A Hope Unfulfilled. Communists in World War II

a hope unfulfilled: communists in world war II | the commune
https://thecommune.wordpress.com/2011/03/11/a-hope-unfulfilled-c...
forworkerspowerfrombelow
11 03 2011
DavidBroderwritesonthedisappointedrevolutionaryaspirationsof
theWWIIeraleft
The recent collapse of dictatorships in Egypt and Tunisia marked
inspiringvictoriesforthemassuprisingsintheArabworld.However,
these revolts have again posed an ageold question of revolutionary
politics:istheaimtogetridofthisorthatleader,ortooverthrowthe
systemassuch?
(https://thecommune.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/partisanscarrara.jpg)
ThisquestionwassharplyposedinthelateWorldWarIIperiodwhen
mass resistance movements besieged fascist rgimes across Europe.
These movements were dominated by activists who believed in the
desirabilityofcommunism.
But as such, the maintenance of capitalist order after the war was a
major defeat. Why did resistance not mean revolution? Here I shall
focusontheexamplesofFranceandItaly.
Communistsforfascism
The NaziSoviet pact of 23rd August 1939 was the trigger for the
outbreakofthewar,givingHitlerafreehandtoinvadePoland.Italso
forcedCommunistPartiestoabandontheirantifasciststance:ifStalin
saidHitlerwasapartnerforpeace,thentheyhadtopresentthisline
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too.FortheFrenchCommunistParty(PCF)thismeantheapingallthe
blameforthewaronBritishimperialismandadvocatingthewestern
AlliesgiveintoHitlersdemands.Thiswasparticularlyproblematic
giventhepartystraditionalpatriotism:tensofthousandsofmembers
resignedindisgust.
Exploiting popular anger against the Communists, the French
authoritiesbannedthepartyinlateSeptember1939.ByMay1940some
5,500 of its members had been arrested, including some among the
ItalianCommunistParty(PCI)leadersinexile.Theyjoinedthousands
ofSpanishcivilwarveteransandforeignantifascistsheldinprison
campsbyFrancesdemocraticgovernment.
OneofthoseinterneeswastheHungarianjournalistArthurKoestler,
heldinarudimentarycampestablishedintheRoland Garrostennis
stadiuminParis.HepointedtotheflimsyantifascismoftheFrench
authorities, but also the apathy of the working class, both of which
auguredbadlyforthewareort.Therulingclassknewwhattheywere
fightingforthemaintenanceofthestatusquobutnotreallywhatto
rallythepopulationagainst;theworkingclassknewtheywantedto
fightagainstNazism,buthadnoideawhattheywerefightingfor.
Indeed,theFrencharmydidnothingtocombatGermanyinthefirst
eightmonthsofhostilities,andwhentheWehrmachtturnedwestin
May 1940, France collapsed within just six weeks. Deputy Prime
MinisterMarshalPhilippePtainadvisedagainstresistance;atleastthe
Germanswouldrestoreorder.AsHitlersforcesoverranthecountry,
PtainsetupanewpuppetrgimebasedatVichyinthesouthernfree
zone; the whole north and west of France was occupied by the
Wehrmacht.
ThePCFappliedtotheNazisfortheirpapertobemadelegalagain:
after all, following the terms of the pact, it could promote French
NaziSoviet peace. The occupying authorities refused, but the PCF
maintainedanambiguousrelationtotheoccupation,focusingcriticism
on British imperialism, or else Ptain himself, and not Hitler.
Nonetheless,theextentofoppressionwassuchthatmanyyoungPCF
activists took part in nationalist demonstrations on 11th November
1940,andthepartyplayedaleadingroleintheMay1941minersstrike
inthenorth.
Italy, meanwhile, rather blundered into the war: just three months
before invading Poland Hitler had promised fascist leader Benito
Mussolinithattherewouldbenowaruntil1943.Thecountrywasnota
signatoryofthepactwithStalin,anddidnotdeclarewaronFrance
until 10th June 1940, once the Germans were already rapidly
approachingParis.AdisastrousassaultonGreeceinOctoberthatyear
showed that Mussolini could not be trusted to achieve anything by
himself, and Italy became something of a liability for the Axis.
Moreover, the PCI denounced Mussolinis involvement in the war,
comparing it to his aggression against Ethiopia in 1935 and his
interventiononFrancossideintheSpanishcivilwar.
