History of movements and networks opposing fascism after WWII
Post–World War II anti-fascism, including antifa groups (
anti-fascist and in opposition to fascism. Those movements have been active in several countries in the aftermath of World War II
during the second half of the 20th and early 21st century.
Europe
The immediate aftermath of the
de-Nazification. The onset however, of the Cold War
saw the urgency attached to these goals diminish in the face of superpower competition, and anti-fascist activities becoming less prominent.
The appearance of rightist political parties and their upsurge since the
Forum voor Democratie. The German right has grown rapidly since the Fall of the Berlin Wall, and the far-right party Alternative for Germany was founded in 2012, followed shortly thereafter by the anti-immigrant Pegida
The subsequent post-war history of the anti-fascist movement in Germany includes two distinct traditions, an
anti-fascist. The use of the epithet fascist against opponents and the understanding of capitalism as a form of fascism are central to the movement.[9][8] According to political scientist and Christian Democratic Union politician Tim Peters, the term anti-fascism is primarily used by the far left in contemporary Germany.[10]
In Communist
Federal Republic of Germany and its main ally the United States in particular, which were seen as the main fascist forces in the world by the East German Communist party.[13] For example, from 1961 to 1989, the East German regime used the term "Anti-Fascist Protection Wall" (German: Antifaschistischer Schutzwall) as the official name for the Berlin Wall.[14][15]
The modern German Antifa movement ultimately has its origins in West Germany, in the student-based
violent, and Antifa groups are monitored by the federal office in the context of its legal mandate to combat extremism;[8][19][9][20] the federal office states that the underlying goal of the Antifa movement is "the struggle against the liberal democratic basic order" and capitalism.[9][8]
Anti-Fascist Action (AFA) Ireland is one group,[23] while an alliance called Le Chéile (Irish: "together") was founded in 2020 to combat the far-right.[24]
PhD student Jonathan Arlow has written on the topic, saying "in the absence of effective extreme right forces, anti-fascism acts as a form of prophylactic action. In effect, the aim of this activism is to deny political space to extreme right micro groups before they become a popular force or a more serious political threat."[21]
Italy
Today's
Italian constitution is the result from the work of a Constituent Assembly formed by the representatives of all the anti-fascist forces that contributed to the defeat of Nazi and Fascist forces during the Italian Civil War.[25]
charitable foundation on 5 April 1945. It persists due to the activity of its antifascist members. ANPI's objectives are the maintenance of the historical role of the partisan war by means of research and the collection of personal stories. Its goals are a continued defense against historical revisionism and the ideal and ethical support of the high values of freedom and democracy expressed in the 1948 constitution, in which the ideals of the Italian resistance were collected.[28] Since 2008, every two years ANPI organizes its national festival. During the event, meetings, debates, and musical concerts that focus on antifascism, peace, and democracy are organized.[29]
Bella ciao (Italian pronunciation:[ˈbɛllaˈtʃaːo]; "Goodbye beautiful") is an Italian folk song modified and adopted as an anthem of the Italian resistance movement by the partisans who opposed nazism and fascism, and fought against the occupying forces of Nazi Germany, who were allied with the fascist and collaborationist Italian Social Republic between 1943 and 1945 during the Italian Civil War. Versions of this Italian anti-fascist song continue to be sung worldwide as a hymn of freedom and resistance.[30] As an internationally known hymn of freedom, it was intoned at many historic and revolutionary events. The song originally aligned itself with Italian partisans fighting against Nazi German occupation troops, but has since become to merely stand for the inherent rights of all people to be liberated from tyranny.[31][32]
A well-known Dutch anti-fascist research group is the
SS
-officers, led to loud protest that were nationally published.
