden protested in the newspaper "Dagens Nyukheter" against the anti-Semitic campaign in Germany.

An important role in organizing the anti-war struggle of the working people of Poland and Western Ukraine was played by the anti-fascist Congress of Cultural Workers in Defense of Peace and Progress, which took place in May 1936 in Lvov. Preparations for the congress took place in the conditions of increased fascisization of the country and repressions. Powerful demonstrations of protest against the execution of workers in Krakow and Czestochowa took place in Lvov, ending in barricade battles. The workers were joined by the peasants and the progressive intelligentsia. The Anti-Fascist Congress became one of the manifestations of the struggle of the popular masses against the reactionary domestic and foreign policy of the Polish government, against the growing threat of war. “The congress demonstrated that people of mental labor have finally understood that fascism is the worst enemy of progress, that, bringing terror and war to mankind, fascism seeks to exterminate it,” said the article devoted to the opening of the anti-fascist congress.

Along with the issues of writing skills, the congress delegates paid great attention to the topical problems of our time - fascism, war and peace. Noting that war destroys cultural values, brings ruin and demoralization, that its instigators force millions of people to shed a sea of ​​blood for a cause hostile to them, the congress participants, among them V. Vasilevskaya, J. Galan, S. Tudor, G. Gurskaya, T. Kragelskaya and other well-known representatives of the intelligentsia declared that they were ready to engage in an uncompromising struggle and defend the achievements of the human mind that were under threat. The delegates fully supported the liberation movement of the working masses and called on all supporters of progress and freedom, regardless of nationality, to join the struggle. The congress defined the struggle against the imperialist war, for peace as one of the main duties of all progressive cultural workers: “Our place is on this side of the barricade,” wrote V. Vasilevskaya, “on this side of the barricade is the place of all those writers who understand what responsibility they bear . One cannot be a stone under the feet of the masses striding into a great future” 95 .

The participants of the congress condemned the neutral position still taken by some cultural figures, emphasizing that a passive attitude towards "social phenomena and the struggle for human rights is tantamount to supporting a reaction that threatens progress and freedom" 96 .

The Anti-Fascist Congress in Lvov, in its resolution, called for a resolute struggle against the fascist regime in all its manifestations, for the organization of a powerful anti-fascist front. “Only the solidarity actions of all those exploited and oppressed by fascism, regardless of nationality and political convictions, create a powerful invincible barrier to the destructive campaign of fascism and lay a solid foundation for the building of independent creativity,” resolution 97 said. The Congress was a great political event. This is evidenced by the resonance caused by him in Poland and other countries. The Forum of Progressive Intelligentsia was welcomed by the political prisoners of Drohobych, employees of the Polish public utilities, metalworking, clothing, food industries, trade unions of motorists, lawyers and many others. “We welcome the current congress of cultural workers,” wrote the workers of the Borislav oil fields, “and declare the full solidarity of the working class with that intelligentsia whose goal is the struggle for progress, enlightenment and peace” 98 .

Members of the Krakow group of painters and sculptors, the Warsaw group of sculptors, and many other associations of the Polish intelligentsia joined the platform of the congress. The anti-fascist congress in Lvov had an activating effect on the Polish intelligentsia. So, on May 1, 1936, writers, sculptors, artists and other artists took part in a demonstration of the workers of Warsaw, which gathered a record number of 300 thousand people.

The reactionary forces in every possible way prevented the political radicalization of the intelligentsia, its unity of action with the working class, and its growing influence among the masses.

Everywhere fascism sought to prevent the progressive intelligentsia from winning the minds and to counter it with its own slogans. The search for a unifying idea began, the doctrines of "spiritual revolution", "personalism" acquired a new meaning. The book market was flooded with cheap tabloid literature, which was intended to render fascist regimes much more services than traditional, classical literature. To prepare the consciousness of the layman, numerous publications about the war and soldiers were published, and to combat the internal danger, books extolling National Socialism were published.

The same thing happened in the field of cinematography. Here, propaganda about the "benefit" of the war was presented very skillfully and deftly, by any means, since the military uniform had lost popularity since the First World War among the general population of Germany, including the petty bourgeois. At first, one had to take into account anti-militarist sentiments to some extent, and therefore the indoctrination began with "satire": the screens were filled with series of militaristic farces, the language of the "heroes" of which was distinguished by rude soldier's "humor". In 1935 alone, 20 such "films" were released in Germany. “The petty bourgeois laughed, and his eyes again got used to the military uniform. And when people laugh, they cannot hate.”99 Later, when military propaganda was already being conducted openly, a realistic display of the war became all the more undesirable, as it aroused anti-war sentiments among the masses.

At the same time, anti-fascist works of art began to appear on the shelves of bookstores in Europe and America. Among them is the satirical novel by the great American writer S. Lewis "It's impossible for us" 100 . Critics regarded this novel as a "blow and shock": it was an event not only in literary, but also in social and political life. Exposing fascism, presenting it in the present and future, S. Lewis reminded all people with his novel about the war and the fascist threat. The significance of the novel was enormous for those who, after long years of hesitation and doubts, embarked on the path of an active anti-war struggle.

Writers united in anti-fascist clubs: in France - the Association of Revolutionary Writers and Artists; in Czechoslovakia - the Blok group; in Holland and England - clubs of the left book (the latter by 1938 had more than 50 thousand members). Clubs that rallied the anti-fascist intelligentsia arose in Warsaw, Krakow, Katowice, Poznan, Gdynia and other cities of what was then Poland.

The intelligentsia made a choice between fascism and anti-fascism, between war and peace, progress and reaction.

In July 1935, the International Congress of Writers in Defense of Culture was held in Paris. For the first time in history, writers from 35 countries have gathered with one common goal - to protect culture and civilization from war and reaction. “At the initiative of the writers of France, the honest writers of the world oppose fascism and all its abominations. A wonderful intention, quite natural for “masters of culture”, and one should confidently expect that masters of science will follow the example of people of art,” wrote A. M. Gorky in an address to Congress 101 .

The writers were faced with the task of drawing people to the side of progress, mobilizing them against fascism and aggression. “The cause of peace cannot rely solely on heroes or born poets of action. The word must be able to inflame even more cautious people with more conservative roots,” said the American writer W. Frank 102 in a speech at the congress.

The results of the congress revealed the deep differentiation of the intelligentsia of the capitalist countries, but at the same time consolidated the consolidation of the best part of the literary and artistic forces, who consistently opposed fascism and militarism. To assist the already existing anti-war committees, a permanent international bureau of writers for the protection of culture was established.

There were more and more writers in the peace camp. The fascist aggression against the peoples of Ethiopia, Spain, and China confronted writers with the necessity of resolutely reconsidering their views and more actively opposing reaction. These changes could be observed at the Second International Congress of Writers in Defense of Culture in July 1937, which was held in Valencia-Madrid-Barcelona in solidarity with the struggling Spanish people and ended in Paris. “Fear, disgust and just physical suffering unite all of us, people who think and reason. The proximity of danger closes our ranks everywhere... the onset of fascism arouses in cultured and peace-loving people an increased interest in political problems, greater clarity of thought, greater solidarity,” Irish writer D. Phelan said from the rostrum of the Congress 103 .

The participants in the congress began to understand more concretely their tasks in the struggle against the war. If at the first congress the problems of mastery were discussed, then at the second the main attention of the delegates was turned to the consolidation of progressive writers in the struggle against war and fascism. “There are no other problems of composition, except for the composition of unity,” said the German writer G. Regler. “There are no other problems with the phrase, except for the one that should serve to destroy the barbarians” 104 . All participants in the congress declared fascism the main enemy of culture, which they pledged to defend; promised to fight against fascism with all available means; confirmed the impossibility of the writer's neutrality in the conditions of such a struggle.

The shifts that took place in the minds of writers reflected the answers to a questionnaire sent by the World Peace Association to the most prominent representatives of the intelligentsia. “You will not be able to make war humane,” R. Rolland replied, “make it impossible. There is only one way to do this - voluntary submission to the obligations of collective security. Fight for its organization.

Many writers considered the Soviet Union a bulwark of peace in the struggle against war: “When the clouds of dust that have risen during the unexpected and terrible collapse of the front of the democratic countries opposing fascism dissipate, we will see what remains unshakable - the front of the Soviet Union. He alone is the guarantee that peace and culture will be preserved in tormented Europe,” wrote the German writer and public figure Arnold Zweig 106 .

Many writers responded to the already mentioned appeal of Czechoslovak writers “To the conscience of all mankind”: “We ask you to explain to the public opinion of your countries,” it said, “that if we, a small people, imbued with a desire for peace, are forced to accept a fierce battle, then we will fight ... not only for ourselves, but also for you, for the moral and intellectual values ​​common to all free and peace-loving peoples of the whole world” 107 .

Collective manifestos of writers on burning political problems have become a fundamentally new form of struggle - evidence of their active social position.

Events 1938-1939 - the Anschluss of Austria, the dismemberment and occupation of Czechoslovakia, the increasingly threatening claims of Nazi Germany to new territories clearly showed the world community the danger of a new world war.

One of the leaders of the Labor Party, Baron G. Morrison, wrote on February 16, 1938 in the Reynolds News newspaper: “I call not only supporters of the Labor Party, but every man and every woman who loves England and wishes friendship and the progress of mankind, to join wholeheartedly in the powerful movement for peace and security of the peoples of the whole world” 108 .

The calls of the Communist Party to defend peace by creating a broad, lasting political alliance against Hitler's aggression found a response from the revolutionary and democratic forces of various countries.