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Thatsaid,theexiledPCIleadershiphadinrecentyearshadadubious
relationshipwiththefascistrgime.Althoughbannedsince1926,the
Communistsmadeappealsfornationalreconciliation,suchasa1936
call for all Italians to march together behind Mussolinis
demagogicallyanticapitalistmanifestoof1919.Beforethepact,thePCI
also attempted to put pressure on the Italian ruling class to junk
MussoliniandalignthemselveswithBritainandFranceastoisolate
Hitler, blaming the fascist dictator for selling out Italys interests to
Germanimperialism.Thiswasallamatterofmanoeuvringinlinewith
Soviet diplomacy: as the Italian Trotskyist Pietro Tresso explained
in1938,thePCIschiefconcernwasnotfascismversusantifascism,still
less capitalism versus socialism, but only Moscows allies and
Moscowsenemies.
Theturntoresistance
Thesituationinthewarchangeddramaticallyon22ndJune1941,when
HitlerinvadedtheUSSR.ThisOperationBarbarossawasthelargest
militaryoensiveinhistory,involvingsome3.2milliontroops.Within
weeks the Wehrmacht had occupied thousands of miles of Soviet
territory: the USSR was in grave danger. For the PCF and PCI, this
urgentlyposedtheneedtobuildantifascistresistance.
Withoutdoubt,manyStalinistsdidfightheroicallyaspartisans.They
wereatwarwithaGermanarmywhichwasfarbettertrained,armed
and supplied. Tens of thousands of them were imprisoned, tortured
anddiedforthecause.
However,theydidnotadvancerevolutionarypolitics.Theyweretied
to Stalins strategy, unity with the Allies against Germany. This
demanded they defend the capitalist order and oppose forces of
rebellion.TheStalinistscondemnedtheBritishminersstrikeof1941
because it undermined war production; they opposed demands for
colonialfreedom;PietroTressowasmurderedbyPCFmembersinthe
FrenchResistance.NordidtheyrecogniseclassdivisionsinGerman
society:itwassimplyalandofnaturallymilitaristicHuns.
Muchincontrast,theTrotskyistPartiOuvrierInternationaliste(POI)in
Francecharacterisedthewarasinterimperialist.Theydidnottakepart
in the French resistance, both out of opposition to its antiGerman
chauvinist and proimperialist politics, and because of the threat of
Stalinistassault.However,thePOIdefendedtheUSSR,andwhatthey
sawasthegainsofthe1917revolution,againstbothGermaninvasion
andtheStalinistbureaucracy.
ThePOIadvocatedinternationalworkersunity,andassuchproduced
anewspaperforGermanoccupationsoldiers,ArbeiterundSoldat. The
POI recognised that these troops were workingclass conscripts in
uniform,manyofthemformerSocialDemocratsandCommunists,the
firstvictimsofNazirepression.Thepaperarguedforaresumptionof
thedefeatedrevolutionarystrugglesoftheendofWorldWarI,and
againstanyillusionsintheintentionsoftheAlliedimperialistpowers.
It demonstrated a strong belief in the potential power of German
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workersandthecentralityoftheirrevolutiontotheEuropeanworkers
cause.Moreoverthepaperfeaturedlettersfrombothsoldiersandthe
homefront,asdidthepaperDerArbeiter,alsolinkedtothePOIbut
moredrivenbytheinitiativeoftroopsthemselves.
The group also favoured fraternisation between French workers and
German troops. This was however extremely dangerous and the
organisationwasbetrayedbyanAustriansoldier,possiblyaNaziagent
provocateur.On6thOctober1943theGestaporaidedameetinginBrest:
18oftheparticipantswereexecuted.Thenextdayssawacontinued
campaign to break up the organisation: in total around 50 German
soldiersweremurderedandanother50Frenchactivistsarrested,many
of them sent to concentration camps from which they would never
return.
Although not in thrall to the USSR like the Trotskyists, anarchists
politicsdidnotnecessarilyaddanyclaritytothesituation.Nowhere
didanarchistsorganiseindependentlyforaspecificallyrevolutionary
movement. Their traditional stress on militant antifascism did not
necessarilyimplyanythingmorethanfightingtheGermantroops.For
example,manySpanishexilesfoughtbravelyintheFrenchresistance:
butthisadherencetoaforceledbytheconservativeCharlesdeGaulle
andtheStalinistsbeliedaseparationbetweentheirmeansofstruggle
andtheirultimateobjectives.