The AFVN has had numerous successes, although the group remains relatively small. It effectively uses publicity as its main tool of influence. Some of the actions and events include the following:
protesting a yearly commemoration of Nazi-graves on the day of national remembrance of the war dead, the 4th of May in Vorden; this remembrance was stopped
protesting commemorations by the German ambassador and members of the
and the management of Dachau concentration camp the ambassador relented in 2020
protesting the selling of Nazi-items at dedicated trade fairs and by Dutch
swastikas
; two of these fairs closed
protesting the sale of anti-semitic books by Dutch Ahold Delhaize subsidiary Bol.nl; these sales were halted[33]
protesting the sale of two books containing extensive falsehoods on WW-II or the resistance and/or anti-Semitic utterances, namely the
SS
-admiring 'De SS'ers' ('The SS') by Armando and Sleutelaar and 'Grijs Verleden' ('Grey Past') by C. van der Heyden
the commemoration of the so-called February strike against persecution of Jews in the region of Hilversum since 2015;
protesting the commemoration of fallen Dutch aggressors from the Indonesian War of Independence from 1947 till 1950 in Roermond
protesting the unwarranted honoring the writer
Amersfoort concentration camp
; the event was canceled.
The AFVN is a member of the Féd. Int. des Résistants FIR.
Some of the AFA-groups are more active then others. The AFA-Fryslân (
Forum voor Democratie
. AFA-Fryslân regularly cooperates with the AFVN.
Another relatively successful venture is the yearly anti-discrimination march in Amsterdam on 21 March, organised by a coalition of 15 progressive groups. The coalition is named '21 Maart Tegen Racisme' ('21 March Against Racism').
Some of the Dutch anti-fascists, mostly of so-called 'autonomous' groups, but not Kafka or the AFVN, regard physical violence as a legitimate means of action. An example of this was the violent disruption of the reconciliation meeting between Hans Janmaat and the Center Party on March 29, 1986, in a hotel in Kedichem. The meeting was disrupted by radical, anti-fascist activists who set the hotel on fire. Janmaat's life partner Wil Schuurman became permanently disabled because she after jumping out of a window on the first floor, one of her legs had to be amputated.
The Anti-Fascist Committee of German Workers in Romania was an organization for ethnic
Romanian Workers Party adopted a 'Resolution of the National Question' which outlined the need for the formation of a German Anti-Fascist Committee and a German-language newspaper.[36] The Anti-Fascist Committee of German Workers in Romania was founded in March 1949 by a number of ethnic German party members, along with its organ Neuer Weg.[37][38]
In the 1970s, fascist and far-right parties such as the
National Front (NF) and British Movement (BM) were making significant gains electorally, and were increasingly bold in their public appearances. This was challenged in 1977 with the Battle of Lewisham, when thousands of people disrupted an NF march in South London.[40] Soon after, the Anti-Nazi League (ANL) was launched by the Socialist Workers Party (SWP). The ANL had a large-scale propaganda campaign and squads that attacked NF meetings and paper sales. The success of the ANL's campaigns contributed to the end of the NF's period of growth. During this period, there were also a number of black-led anti-fascist organizations, including the Campaign Against Racism and Fascism (CARF) and local groups like the Newham Monitoring Project.[41]
The SWP disbanded the ANL in 1981, but many squad members refused to stop their activities. They were expelled from the SWP in 1981, many going on to found
Blood and Honour in 1992.[44] After 1995, some AFA mobilizations still occurred, such as against the NF in Dover in 1997 and 1998. However, AFA wound down its national organization and some of its branches and had ceased to exist nationally by 2001.[45]
There was a surge in fascist activity across Europe from 1989 to 1991 after the collapse of Communism.[citation needed] In 1991, the Campaign Against Fascism in Europe (CAFE) coordinated a large militant protest against the visit to London by French right-wing leader, Jean-Marie Le Pen. This sparked a surge in anti-fascist organizations throughout Europe. In the UK alone, in 1992 a number of left-wing groups formed anti-fascist front organizations, such as a re-launched ANL in 1992, the Socialist Party'sYouth against Racism in Europe YRE, and the Revolutionary Communist Party's Workers Against Racism. A number of black-led organizations, along with the Labour Party Black Sections and the National Black Caucus, formed the Anti-Racist Alliance in 1991, which eventually became the National Assembly Against Racism.[46]
The magazine Searchlight was founded in 1975. The group founded Hope not Hate in 2004, which became independent in 2011.
In August 2018, the Shadow Chancellor
Islamophobia in the Conservative Party.[47][48] This "welcome and timely" call to action was supported in a Guardian letter signed by the league's founders, which included former Labour minister Peter Hain, political activist Paul Holborow and leading musicians from Rock Against Racism.[48]