On March 11-12, 1938, during the days of the Nazi occupation of Austria, a broad movement of solidarity rose up everywhere. Mass rallies were held in Prague, Brno and other cities of Czechoslovakia. In Kladno, about 20 thousand people took part in the protest demonstration: people of different nationalities, social strata and party affiliation.

In France, in England, a broad movement developed in support of the people of Austria. This movement was led by the communist parties. “Only through an alliance of peoples selflessly fighting for the cause of peace can the criminal plans of the instigators of the war be frustrated,” said the appeal of the Executive Committee of the Comintern on the 21st anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution. “In the face of the international conspiracy of fascism, the international unity of the working class has become a matter of urgency” 109 . Communists organized rallies, issued and distributed proclamations and pamphlets. Especially popular in England was the pamphlet "Austria" by G. Pollit, which was sold in more than 100 thousand copies.

The world's progressive intelligentsia came out in defense of the independence of Austria. Writers and scientists from England and France published an appeal “For friendship with peaceful powers”, signed by N. Angell, G. Wells, R. Rolland, P. Langevin, J. Taboui and others. It emphasized that peace cannot be secured by politics those European states that consider it possible to "negotiate" with the aggressor, which ultimately sanctioned aggression: "Such a policy leads to a world war, to an aggravation of the threat ... to democracy. The first step towards ensuring genuine peace lies in the fact that all democratic states, especially Britain and France, should pursue a policy of peace together with the Soviet Union - that powerful factor of peace in Europe, which has been consistently fighting against war for many years.

The economic crisis, the coming of the Nazis to power, terror, the policy of war and aggression caused deep indignation among the believing masses as well. This was evidenced by the active participation of Catholic workers in the anti-war actions of the French proletariat, the irreconcilable position taken by the Basque Catholics against the Francoist rebels in Spain, and the anti-fascist works of the Catholic writers X. Bergamin, L. Martin-Chofier and some others.

However, the ruling circles of the Western powers pursued a policy of "appeasement" of the aggressors, that is, a policy of complicity with opponents of international security and the independence of peoples. On September 29-30, 1938, at a conference in Munich, the British Prime Minister N. Chamberlain, the head of the French government E. Daladier, the Fuhrer of the Nazi Reich Hitler and the fascist dictator of Italy Mussolini, against the will of the Czechoslovak people, agreed on the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia and the transfer of a significant part of it to Germany. Thus the leaders of Britain and France hoped to eliminate contradictions with the fascist states and direct their aggression towards the East, against the Soviet Union. The Munich agreement not only meant encouragement for aggression, but also consigned to oblivion the idea of ​​creating an international security system in Europe; he caused indignation of the world progressive public. After the capture of Czechoslovakia, the communist parties of France, Spain, Great Britain, Czechoslovakia, the USA, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Canada, Holland, Sweden, Switzerland called for turning "the awakening anger of the masses against those who wish to destroy the Spanish Republic after the extradition of Czechoslovakia to fascism" 111 . In other words, the communists sought to rally for a "grand campaign" of solidarity with the Spanish people, demanding from governments a foreign policy aimed at curbing aggressors and preventing war. The Executive Committee of the Comintern called for unity as the main means of counteracting fascism and unleashing a new war. "Never since the First World War has the hatred against warmongers been so deep and strong as it is now," wrote the International Workers' Movement 112 .

Numerous rallies under the slogans of defending Czechoslovakia took place in England. Large trade unions and public organizations joined the movement. Prominent public figures and intellectuals demanded a collective rebuff to the aggressor. Influential English newspapers published dozens and hundreds of letters from readers who protested against the Munich agreement. The National Committee of Cooperatives, on behalf of 5 million members, appealed to the British government with a demand to convene a parliament and come out in defense of the peoples of Czechoslovakia. The working people of England held several thousand mass meetings to protest against the seizure of Czech lands. A wave of rallies, meetings, demonstrations against the Munich agreement swept through France.

Not only the European public came out actively for the suppression of fascist aggression, but also in the United States of America, representatives of 21 public organization sent messages to the president demanding that the system of collective security be activated in order to defend the freedom of Czechoslovakia. They were joined by many trade union organizations and some outstanding figures of science and culture. In a number of cities "Committees for the Salvation of Czechoslovakia" were created.

Thus, the 1930s were characterized by the growth of anti-war sentiments of the broad masses, the involvement of new participants in the anti-war struggle, the expansion of the social balls of this struggle, the emergence of a number of democratic movements that united the progressive forces of the world on an anti-fascist platform. The leading role in this struggle was played by the communist parties - the main political core, "without which neither passive dissatisfaction with the policy of the government, nor even active actions of the masses could lead to any far-reaching consequences" 113 .

The Soviet Union waged a consistent stubborn struggle for peace and the security of peoples. However, the progressive forces at that time were unable to thwart the plans of the warmongers. The peace-loving efforts of our country were not crowned with success because of the opposition of the ruling circles of the Western powers and their notorious policy of "appeasement" of the aggressors. The Communist Parties of most capitalist countries proved unable to rally all the opponents of fascism and war into a united front. Some democratic circles took an inconsistent position, sometimes hesitated, but the experience of the struggle against fascism and the war was not in vain. It was a serious stage in the preparation of the international working-class movement and all democratic progressive forces for armed struggle against the aggressors, in the creation of a broad anti-Hitler coalition of states and peoples in the forthcoming historical battle - World War II.

1 Resolutions of the VII World Congress of the Communist International. M., 1935, p. 15.

2 Paulit G. Against warmongers and their accomplices. - Communist International, 1936, No. 7, p. 22. (Hereinafter: KI).

4 Institute of History of the USSR, Academy of Sciences of the USSR. Department of manuscript collections, dossier of the foreign press, 1933, d. 1, No. 4. (Further: ORF Institute of History).

5 Pritt D.N. Memoiren eines britishchen Kronanwalts. V., 1970, S. 13.

6 ORF Institute of History, 1933, d. 1, No. 8.

7 Leibzon V. M., Shirinya K. K. Turn in the policy of the Comintern: (On the 30th anniversary of the VIII Congress). M., 1965, p. 62.

8 ORF Institute of History, 1933, d. 1, No. 1.

9 Prut D. N. Op. cit., S. 13.

10 KI, 1935, No. 20/21, p. thirteen.

11 Quoted. Quoted from: Problemy jednolitego frontu w miegzinarodowym ruchu robotniczym (1933-1935). W-wa, 1962, S. 164.

12 Gotwald K. Spicy. Pr., 1952, Bd. 5, S. 238.

13 Schalda F. Einheitsfront ist das Gebot der Stunde. - Gegenangriff, Pr., 1933, H. 1.

14 Power M. Der Kampf der Arbeiterbewegung Grossbritaniens gegen Faschismus und Krieg. - In: Die Arbeiterbewegung europäischer Lander im Kampf gegen Faschismus und Kriegsgefahr in den zwanziger und dreißiger Jahren. V., 1981, S. 191.

16 Togliatti P. Fav. articles and speeches. M., 1965, p. 169.

17 See: Gurevich P.V. The British labor movement on the eve of the Second World War. M., 1967, p. 142.

18 Ibid., p. 225-226.

19 Op. Quoted from: Die europäischen Linksintellektueln zwischeen den beigen Weltkriegen. Munich, 1978, S. 98.

20 Left Book Club. L., 1936, p. 2.

21 Op. Quoted from: Documents and materials on the eve of the Second World War, 1937-1939: In 2 vols. M., 1981, vol. 2, p. 66.

22 Op. after: Internationale Presse Korrespondenz, 1931, N 73, S. 1651. (Further: IPK).

23 KI, 1934, No. 13, p. 38.

24 Jahn I. Zur Rolle der Frau in der internationalen kommunistischen Bewegung. - Beitrage zur Geschichte der Arbeiterbewegung, 1979, H. 1, S. 37.

25 Cit. according to: KI, 1935, No. 23/24, p. 29.

26 Ibid., p. 98.

27 Ibid., 32.

28 Ibid., 42.

29 Ibid., 52.

30 Youth International, 1935, no. 4, p. 38-39. (Further: IM).

31 For more see: Pokrovskaya S. A. February 1934 and the Amsterdam-Pleyel movement. - In the book: French Yearbook, 1971. M., 1973; She is. Movement against war and fascism in France, 1932-1939. M., 1980.

33 For more on them, see: Kravchenko E. A. Peoples Front in France, 1934-1938. M., 1972; Belousova 3. S. The threat of fascism and the Popular Front. - In the book: History of France: In 3 volumes / Ed. A. 3. Manfred. M., 1972-1973, v. 3, p. 138-194.

34 See: Pokrovskaya S. A. February 1934 and the Amsterdam - Pleyel movement, p. 233.

35 Op. on: Vidal A. Henri Barbusse - soldier of the world. M., 1962. p. 301-302.

36 Togliatti P. Fav. articles and speeches, p. 136, 148.

37 Ibid., p. 169.

38 Resolution of the VII World Congress of the Communist International, p. 31.

39 Togliatti P. Fav. articles and speeches, p. 170.

40 See: VII Congress of the Comintern and the struggle for the creation of the Popular Front. M., 1977, p. 193.

42 See: Paulit G. Fav. articles and speeches. M., 1955, p. 187.

43 KI, 1936, No. 11/12, p. 96.

44 Dimitrov G. People's Front of the struggle against fascism in the war. M., 1937, p. 9.

45 Op. on: Meshcheryakov M. T. Spanish Republic and the Comintern. M., 1981, p. 37.

46 Vega R. de. Der Kampf des spanischen Volkes gegen Faschismus und Reaktion (1930 bis 1939). - In: Die Arbeiterbewegung europäischer Lander im Kampf gegen Faschismus und Kriegsgefahr in den zwanziger und dreissiger Jahren, S. 335.