Fascistsagainstfascism
The Soviets held back the Wehrmacht onslaught at Stalingrad and
beganacounteroensive;,togetherwiththeUSAsentryintothewar
inDecember1941,itwasclearthatfascismwasdoomed.However,this
alsoposedthequestionofwhatkindofEuropewouldfollowthewar.
Theresistancemovementswereheterogeneouspolitically,definedby
whattheyopposedratherthananypositiveagenda.InItalythePCI
choseacrossclassalliancewiththerepublicanActionParty,thesocial
democratic PSI and the Christian Democrats rather than the
revolutionaryleft.Ratherthanfightingcapitalismitselftheyattacked
MussoliniforhavingsoldoutthenationtoGermanimperialism.
ThePCFcontributedenormouslytotheFrenchresistance.Butamore
significantsectionofthelitefoughtagainsttheNazisinFrancethanin
Italy,sinceVichywassostronglyassociatedwithdefeat.Indeed,the
resistancesmainleaderCharlesdeGaullehimselfapprovedofmanyof
Ptainsantiworkingclassreformsifonlytheywerenotassociated
withcollaborationwiththeoccupation.Othersinrulingcirclestriedto
appealtothesenileVichyleadertoturntotheAllies.
Muchoftherulingclassdidindeedchangetackfollowingtheheavy
AxisdefeatsinNorthAfricainNovember1942.Hishandforcedby
AlliedlandingsinAlgeria,VichycommanderAdmiralDarlanswitched
sides.TheantiSemiteDarlannowestablishedaproAmericanrgime
inAlgiers,togetherwithVichyInteriorMinisterPierrePucheu.Fearing
theirpuppetsimminentcollapse,theGermansandItaliansoccupied
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thefreezoneruledbyPtain.Whenayoungmonarchistassassinated
Darlan on Christmas Eve 1942, the Allies handed power to General
Giraud, also a disaected Vichyist. When de Gaulle objected, the
Americansforcedthepairtoworktogetherasatwoheadedleadership.
ThefallofNorthAfricawasalsobadnewsforMussolini.WithTunisia
justastonesthrowfromSicily,thesouthofItalynowfacedthethreat
ofAlliedlandings.Hissituationwasallthemorecriticalduetoanew
domesticcrisis.
Thefirsttwentyyearsoffascismhadsuocatedtheworkingclass.For
allthemiseriesofthergime,mostItalianworkersthoughtitbestto
keeptheirheadsdown,togetby.Butfascismwasunableeventofeed
thepopulation.Eveniftheauthoritiesdidsupplythepromisedrations,
these oered each citizen only 895 calories a day, less than half the
necessaryamount.FoodprotestsbywomeninMilaninsummer1942
were followed by strikes at the Alfa Romeo and Tedeschi factories.
Given the fumbled concessions of a disoriented rgime, each action
inspired confidence in others that fascism was not allpowerful, and
couldbechallenged.
After a winter of gradual building, March 1943 saw an eruption of
struggle in northern Italy. Following a stoppage at Turins Rasetti
factory on Friday 5th, the giant FIAT Mirafiori works walked out,
encouraging similar actions at a dozen other workplaces after the
weekend.Asnewsoftherebellionspreadbywordofmouthandthe
undergroundpress,otherworkerswereencouragedtoaddtheirvoices
tothechorusofdissent.Bytheendofthemonththerewerealsomajor
strikesinMilanperhaps100,000workersparticipatedintotal.
Thesewerenotthekindofstrikeswhichcouldbringtheeconomytoits
knees.Manyoftheactionswerejustafewhourslong.Theyweremore
importantasapoliticalact.Fortwodecadesworkershadconsidered
anyandallactsofdisobedienceasapotentialdeathsentence.Nowthat
keepingtheirheadsdownwasnolongeranoption,theyconfrontedthe
rgime responsible for their despair. Hundreds of workers were
deportedandarrestedinMarch:butthiswasnotenoughtostopthe
movement. Hitler raged that Italys fascists had not taken a hard
enoughline.
Thedisintegration ofthehomefrontposedamajorchallengeto the
Italianrgime:iftheydidnotgetagriponthesituationthenthestate
wouldbe besiegedboth from within Italyandby Alliedforces. The
KingandfascistministersdecidedthatremovingMussolinicouldsave
thesystem.At2amonthenightof24th25thJuly1943,ameetingofthe
FascistGrandCouncilvotedtodeposeMussolini.Hewasbundledinto
anambulanceandtakentoprison.