47 Brown I. The Communist Part in the Fight Against Fascism. - In: 1920-1950. On the Thirtieth Anniversary. L., 1958, p. 20-21.

48 Der Freiheitskampf des spanischen Volkes und die Internationale Solidarität: Dokumente und Bilder zum national-revolutionären Krieg des spanischen Volkes. V., 1956, s. 85.

49 Ibid., S. 84.

50 Spain, 1918-1972: Historical sketch. M., 1975, p. 221.

51 See: KI, 1936, No. 13, p. 101.

53 Op. on: Power M. Der Kampf der Arbeiterbewegung Gross britanniens gegen Faschismus und Krieg. - In: Die Arbeiterbewegung europäischer Länder im Kampf gegen Faschismus und Kriegsgefahr in den zwanziger und dreissiger Jahren, S. 199.

54 KI, 1936, No. 13, p. 101.

55 Spain, 1918-1972, p. 220.

56 Faltats A. Der Kampf der Arbeiterklasse in der Tschechoslowakei gegen Faschismus und Krieg. - In: Die Arbeiterbewegung europäischer Länder im Kampf gegen Faschismns und Kriegsgefabr in den zwanziger und dreissiger Jahren, S. 287.

58 Spain. 1918-1972, p. 220.

60 Brigada international ist unser Ehrenname. V., 1974, Bd. 1, S. 83.

61 KI, 1936, No. 16, pp. 86-87.

62 Walka, 1936, 29 listop., No. 47.

63 IM, 1937, No. 4, p. 47.

65 Mann G. Works: In 5 vols. M., 1959-1979, v. 5, p. 574.

66 IL, 1937, No. 1, p. 228.

67 Spain, 1918-1972, p. 220.

68 Ibid., p. 219.

69 KI, 1938, No. 11, p. 80.

70 Brigada international ist unser Ehrenname, Bd. 1, S. 303.

71 Longo L. International Brigades in Spain. M., 1960, p. 86.

72 Solidarity of peoples with the Spanish Republic, J936-1939, M., 1972, p. 9th

73 O. V. Kuusinen Fav. works, 1918-1964. M., 1966, p. 164.

74 IM, 1936, No. 1, p. 26.

75 Ibid., 1938, No. 11, p. 42.

76 IM, 1938, No. 7, p. 41.

77 See: KI, 1937, No. 5, p. 113.

78 IM, 1938, No. 12, p. thirty.

79 See: Europe in International Relations, 1917-1939. M., 1979, p. 339.

80 See: IM, 1938, No. 12, p. 42.

81 Ibid., 1935, No. 3, p. 41.

82 Ibid., No. 6, p. 8-9.

83 Wolf M. Advanced youth in the fight against fascism. M., 1938, p. twenty.

84 Prokofiev N. World Congress in Geneva. - Owls. students, 1936, No. 8, p. 20-23.

85 IM, 1938, No. 10, p. 46; KI, 1935, № 26, p. 52.

86 Second World. - IM, 1938, No. 10, p. 46.

87 IL, 1938, No. 9, p. eight.

88 IM, 1938, No. 11, p. 42.

89 KI, 1938, No. 4, p. 53-55.

90 IL, 1938, No. 9, p. eight.

91 Ibid., 1934, No. 2, p. 124-125.

92 Ibid., 1936, No. 11, p. 210-211.

93 Ibid., 1934, No. 2, p. 124-125.

94 Trybuna Robotnicza, 1936, May 17, No. 20.

95 Op. Quoted from: Antifascist Congress of Cultural Workers in Lvov in 1936: Sat. documents. Lvov, 1956, p. 56.

96 Ibid., p. 44.

97 Ibid., p. 45.

98 Ibid., p. 75.

99 IL, 1935, No. 2, p. 139-140.

100 For more on him, see: Gilenson B. A. America Sinclair Lewis. M., 1972, p. 113.

101 Gorky A. M. Sobr. cit.: In 30 vols. M., 1949-1956, v. 27, p. 450.

102 International Congress of Writers in Defense of Culture. M., 1936, p. 253.

103 IL, 1938, No. 11, p. 164-165.

104 Ibid., No. 10, p. 215.

105 Ibid., No. 10, p. 216.

106 Ibid.

107 Ibid.

108 Op. Quoted from: KI, 1938, No. 4, p. thirteen.

109 Ibid., 1938, No. 10, p. 122-123;

110 Cited. according to: IL, 1938, No. 12, p. 163.

111 KI, 1938, No. 10, p. 127.

112 MRD, 1938, No. 10, p. 122-123.

113 See: Peregudov S.P. The anti-war movement in England and the Labor Party. M., 1969, p. 17.

114 See: Anti-war traditions of the international labor movement. M., 1972, p. 348.

CONCLUSION

The Great October Socialist Revolution, which proclaimed in Lenin's Decree on Peace the right of all peoples to life, freedom and independence, became a powerful stimulus for the development of a mass anti-war movement in Europe. The enormous international resonance that the Decree on Peace, an inspiring example of a revolutionary way out of the imperialist war of Soviet Russia, received, could not but strengthen everywhere the demands for peace and the speedy end of the world war. The significance of the first foreign policy actions of the Soviet government was also great for strengthening the positions of the advanced elements in the European anti-war movement, who advocated the conclusion of a just peace and the post-war reorganization of the world on democratic principles.

In turn, the anti-war movement in all European countries showed solidarity with the Soviet Republic, putting forward the slogan "Hands off Russia!". Thus was born the tradition of merging the struggle for peace with the struggle for the defense of the Soviet Union. Subsequently, the peace movement showed itself as an important form of struggle for the peaceful coexistence of states with different social systems.

The involvement of representatives of different social strata of society in the ranks of the anti-war movement contributed to the expansion of its mass base. Under the influence of the ideas of socialism and democracy, positive changes took place in the psychology of the opponents of militarism and war, and the experience of practical participation in various anti-war actions gave their struggle a new social sound.

The coming of fascism to power in Germany and the formation in the center of Europe of a new world war brought the danger of its unleashing much closer. The events of the 1930s proved that the offensive of fascism pursues global goals, being directed primarily against the first country of socialism - the USSR and the international revolutionary workers' movement. They showed that fascism is the enemy of everything progressive, a real threat to every manifestation of democracy, that fascism is inevitable aggression and war.

Europe in the 1930s was in dire need of new policy peace, a policy that would lead to the rallying of all anti-war and anti-fascist forces. Such a policy was proposed by the international communist movement, which developed a strategy for uniting all progressive mankind in order to counteract the global threat of fascism. Communists were the first to come to the conclusion that in order to defeat fascism - that striking force of world reaction - it was necessary to back up the efforts of the working class, united in a united front, by a broad, truly nationwide association. Such a strategy was embodied in the Popular Front policy against fascism and war, developed by the 7th Congress of the Communist International in Moscow in the summer of 1935.

Improving the methods and forms of anti-war struggle in accordance with the changing world situation, shifts in public consciousness, the timeliness of the decisions made contributed to some successes of the opponents of fascism, aggression and war. We have in mind the struggle to strengthen the international positions of the Soviet Union, the creation of Popular Front governments in France and Spain, the expansion of opposition to fascism and its military adventures in other European countries, certain results in the struggle for the vital socio-economic and political interests of the working class and all working people. .

Despite partial successes in counteracting fascism, both nationally and internationally, the democratic anti-war forces of Europe were unable to block the path of Nazi aggression, to prevent the outbreak of the Second World War. Nevertheless, by their anti-war and anti-fascist struggle they laid the foundation for a broad progressive movement that developed into the victorious anti-Hitler coalition of 1941-1945.

The experience of the joint anti-war and anti-fascist struggle in the interwar period was widely used in the resistance movement that unfolded in many European countries and united anti-fascists. The participation of tens of thousands of people of different nationalities in the struggle against fascism in its deep rear, their exploits in the underground brought victory over it closer on the fronts of the war.

V modern conditions the problem of the impact of the public, the broad masses of the people on the solution of issues of war and peace has become relevant.

That is why, although the present conditions are essentially different from the international situation on the eve of the Second World War, that greatest calamity for the peoples of the world, the peace-loving forces are again turning to the lessons of the past. From this point of view, attention is also drawn to the events of the 1930s, when, despite the serious successes achieved in creating a united front of opponents of war and fascism, it was not possible to prevent the fascist aggressors from plunging humanity into the abyss of a new world war.

The modern peace movement, which includes representatives of different social strata and political worldviews, has become a force capable of resisting the imperialist governments, the organizers of imperialist wars.

The historical experience of the 1920s and 1930s is of great value for the struggle of the communist parties in alliance with other peace-loving forces for the preservation of peace in our day.

The recent history of the countries of Europe has fully confirmed the universality of the possibilities and forms of struggle for peace brought to life by the October Revolution. With the transformation of the USSR into a mighty socialist state pursuing an active peace-loving foreign policy and enjoying the support of the working and progressive forces of all countries, the peace-loving forces received new material and ideological means against the dark plans of militarism and war.

The combination of the might of the Soviet Union and other countries of the socialist community with the mass democratic anti-war movement in the capitalist countries makes the struggle for world peace incomparably more effective than ever.

LITERATURE

Marx K., Engels F. The Holy Family, or the Critique of Critical Criticism. - Op. 2nd ed. T. 2.

Engels - to August Bebel in Leipzig, London, August 25, 1881 - Marx K., Engels F. Op. 2nd ed. T. 35.

Lenin V.I. The collapse of the Second International. - Full. coll. op. T. 26.

Lenin V.I. Report at the Moscow Conference of Factory Committees on July 23, 1918 - Full. coll. op. T. 36.

Lenin V.I. Letter to American Workers. - Full. coll. op. T. 37.

Lenin V.I. Speech at a joint meeting of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the 5th convocation of the Moscow Council and trade unions on July 29, 1918 - Full. coll. op. T. 37.

Lenin V.I. The proletarian revolution and the renegade Kautsky. - Full. coll. cit., v. 37.

Lenin V.I. Speech at a non-party conference of workers and Red Army men of the Presnensky District, January 24, 1920 - Full. coll. op. T. 40.

Lenin V.I. IX All-Russian Congress of Soviets, December 23-28, 1921 - Full. coll. op. T. 44.

Lenin V.I. Notes on the tasks of our delegation in The Hague. Full coll. op. T. 45.

WORKS OF LEADING PERSONS

INTERNATIONAL

COMMUNIST MOVEMENT

Dimitrov G. Popular Front against fascism and war. M., 1937.

Dimitrov G. Fav. works. M., 1957. T. 2.

Kuhn W. Under the sign of militant internationalism. - Communist International, 1929, № 23/24.

O. V. Kuusinen Fav. works (1918-1964). M., 1966.

Paulit G. Fav. articles and speeches. M., 1955. T. 1.

Togliatti P. Fav. articles and speeches. M., 1965.

Zetkin K. The struggle of the Communist Party against military danger and war. - Communist International, 1927, No. 28.

Longo L. International Brigades in Spain. M., 1960.

Department of Manuscript Collections of the Institute of History of the USSR, Academy of Sciences of the USSR. Dossier of the foreign press, 1918-1933.

Zentrales Staatsarchiv der DDR Potsdam: Reichsministerium des Innern, Friedensgesellschaft. 61, bd. 1-6; N 1. Liga fur Menschenrechte Bd. 2, No. 256673/5; 25988; Deutsche Friedensgesellschaft, No. 26022/09; Zeitungsschnitte über Unruhen, N 25681/5; Massnahmen gegen Notverordnungen, N 25906; Reichskomissar für Uberwachung der öffentlichen Ordnung. Gesellschaft der Freide der neuen Russland, N 481; Bund Neues Vaterland, Liga für Menschenrechte, N 485.

Preussisches Innenministerium: Bundschreiben des Landeskriminalpolizeiamtes Berlin über politische Bewegungen 1930-1932. No. 1; Friedensbewegung, Allgemeines, 1929-1933. N 204.

Preussisches Justizministerium: E. Weinert, K. Ossietzky. Wegen Beleidigung der Marine. N 12620.

Antifascist Congress of Cultural Workers in Lvov in 1936: Sat. documents. Lvov, 1956.

Struggle for Peace: Materials of the Three Internationals. M., 1957.

Documents of foreign policy: In the 21st vol. M., 1957-1977. T. 4.

The Communist International in Documents, 1919-1932. M., 1933.

Proletarian solidarity of working people in the struggle for peace (1917-1924). M., 1958.

International solidarity of working people in the fight against the onset of reaction and war danger (1925-1927). M., 1959.

International proletarian solidarity in the fight against the offensive of fascism (1928-1932). M., 1962.

International solidarity of workers in the struggle against fascism and the threat of war (1933-1939). M., 1965.

Resolutions of the VII World Congress of the Communist International. M., 1935.

Bericht über den internationalen Friedenskongres Abgehalten im Haag vom 10-15. Dezember 1922 unter der Auspizien des Internationalen Gewerkschaftsbundes. Amsterdam, 1922.

Dokumente der internationalen proletarischen Solidarität mit den angeklagten Kommunisten im Reichstagsbrandprozes. - Beiträge zur Geschichte der Arbeiterbewegung. V., 1974, No. 16.

Der Freiheitskampf des spanischen Volkes und die internalionale Solidarität. Dokumente und Bilder zum national-revolutionären Krieg des spanischen Volkes. V., 1956.

Pirker Th. Komintern and Faschismus. 1920-1940. Stuttgart, 1965.

Sturm läutet das Gewissen. 1830-1945. V., 1980.

Tatsachen: Material zur Frage der Gefahr des imperialistischen Krieges und seiner Bekampfung. Der Kampfkongres gegen den imperialistischen Krieg am 27-28. August 1932 in Amsterdam. V., 1932.

Lord d'Abernons. An Ambassador of Peace. L., 1928. Vol. 1-2.

Brigade international isl unser Elirenname. Berlin, 1974, Bd. I-II.

Butler H. Der verlorene Friecle. Zürich, 1938.

Gerard J.W. Memoiron des Botschafers Gerard. Lausanne, 1919.

Groot P. De dertiger jaren 1930-1935. Amsterdam, 1965.

Im Zeichen des roten Sterns. Knimiuungen an die Tradizionen der deutschsowjetischen Freundschaft. V., 1974.

Karolyi Graf M. Gegen eine ganze Welt. Mein Kampf um den Frieden. Munich, 1924.

Kziega wspomnien. 1919-1930. W-wa, 1960.

Lanz K., Wabian W. Ein Hanbuch der Weltfriedensströmungen der Gegenwart. V., 1922.

Lindback L. Bataljon Thalmann. Oslo, 1980.

Ossietzky K. Schriften. Berlin; Weimar, 1966, Bd. 1-2.

Pritt D.N. Memoiren eines britishchen Kronanwalts. V., 1970.

Weltenwende-wir waren dabei, Erinnerungen deutschen Teilnehmer an der Grosen Sozialistischen Oktoberrevolution und an der Kämpfe gegen Interventen. V., 1962.

Toller E, Vormorgen. Potsdam, 1924.

COLLECTIVE WORKS, MONOGRAPHS,

Anti-war traditions of the international labor movement. M., 1972.

Arbatov G. A. Ideological struggle in modern international relations. M., 1970.

Barbus A. Light from the Abyss: What the Klarte Group Ukraine Aims for, 1923.

Barbus A. Fighter speech. M., 1924.

Belenky V.X. The activity of the masses. Krasnoyarsk, 1973.

Belenky V.X. VI Lenin on the activity of the masses. Krasnoyarsk, 1969.

Vidal A. Henri Barbusse - soldier of the world. M., 1962.

Gintsberg L.I. The workers' and communist movement in Germany in the struggle against fascism (1919-1933). M., 1978.

Gintsberg L.I. Friends of the new Russia: Movement in defense of the Soviet country in Weimar Germany, M., 1983.

Trushin B. A. Opinion about the world and the world of opinions. M., 1967.

Gurovich P.V. The British labor movement on the eve of the Second World War. M., 1967.

Denisov V.V. Fear of the people: A critique of modern bourgeois concepts of the role of the masses in history. M., 1968.

Europe in international relations, 1917-1932. M., 1979.

Zhigalov I.I. British Progressive Forces in the Struggle for Disarmament and Peace, 1956-1964. M., 1965.

Jordan P. Europe of our days. M.; L., 1926

Spain, 1918-1972. M., 1972.

History of France: In 3 vols. M., 1972-1973.

Kelin V.N. Foreign policy and ideology. M., 1969.

Comintern, KIM and youth movement (1919-1943). M., 1977.

Komolova N.P. Recent history of Italy. M., 1970.

Kopylov V. R. Hands off Soviet Russia. M., 1964

Mann G. Cit.: In 8 vols. M., 1957-1958. T. 5, 8.

Medvedev E. V., Milovidov A. S. The role of the masses in modern wars. M., 1960.

International labor movement: Issues of history and theory: In 8 vols. M., 1975-198 ... T. 4. Great October and the international labor movement, 1917-1923.

Meshcheryakov M. T. Spanish Republic and the Comintern. M., 1981.

Najafov D. G. The people of the USA are against war and fascism. M., 1968.

Levine R. Soviet Republic in Munich. M.; L., 1926.

Leibzon B. M., Shirinya K. K. Turn in the policy of the Comintern: (On the 30th anniversary of the VII Congress). M., 1965.

Essays on the labor movement in France (1917-1967). M., 1968.

Ortega y GassetX. Mass uprising. New York, 1954.

The first of August is the international anti-war day. L., 1939.

Peregudov S.P. The anti-war movement in England and the Labor Party. M., 1969.

Pokrovskaya S. A. From the history of the Amsterdam-Pleyel movement in France (1932-1938). - In the book: French Yearbook, 1968. M., 1970.

Pokrovskaya S. A. February 1934 and the Amsterdam-Pleyel movement - In the book: French Yearbook, 1971. M., 1973.

Pokrovskaya S. A. Movement against war and fascism in France, 1932-1949 M., 1980.

Rollan R. Sobr. cit.: In 14 vols. M., 1954-1958. T. 8, 13.

Solidarity of peoples with the Spanish Republic, 1936-1939. M., 1972,

Kholodkovsky N. G. Labor movement in Italy. M., 1969.

Albrecht F. Deutsche Schriftsteller in der Entscheidung Wege zur Arbeiterklasse, 1918-1933. Berlin; Weimar, 1970.

Albrecht F., Handler K. Bund proletarisch-revolutionären Schriftsteller Deutschlands 1926-1935. Leipzig, 1978.

Arendt H.-J. Das Reichskomitee werktätiger Frauen 1920-1932. - Beitrage zur Geschichte der Arbeiterbewegung, 1981, Jg. 23, H. 5.

Bennet A. Die Kriegsgefahr, die Chinese Revolution und die Kommunistische Internationale. Hamburg; Berlin, 1927.

Blodig V. Boj ceskoslovenskego lidu zu zachranu Ernsta Telmana tricatych letech. Prague, 1975.

Boiling R. Lehrerschaft, Schulpolitik und Arbeiterbewegung in der Weimarer Republik. - Archiv fur Sozialgeschichte. Bonn, 1981, Bd. 21.

Bradley J. Allied Intervention in Russia. L., 1968.

Brown I. The Communist Party in the Fight against Fascism. L., 1950.

Cikalas W. Grackata progressivna obostestvenost i Laipcigstijatproces. Sofia, 1975.

Coates W.P. Vom Jnlorvcnten zum Allierten. 1917-1942. V., 1959.

Cubanski A. Obsceswenolo mnenie Polsca za Laipcigskija proces prez 1933. Sofia, 1973.

Deutsche Arbeiter forderten. Hande weg von Sowjetrussland. Über deutsch-sowjetische Beziehungen in den Jahren 1917-1945. V., s. one.

Deutsche Demokraten, 1830-1945: Die nichtproletarischen Kräfte in der deutschen Geschichte. V., 1981.

Die Arbeiterbewegung europäischer Länder im Kampfgegen Faschismus und Kriegsgefahr in den zwanziger und dreißiger Jahren. V., 1981.

Faschismus und Avantgarde. Athenaeum, 1980.

Finker K. Geschichte des Roten Frontkämpferbundes. V., 1981.

Frauen, kämpft für den Frieden. V., 1929.

Frey B. Karl von Ossielzky. Ritter ohne Furcht und Tadel. Berlin; Weimar, 1966.

Freiber P. Zehn Jahre Kampf für Frieden und Recht, 1918-1928. Hamburg, 1929.

Fried A. Der Weltprotest gegen den Versailler Frieden. Leipzig, 1920.

Gerlach H. von. Die Grosse Zeit der Luge. Charlottenburg, 1920. Geschichte der Kommunistischen Jugendinternationale. B., 1978, Bd. 1-3.

Geschichte des internationalen Sanitätsdienstes in Spanien 1936-1939. - Militärgeschichte, 1976, No. 15.

Gleichmann B.W. Entwicklung ausenpolitischer Vorstellungen der bürgerlichen organisierten pazifistischen Krafte in der Periode relativen Stabiliesirung des Kapitalismus. Diplomarbeil. Jena, 1974.

Grenner R. Gegenspieler. Profile linksbürgerlichen Publizisten aus Kaiserreich und Weimarer Republik. V., 1968.

Grigorov B. Bulgarian Social Democracy for the attack on the reactionaries and fascism in Germany at the beginning of the 30s. Sofia, 1981. T. 3.

Grundriss der deutschen Geschichfe. V., 1979.

Habedank H. Der Feind Steht Rechts. Bürgerliche Linke im Kampfgegen den deutschen Militarismus. V., 1965.

Heinemann G. Wir mussen Demokraten sein. Munich, 1980.

Herzog W. Die Clarte und ihr Weg zur 3. Internationale. - Forum, 1921-1922, H. 7/8.

Hesse H. Krieg and Frieden. Betrachtungen zu Krieg und Politik seit dem Jahre 1914. V., 1949.

Kalbe E. Freiheit fur Dimitroff. Der Internationale Kampf gegen die provokatorische Reichtagsbrandstiftung und der Leipziger Prozess. V., 1963.

Klein A. Im Auftrag ihrer Klasse. V., 1976.

Koller H. Frankreich zwischen Faschismus und Demokratie (1932-1934). V., 1978.

Koope K. Friedensforschung im Spannungsfeld der Politik. - Politische Vierteljahrasschrift Hamburg, 1980, Jg. 21, H. 1.

Kreisler F. Februar 1934 in Wien und Paris im Lichte der Pariser Offentlichkeit. Politik und Gesellschaft im alten und neuen Osterreich. Munich, 1981. Bd. 2.

Kreutsberger W. Studenten und Politik 1918-1933. Göttingen, 1972.

Kunst und Literatur im antifaschist Exil. V., 1979-1981. bd. 1-7.

Kustermeier R. Die Mittelschichten und ihr politischer Weg. Potsdam, 1933.

Lehman-Rassbüldt O. Der Kampf der Deutschen Liga für Menschenrechte vormals Bund Neues Deutschland für den Weltfrieden 1914-1927. V., 1927.

Lehman-Russbüldt O. Die Revolution des Friedens. V., 1932.

K. von Ossietzky. Em Lebensbild. V., 1966.

Mendelssohn P. Der Geist in der Despotie. Versuche über die moralischen Möglichkeiten des Intellektuelen in der totalitären Gesellschaft. V., 1953.

Nolte E. Die Kriss des liberalen Systems und die fascistischen Bewegungen. Munich, 1968.

Newman K.J. Zerstörung und Selbstzerstörung der Demokratie. Europa 1918-1938. Koln; Berlin, 1965.

Norman A. The Press and the Organization of Society. London, 1922.

Plakatkunst im Klassenkampf 1924-1932. Leipzig, 1974.

Pritt D.N. Der Reichstagsbrand. Die Arbeit des Londoner Untersuchungsausschusses. V., 1959.

Resh J. Der Klub der Geistearbeiter: Berliner Intellektulle im Kampf gegen Reaktion und Hitlerfaschismus vor 25 Jaliren. - Berliner Heimat, 1957, H. 3.

Die richtige Page: Bürgerliche Stimmen zur Arbeiterbewegung. V., 1969.

Riesenberger D. Die katolische Friedensbewegung in der Weimarer Republik. Düsseldorf, 1976.

Rosenfeld G. Sowjetrussland und Deutschland 1917-1922. bd. 1-2. V., 1960-1980.

Rundfunk und Politik, 1923. bis. 1973 Berlin, 1975.

Salda F. X. Einheitsfront ist das Gebotder Stunde. - Gegenangriff. Pr., 1933, H. 1.

Was wir von Weltkrieg nicht wissen. V., 1929.

Zagarrio V. Firenze anni trenta. Produziona intellectuale 1 indistrie delle culttura Ponte. - Firenze, 1981, No. 10.

PERIODICALS

Izvestia, 1925-1933

Petrogradskaya Pravda, 1919-1920

True, 1919-1930

L'Humanite, 1932-1934

Die Rote Fahne, 1925-1929

Westminster Gazette, 1920-1921

Youth International, 1920-1936

Communist International, 1919-1938

International life, 1922-1933

International labor movement, 1920-1937

Das Forum, 1921-1929

Der Drohende Krieg, 1928-1929

Internationale Press Korrespondenz, 1921-1935

Publisher: G. N. Sapozhnikova. . M., "Science". 1985. (Tir. 2050 copies)

An important subject in the Russian and world political field today are anti-fascists. The emergence and active development of the anti-fascist movement in the conditions of capitalist society and the growth of xenophobia, nationalism characteristic of it, developing into outright Nazism and fascism, is a natural phenomenon.

Russia, with its strong anti-fascist traditions dating back to the victory over fascism in the 1940s, is no exception. Russian anti-fascists are declaring themselves louder and louder.

With a request to talk about the modern anti-fascist movement, its features, goals and prospects, the editors of the site "Communists of the Capital" turned to the activist of the ROT FRONT party, anti-fascist Sergei Miroshnichenko.

Comstol: What, in a nutshell, is the ideology of today's anti-fascists?

S. Miroshnichenko: In my opinion, it is impossible to single out any single ideology of antifa, except for antifascism. Among antifa in Russia, as well as in the world, there are people with diverse political views. There are communists, socialists, anarchists, liberals and even apolitical people.

Comstol: What is antifa culture?

S. Miroshnichenko: She is very diverse. If we talk about subcultures, then there are skinheads, punks, crasters, rappers and a bunch of other youth subcultures in this environment. The anti-fascist idea remains the same for these people.

Comstol: What organizations are positioning themselves as anti-fascist? What is the size of the anti-fascist movement?

S. Miroshnichenko: Basically, the anti-fascist movement in Russia is represented by autonomous groups, but there are also organizations that position themselves as anti-fascist: the Youth Human Rights Movement, the Network Against Racism and Intolerance, the International Society "Memorial". Youth human rights movement is international. I know very little about them and, to be honest, I can hardly say what they do. It's easier for me to talk about affinity groups. They are engaged in everything: from working on the Internet and drawing graffiti to direct actions. In general, whoever has enough strength and imagination for what, he does it.

It is very difficult to estimate the size of the anti-fascist movement, because it is not a political party or a social movement. My opinion is that in Moscow it is several thousand people. Previously, it was much less, but now this figure is growing.

Comstol: Where did the anti-fascist movement originate?

S. Miroshnichenko: AFA is the successors of the anti-fascists of World War II. Even the symbol of the movement, the black and red flags are taken from the Anti-Fascist Action movement ( component Rot Front in Germany).

Comstol: How do anti-fascists feel about communists?

S. Miroshnichenko: In general, anti-fascists have a positive attitude towards the communists. However, as I said, anti-fascists have different political views. The left part of the movement, anarchists and socialists, have a positive attitude towards the communists. The liberal part considers the communists the same fascists. This is due to their anti-Stalinist sentiments.

Comstol: Are there any websites, newspapers of anti-fascists?

S. Miroshnichenko: Yes, there are. There are sites like http://www.antifa.fm/ and many more. AFA is widely represented in social networks. Also, many anarchist sites sanctify their topic. A lot of samizdat magazines and newspapers are published. All here, perhaps, and not to list.

In general, we Communists need to work more closely with these young people. After all, in fact, people with ready-made political views are represented there. It is only necessary to help them, to direct them in the right direction, to explain that small autonomous groups cannot solve such a problem as the growth of nationalism and xenophobia. A political organization is needed to fight in the political realm and not just on the streets. Such an organization may well be ROT FRONT. By the way, there are a lot of activists in Autonomous Action who joined them through the AFA.

Taking this opportunity, let me remind you that on May 18, a concert of the Nucleo Terco group will take place in Moscow. This is a group of Spanish communists playing oi!, members of RASH-Madrid. They are in Russia for the first time. They will be supported by such teams as Klowns (Kirov), Twenties (Kirov) and Krasnaya Kontora (Moscow). For information about the concert, follow the group in Vkontakte: https://vk.com/nucleo_terco

Other related materials:

15 comments

Aster 06.05.2013 20:46

I wonder how skinheads ended up in anti-fascists?

Oleg 06.05.2013 21:30

Astra, skinheads are a subculture. Among them, there are often nationalists, so we are accustomed to classify them as Nazis and fascists. However, among them there are different ideologies, incl. and the left. An example is red skinheads.

Evil "Ych" 07.05.2013 02:04

In the best way, the skins turned out to be anti-fascists) Smoke the history of the subculture)

cat Leopold 07.05.2013 16:26

ANTI-FASCISM today is an insidious, hypocritical move of ZIONIST TOUGH NATIONALISM, i.e. WORLD FINANCIAL JEWISH OLIGARCHY! Her deeds are bad - the whole World rises against this OCTOBER. And she sees her salvation in pitting all peoples against each other on the basis of nationalism. This world sect of the richest degenerates of the human race from time immemorial, saddling the MONEY ECONOMY of all the peoples of our planet, seeing its approaching HISTORICAL collapse, embarks on all
serious in their FURTHER, this time, attempt to deceive the whole World AGAIN!!! Quite ashamed of your GOOD anger and hide IT for the sake of the human-hating SECT!

Alesya Yasnogortseva 07.05.2013 22:07

Cat Leopold. Well, here you have fallen for the bait of the Zionists. It is they who reduce all fascism to anti-Semitism, so that it would be more convenient for those who are against the Zionists to mold the label of anti-Semites. In fact, Jews have not been subjected to any discrimination anywhere since 45. Even in such fascist states as South Africa and Chile.
Fascism is liberalism taken to the extreme. Liberals believe that "inferior" people should die out - the Nazis believe that they should be destroyed. The liberals have inferior ones - those who do not know how to steal and live on the stolen money - the fascists have different conditions in different conditions. Very often, the Nazis declare inferior representatives of any nation (not necessarily Jewish!), sometimes - followers of any creed.
And the Russian fascists from the RNU are most likely mercenaries of the West. Their activities are aimed at discrediting Russia in the eyes of the peoples of the former colonies. So that Russia will not soon become their leader, when the communists come to power in the country.

cat Leopold 07.05.2013 23:33

ANTISEMITISM=FASCISM=NEO-FASCISM=ANTI-FASCISM AND OTHER THINGS - THESE ARE TERMS INTENTIONALLY THROTTEN AND CULTIVATED BY ZIONISM into the communities of SUCKERS and GOYIMS, as they call all of us NON-JEWS!

cat Leopold 08.05.2013 06:00

ZIONISM is the most ardent supporter and guardian of CAPITAL. HE is the FLESH and BLOOD of CAPITAL and the fight against CAPITAL is inevitably the fight against ZIONISM! RUSSIAN! Don't be naive kids. DO NOT bury your heads in the sand at the sight of danger. NOT TO THE FACE!

Valery 08.05.2013 12:56

"Divide and conquer" is the slogan of those who want to rule the world.

Aster 09.05.2013 20:03

As far as I know, the custom of shaving the heads of skinheads came from a desire to hide the real color of their hair. Their ideology is based on racism. And one of the signs of race (for them) is hair color. They believe that blond hair is a sign of a superior race. And since such hair is not common among Russians, they took such a rule - to shave their heads baldly.
Maybe then it became a youth subculture, like hippies or metalheads. But initially it was political trend a certain kind.

Evil "Ych" 12.05.2013 12:01

Astra, I'll tell you a secret. The custom of shaving the head of the skins appeared due to the cheapness and simplicity of this haircut. Indeed, in the 60s of the 20th century in England, working youth did not have much money for fashionable haircuts. About skin racism. REAL SKINHEADS ARE NOT RACISTS, We smoke the history of the movement at least here http://tr.rkrp-rpk.ru/get.php?4381 Briefly and meaningfully.

Alexander 12.05.2013 13:18

As it became known (to me), neo-Nazis are being persecuted in Germany for being against NATO, against the dominance of the Jewish Masonic USA, their puppet Merchel, and for partnering with a strong Russia (not Putin's, of course). It's not that simple. Anti-fascists can be puppets in the hands of real Nazi Zionists. Kitty is right!

Anti-fascist underground patriotic organization (APPO)

one of the anti-fascist organizations of Soviet prisoners of war during the Great Patriotic War on the territory of the USSR, Poland and France occupied by Nazi troops. It was created in May 1942 in a camp for prisoners of war of non-Russian nationalities near Warsaw, in the town of Benyaminovo, where the fascist command formed national battalions. The organization was headed by the Central Underground Bureau (CB), led by Major of the Soviet Army S. A. Yagdzhyan. The Central Bank included officers: V. M. Vartanyan, A. A. Kazaryan, D. E. Minasyan, A. M. Karapetyan, B. K. Petrosyan and L. M. Titanyan. In October 1942, part of the prisoners was transferred to Puławy (Poland), where the Central Bank decided that underground members should take command positions in the battalions that were being formed. APPO established contact with Polish patriots. A plan was developed for a joint uprising, but it did not take place, because. the camp in October 1943 was transferred to France (Mand). One battalion was transferred to the area of ​​Maykop occupied by the Nazis. The Gestapo found out about the uprising that was being prepared in the battalion and brutally cracked down on the underground. Another battalion was sent to the region of occupied Zhytomyr, where in August 1943 he raised an uprising. Part of the rebels broke through to the partisans.

The underground members of the battalions transferred to the west in 1943 established contact with the French Resistance Movement and the Allied command. The English Channel battalion and 2 battalions in the Toulon region revolted and joined the French partisans. The APPO Central Bank, located in the south of France, was transformed into an underground Military Committee of Soviet Patriots in the South of France. In August 1944, the Soviet partisan detachments in France were reorganized into the 1st Soviet partisan regiment in France, which was awarded the French battle flag and the Order of the Military Cross for the liberation of hundreds of settlements from the invaders. APPO members also participated in the partisan movement in Holland, Yugoslavia, Greece, and Czechoslovakia.

M. L. Episkoposov.

Great Soviet Encyclopedia. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. 1969-1978 .

See what the "Anti-Fascist Underground Patriotic Organization" is in other dictionaries:

- (APPO) one of the anti-fascists. organizations of owls. prisoners of war during Vel. Fatherland. war. Members of the APPO acted in 1942 45 on the territory. USSR, Poland and France. Created in May 1942 in a non-Russian prisoner of war camp. nationalities ca. Warsaw, in a place ... ... Soviet historical encyclopedia

APPO- Academy of Postgraduate Pedagogical Education Education and Science, St. Petersburg Dictionary of abbreviations and abbreviations

Anti-Fascist Underground Patriotic Organization- (ru. Anti-Fascist Underground Patriotic Organization, APPO) was an anti fascist group of Soviet captives, formed during the World War II on the occupied by fascist armies territories of USSR, Poland and France. [… … Wikipedia

APPO- automatic prevention of equipment overload agitation, propaganda and political department Anti-fascist underground patriotic organization (1942 1945) agitation, propaganda and press department ... Dictionary of abbreviations of the Russian language

The Resistance Movement in Belgium organized resistance to the German occupation in Belgium during World War II. Contents 1 Organizational structure 2 ... Wikipedia

- The Independence Front (French Front de l Indépendance) is an underground military-political organization that was created in 1941 by the Belgian communists and representatives of the left and operated in 1941-1944 on the territory of Belgium, ... ... Wikipedia

- (France) French Republic (République Française). I. General information F. state in Western Europe. In the north, the territory of F. is washed by the North Sea, the Pas de Calais and the English Channel, in the west by the Bay of Biscay ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

In 1943, the anti-fascist movement intensified in Germany and in the countries allied to it. As long as the Wehrmacht was victorious in the war, the Nazi leadership managed to influence the majority of the Germans and subordinate them to their crazy plans for world domination. However, heavy defeats on the Soviet-German front, the loss of North Africa and the capitulation of Italy led to the fact that the population of Germany was losing faith in victory. The huge losses of the fascist German troops in the East, the continued total mobilization, the growing shortage of food and other goods, the Anglo-American air raids led to the growth of anti-fascist and anti-war sentiments not only among the working people, but also among representatives of some bourgeois circles.

Assessing the situation, a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Germany, W. Ulbricht, wrote: “The resistance of the working people to Hitler's fascism will grow. The conditions for the organizational rallying of the anti-fascist forces in Germany became more favorable" (1166) .

The aggravation of internal political relations in Germany contributed to the growth of the activity of the communist and social democratic parties. Under the exceptionally difficult conditions of the Hitlerite dictatorship, the Party organizations that survived the defeat and were newly created during the war waged a selfless struggle against fascism and the war.

Resistance organizations were strengthened. New fighters poured into them. The number of illegal leaflets and other anti-war propaganda materials distributed has increased. The struggle of the patriots against the war and Nazism was led by the Communist Party of Germany, which sought to unite all sections of the German people in a single anti-fascist front. In his speech at the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the German Democratic Republic, L. I. Brezhnev emphasized: “The best sons of the German people - the communists, anti-fascists carried through the entire Second World War, through terror and persecution, through torture in fascist prisons and concentration camps, loyalty to proletarian internationalism, love for the Soviet Union - the birthplace of socialism "(1167) .

An important milestone in the anti-war and anti-fascist movement of the German people was the creation, on the initiative of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Germany in July 1943 in the USSR, of the National Committee "Free Germany" (NKSG), which included prominent political figures W. Pick, W. Ulbricht, V. Florin, writers I. Becher, V. Bredel, F. Wolf, progressive prisoners of war soldiers and officers. The Soviet government supported the committee in every possible way. He published his own special newspaper and had a radio station. The Free Germany movement united representatives of various segments of the population into a single national front. It had a significant impact on the German prisoners of war who were in the Soviet Union, on the personnel of the Wehrmacht, the German people. In September 1943, at a conference of delegates from POW officers near Moscow, the Union of German Officers was founded. As its platform, the Union adopted the NCSG program and joined it. General W. von Seydlitz, former commander of the 51st Army Corps, was elected chairman of the Union. The Union of German Officers appealed to the German generals and officers. Under the leadership of the KKE and following the example of the NKSG, the Free Germany movement subsequently arose in Denmark, France, Greece, Great Britain, Yugoslavia, Latin America, Sweden, Switzerland, the USA and other countries, which contributed to the intensification of the struggle of German anti-fascists against the Nazi regime.

Assessing the fact of the creation of the Free Germany National Committee, the Pravda newspaper of August 1, 1943 wrote: accidental and temporary failures, as the German fascist leaders repeated in every way, but with inexorable logic they follow from the entire course of the war, from the change that has taken place in the balance of forces of both warring camps ... ".

The underground communist organizations operating in Germany explained to the population the possibilities and ways of withdrawing the country from the war. The organization, headed by A. Zefkov, F. Jakob, B. Bestlein, was especially active, striving to restore the central leadership of the communist underground. During 1943, she managed to contact the underground of Leipzig, Dresden, Bautzen, Erfurt, Weimar, Jena, Gotha, Hamburg, Hanover, Magdeburg, Düsseldorf and Innsbruck (Austria). From the second half of 1943, it actually becomes the anti-fascist center of the country (1168).

In November, under the leadership of the Central Committee of the KKE, the operational leadership of the party and the illegal anti-fascist struggle in Germany itself arose. It included A. Zefkov, F. Jakob, T. Neubauer, G. Schumann and M. Schwantes. The political activities of the operational leadership of the KKE were carried out on the basis of the directives of the Central Committee of the party. “As a result of the creation of a unified leadership of the largest organizations of the party and the resistance movement and the establishment of constantly growing ties throughout Germany, a significant upsurge in the anti-fascist struggle began” (1169).

The Anti-Fascist German People's Front (ANF) organization, which arose in Munich at the end of 1942, was headed by communists and representatives of the radical Christian party of workers and peasants. By the end of 1943, it had extended its activities to the whole of South Germany (1170) . Closely connected with the ANF was Germany's largest underground organization of Soviet prisoners of war and workers, Fraternal Cooperation of Prisoners of War (BSV), which had organized groups in a number of camps.

The expansion and strengthening of the network of the anti-fascist underground in Germany contributed to the organization of the struggle of foreign workers and prisoners of concentration camps. In the areas of Berlin, Leipzig, Chemnitz, Debeln, Soviet underground groups, with the help of German anti-fascists, carried out a series of sabotage at enterprises. Soviet people were at the forefront of the struggle of the prisoners of the fascist camps. In order to coordinate their actions, the camp organizations, with the help of the German communists, established close contacts with each other. Escapes from fascist hard labor became more frequent, and sabotage at enterprises employing foreign workers became even more widespread and effective. The widely ramified network of the BSV was of particular concern to the fascist authorities. The punitive organs in the summer and autumn of 1943 carried out mass raids and searches not only in Germany, but also in Poland and Austria. Hundreds of active members of the organization ended up in the hands of the Gestapo. Despite a number of failures, the struggle of the prisoners continued. She diverted the forces of the Nazis, created an alarming situation in the country.

The growth of the anti-fascist struggle in Germany continued to be hampered by the powerful, widely ramified mechanism of the Gestapo-police apparatus and unbridled national-chauvinist propaganda. A significant part of the leaders of the German resistance movement was forced to stay outside the country.

The activity of the Austrian anti-fascist underground increased. On November 16, the Nazi newspaper Neues Wiener Tageblatt wrote: "You will not find a single enterprise where there were no production failures ... In 108 Viennese enterprises with a number of workers of 47 thousand, 54,366 cases of production failures were registered." The connections of the Austrian underground with foreign workers expanded. Underground groups of the Austrian Front helped hundreds of foreign concentration camp prisoners escape to Switzerland and Slovakia. The underground itself began to switch to methods of armed struggle.

The defeats of the Wehrmacht on the Soviet-German front and in North Africa led to profound changes in the internal political situation of Italy - the closest ally of Nazi Germany. Neither terror nor the demagoguery of its rulers could stop the growing mass anti-war, anti-fascist movement in the country.

The consolidation of anti-fascists was facilitated by powerful strikes that swept in March 1943 throughout all the cities of Northern Italy. At the same time, the main force of the anti-fascist movement, the Communist Party, faced serious difficulties at that time in its attempts to create a united front of struggle. At the end of June, a meeting of representatives of the anti-fascist parties was held in Milan: the Communist, the Socialist, the Proletarian Unity Movement for a Socialist Republic, the Action Party, the Liberal Reconstruction group, and the Christian Democratic Party. The Communists proposed the creation of the National Action Front (1171). A month later, the Committee of Anti-Fascist Opposition Parties was formed, which, along with other parties, included Catholics and liberals. But, apart from the Communists, not a single party took practical steps to prepare mass uprisings against fascism.

After the overthrow of Mussolini, the Badoglio government set the task of withdrawing Italy from the war, preventing popular unrest and revolutionary uprisings. The attitude towards the new government among the opposition parties was different. The Action Party and the Socialists even objected to temporary cooperation with Badoglio. The communists proceeded from the need to unite all forces in order to achieve priority tasks - the conclusion of peace, the struggle against the threat of enslavement of the country by Nazi Germany and against fascism. Speaking for the democratization of the government, they did not demand the immediate liquidation of the monarchy and agreed to cooperate with figures such as Badoglio (1172). When on September 8 the Italian command announced the surrender agreement and the Nazi troops went on the offensive, the leaders of the bourgeois parties abstained from organizing resistance to the Nazi troops who occupied Italian cities. The organizers of the people's fighting squads, which in a number of localities acted together with military units, were communists, socialists and representatives of the Action Party. However, the pockets of resistance were few in number and still insufficiently organized. Therefore, already two days after the announcement of the armistice, the entire territory of Italy, except for the southern tip of the peninsula, was at the mercy of the Nazis.

A new stage began in the history of the Italian anti-fascist movement - the deployment of a mass armed struggle against the invaders and Italian fascists. On September 9, the Roman Committee of Anti-Fascist Opposition Parties decided to transform into the Committee of National Liberation (CLN). The Rome KNO officially recognized the need for armed resistance to the occupiers, but the predominance of conservative elements in it led to the fact that in fact the Committee took a position of waiting. The Christian Democratic and other right-wing parties called for "passive resistance" in order to "reduce the sacrifices of patriots and Christians to a minimum" (1173) . The true leader of the Italian resistance movement soon became the Committee for the National Liberation of Northern Italy, located in Milan. In northern Italy, where the bulk of the Italian proletariat was concentrated, the initiative of the left parties, especially the communists, played a decisive role.

With the beginning of the occupation, many Italians left the cities and hid in the mountains. But by the end of September, only 1.5 thousand of them could be considered active partisans (1174). These were primarily anti-fascist communists, members of the Action Party and socialists. Under their leadership, "political detachments" were created, which played a decisive role in the Italian Resistance.

Numerous formations were also stationed in the mountains, calling themselves "independent" or "military". They consisted mainly of soldiers and officers of the disintegrated Italian army. These detachments were much better armed than the partisan detachments led by the leftist parties, but their morale was low.

At the end of September, the Nazi command began operations against the main areas of concentration of partisans. During these battles, the Italian patriots suffered significant losses. Many "independent" partisan formations ceased to exist: the tactics of waiting and the desire to organize a tough defense, which were adhered to by the officers who commanded them, did not correspond to the nature of guerrilla warfare.

The Italian Communist Party resolutely embarked on the path of organizing mass armed struggle. She believed: "Only a struggle, an open and merciless struggle without delay or compromise, could lead to the liberation of Italy" (1175). On September 20, in Milan, led by L. Longo, the military command of partisan detachments began to function, which began to form military brigades named after Garibaldi in the mountains. In order to develop the struggle in the cities, the communists began to organize combat groups of patriotic action, which carried out raids on enemy headquarters, sabotage, and the elimination of prominent fascists. In the same period, the headquarters of the partisan detachments of the Action Party was created. The well-known anti-fascist figure F. Parry became its leader. The detachments of these parties, which were later joined by the socialists, formed the core of the emerging partisan army.

The difficulties that increased with the onset of cold weather did not stop the growth of the partisan movement in Italy. Partisan detachments in December 1943 numbered about 9 thousand people (1176).

Under the influence of the victories of the Soviet Army and as a result of a further deterioration in the situation of the working people, the anti-war and anti-fascist movement in the countries of Eastern Europe that were part of the Nazi bloc intensified significantly.

Despite the repressions of the fascist authorities, the struggle of the Bulgarian people expanded. The Bulgarian Workers' Party (BRP) and the Workers' Youth Union (RMS) made great efforts to popularize the program of the Fatherland Front among the population and especially in the army, where party and RMS cells played an important role. The radio stations Khristo Botev and Naroden Glas, as well as the newspaper Rabotnichesko Delo, other newspapers and leaflets published by the Central Committee of the BRP and its local committees, were engaged in explaining this program. Letters were sent to progressively minded soldiers and officers, which revealed the treacherous policy of the ruling monarcho-fascist clique, which was pushing the country into the abyss of a military catastrophe. Anti-fascist sentiments penetrated widely into the army; it became an ever less reliable support of the monarcho-fascist regime (1177).

In various parts of the country, committees of the Fatherland Front arose, which united representatives of non-fascist parties and organizations. In August 1943, the National Committee of the Fatherland Front was formed. It included representatives of the Bulgarian Workers' Party, the left wing of the Bulgarian Agricultural People's Union, the People's Union "Link", the left wing of the Bulgarian Workers' Social Democratic Party, the Radical Party, the Union of Craftsmen, the Workers' Youth Union, trade unions and other public, cultural and educational organizations ( 1178) . Participation in the Fatherland Front of various parties significantly expanded its social base, attracted new fighters against fascism to the ranks of front organizations. But this also created certain difficulties associated with the hesitation of the leaders of some parties, in cases where a decisive policy and active actions were required.

By the end of 1943, the fascist elite had to admit that an internal front had formed in the country, which threatened the existence of the regime. As V. Kolarov wrote, Bulgaria “became an arena civil war» (1179) . The number of acts of sabotage has increased. If in April - June 340 actions of partisans and combat groups were registered, then in July - September - 575 (1180). The number of partisans increased. Their actions became more active. In March-April 1943, a harmonious military organization of forces fighting against monarcho-fascism was created. The Central Military Commission under the Central Committee of the BRP is transformed into the General Headquarters, which develops military operational plans on a national scale, and the People's Liberation Rebel Army (NOPA) is created. The territory of the country was divided into 12 rebel operational zones (1181). The total number of the People's Liberation Rebel Army by the end of the year reached 6 thousand people (1182). During the period from April to December, SPPA forces carried out 774 military actions (1183).

At the risk of their lives, Bulgarian workers organized the escape of Soviet people from Nazi captivity, sheltered them, and helped to contact partisan detachments. Bulgarian military personnel also provided assistance to Soviet prisoners of war. Often, when the lives of Soviet citizens were in danger, Bulgarian soldiers and progressive officers rescued them. The first Soviet fighters joined the Bulgarian partisan detachments in the autumn of 1943 (1184) .

An internal political crisis was also brewing in Hungary. The attempts of the Hungarian ruling circles to place the hardships of the war on the working masses to an even greater degree caused the growth of the anti-war and anti-fascist movement. In the summer of 1943, cases of sabotage were noted in the mines of Varpalota. In August, only 2.5 thousand workers left the metallurgical plant of Manfred Weiss, which carried out military orders. In an attempt to counteract the large turnover of agricultural workers, the government on June 25 introduced a law on their forced labor. Increasingly, it came to open anti-war actions of the working people. On September 9, an anti-war demonstration was held by more than 2.5 thousand workers of the Dnoshdyorsky metallurgical plant (1185).

Anti-fascist sentiments penetrated deeper and deeper into the environment of the Hungarian prisoners of war in the Soviet Union. In 1943, the Foreign Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam opened several anti-fascist political schools for prisoners of war. Subsequently, many listeners joined the Soviet partisan detachments and fought heroically against the Nazis. Others assisted the political agencies of the Soviet troops in carrying out explanatory work among the Horthy troops at the front (1186).

Under the influence of the growing crisis in the country, an alliance of opposition parties was formed in August - the independent party of petty proprietors and the Social Democratic Party. However, the assurances of their leaders that at an opportune moment the Hungarian government would allegedly break with partners in the bloc seriously hampered the unification of the patriotic forces of the people. The leader of the anti-fascist struggle in the country was the Communist Party, which operated deep underground. The communists opposed the participation of Hungary in the predatory war of Nazi Germany, demanded that the country withdraw from the aggressive fascist bloc and go over to the side of the anti-fascist coalition.

On May 1, the Communist Party of Hungary came up with the program "Hungary's Path to Freedom and Peace", in which it called on the workers, peasants, intelligentsia, anti-fascist sections of the bourgeoisie, progressive democratic parties and the population of the regions captured by the Horthys to unite in a single national front. The program demanded the immediate withdrawal of Hungary from the war on the side of the fascist bloc, the restoration of the country's independence and the implementation of democratic reforms (1187) . It provided for the release of political prisoners, the abolition of forced and free labor, the complete equality of national minorities, the division of large landlord estates and the transfer of land to those who cultivate it. The working class of Hungary, it was said in the program, has the historic task of mobilizing the country's political forces and leading the struggle for Hungary's independence.

In an effort to withdraw the Communist Party from the blows of the Horthy and Hitlerite authorities, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Poland in June 1943 adopted a fictitious decision to dissolve the Communist Party, which was published in a specially issued leaflet. In reality, the Communist Party was preserved, but for the purpose of secrecy, it became known as the Peace Party. "The very name of the party emphasized its main combat mission, which was then on the agenda - the task of fighting for the country's exit from the Nazi war, expressed the desire for peace of the overwhelming majority of the population" (1188) . However, this tactic did not achieve its goal. It was not possible to hide the communist character of the Peace Party. Because she continued the policies of the CPV, the authorities severely persecuted her.

Despite the terror of Antonescu and his clique, the anti-fascist movement of the Romanian people intensified. In the summer of 1943, under the leadership and with the participation of the Communist Party of Romania, the Patriotic Anti-Fascist Front was created. It also included the Front of Farmers, the Union of Patriots, the Transylvanian Democratic Union of Hungarian Workers in Romania (MADOS). Later, some local organizations of the Social Democratic Party and the Socialist Peasants' Party joined it. The platform of the Patriotic Front was the declaration of the Communist Party of September 6, 1941, which demanded the overthrow of the Antonescu regime, the formation of a truly national government from representatives of all patriotic parties and organizations, an immediate withdrawal from the war on the side of Nazi Germany, the conclusion of peace with the Soviet Union, Britain and the United States, the accession free and independent Romania to the anti-fascist bloc, arrest and punishment of traitors led by Antonescu, recognition of the equality of national minorities (1189).

The Communist Party tried to involve the bourgeois-landowner parties in the Patriotic Front, followed by certain groups of the population. However, the leaders of the national-liberal and national-tsaranist parties refused to cooperate with the communists, and in fact supported the annexationist policy of the Antonescu government towards the USSR. The communists initiated the creation of patriotic combat units, which subsequently played an important role in the overthrow of the Antonescu regime.

At the initiative of the Communist Party, the Patriotic Front organized and led strikes of workers in Galati, Brasov, Aradi, speeches at the pyrotechnic factory, the Rigel factory, the nitrogen plant in Trnavena, the Resita factories, among the railway workers of Grivitsa, Prahov, Brasov, miners of the Jiu valley. In Constanta, workers sabotaged the repair of submarines, in Targovishte they blew up a military warehouse, in Resita they put out of action a power plant, and organized arson at the Prachov oil fields. The railroad disrupted the schedules of the movement of military echelons. Small partisan groups and sabotage detachments were created in the regions of Oltenia, Banat, Argesh, in the mountains of Karash, Vrancea and other regions of the country.

Thousands of Romanian soldiers and officers who were captured on the Soviet-German front chose the only correct path - the path of fighting fascism. With the help of the Soviet government, the formation of the Romanian Volunteer Division named after Tudor Vladimirescu (1190) began in October.

The formation was formed according to the state of the Soviet rifle division and was fully equipped with Soviet weapons and military equipment. The news of the creation of the division caused a huge uproar among the Romanian prisoners of war. In just three days, 12,000 applications were submitted. 90 percent of the prisoners of war soldiers expressed a desire to become its fighters. The division was staffed mainly by Romanian soldiers and officers taken prisoner at Stalingrad. One of the first to enter it were Romanian anti-fascist emigrants, among them communists who fought in the international brigade in Spain - P. Borile, M. Burca, M. Lungu, S. Muntyan, G. Stoica and others (1191).

Growing anti-war sentiment in Finland. They also infiltrated the ranks of the Social Democratic Party. The newspaper Suomen Socialidemokraatti wrote in August: "Discontent among the workers in our country is already very deep and embraces a large mass of people." An expression of anti-war sentiment was a memorandum of 33 political and public figures, most of whom were deputies of the Sejm, demanding Finland's withdrawal from the war (1192). “... In the country,” noted O. Kuusinen, “a political struggle is developing against the anti-Soviet war of the Finnish government. This struggle is waged by groups of the underground Communist Party and other anti-fascist circles” (1193) .

The echo of the Battle of Stalingrad, the victories of the Soviet Army near Kursk and on the Dnieper echoed in Europe with new successes of the anti-fascist forces.