Onthe25th Italianstooktothestreets,joyouslycelebratingthefallof
thehateddictator.Thiswasavictoryforthepressuretheyhadexerted.
SolongtheoppressoroftheItalianworkers,theselfproclaimedheirto
theRomanEmperorswasnowhumiliated.
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Anditwastherulingclass,notMussolinisvictims,whosettheterms
of the new order.In his place came Marshal Pietro Badoglio, fascist
apparatchik and leader of the 1935 Italian invasion of Ethiopia. He
promisedchange:butquicklymovedtoasserthisauthorityoverthe
nascentworkersmovement.Onthe27thtroopsopenedfireonapeace
demonstration in Reggio, killing nine workers. The following day a
march through Bari to salute political prisoners was broken up by
gunshots:23moredeaths.Thearmyalsobrokeupdemonstrationsin
Milan,Turin,Florence,LaSpezia,andSestoFiorentino;thenextmonth
wouldsee38,500politicalarrests.
Thewarcontinued:theAllieshadbegunlandingsinSicilyonthe10th.
However, the King and Badoglio quickly moved to negotiate peace.
HavingstressedtheirloyaltytotheAxis,theysignedanarmisticeon
3rd September:whenthiswasrevealedaweeklater,theWehrmacht
invaded Italy. Badoglio did nothing to organise resistance and fled
Rome,whiletheGermansquicklytookoveralmostthewholecountry.
They freed Mussolini from prison and made him declare a new
government; meanwhile, the Alliedoccupied areas were ruled by
Badoglio. Longtime fascists such as the Agnellis, who owned FIAT,
startedhedgingtheirbets,producingforGermanyyetalsofundingthe
antifascistparties.
Thusby September1943theAllieshad won over leading fascists in
bothFranceandItaly.TheAxiswasclearlybeginningtofracture.But
thesewerenodemocrats.Theysupportedfascismwhenitwasonthe
rise and were proud of their role in building Hitlers empire. Their
motivationwaspurelytodefendthestabilityoftheexistingsocialorder
frommoreprofoundchange,bysacrificingindividualleaders.
Communistsagainstcommunism
OneofthethousandsofactivistsarrestedbytheFrenchauthoritiesin
October 1939 was Palmiro Togliatti, leader of the Italian Communist
Party.FortunatelyforTogliatti,theydidnotrecognisehimandhewas
released in May 1940, allowing him to flee to the USSR before the
Germanoccupation.HavingworkedfortheCommunistInternational
inthe1930s,hewasadeptatimplementingStalinsorders:forinstance,
playingaleadingroleinthestruggleagainstanarchistsandthePOUM
duringtheSpanishcivilwar.
FollowingtheSovietdictator,henowpromotedtheunityofallforces
against the Axis. Indeed, now that he was with the Allies, Badoglio
requested help from the proresistance parties in order to give him
morepopularlegitimacy:thelogicoftheStalinistpositionwasthusto
oblige.Togliatti,returningtoItalyinMarch1944,announcedthatthe
PCI would unconditionally accept the oer to join a crossparty
government,evenundertheKing.
The PCF had also entered negotiations to join the provisional
governmentinAlgeriaasearlyasAugust1943.DeGaullealsoneeded
democraticlegitimacytheexistingrgimewas,afterall,unelectedand
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basedinacolony.TwoPCFmembersjoinedhisadministrationinApril
1944.
These crossclass coalitions set the tone of the resistance movements
and therefore the resultant postwar establishment. Both France and
Italy had multiparty governments based on these coalitions until
spring1947,whentheywereexplodedbyColdWartensions.
SomeCommunistsweremoreaggressiveinassertingtheirpower.In
1944theLimousinresistancemovement,ledbyadissidentPCFbranch,
established something like their own government. As in Yugoslavia,
where Stalinism was insurrectionary in its tactics, it created not
workerspower,butabureaucraticandhierarchicalstateapparatus.
ThePCFreinedinworkersstruggleswherevertheywerenotmerely
anadjunctofthenationalresistance.Thenascentfactorycommittees
werequicklyhollowedoutinfavourofmereworkersparticipationin
managementbodies.Nationalunityandstatepowerwereconstantly
promoted over grassroots initiative. In January 1945 PCF leader
MauriceThorezdemandedonearmy,onepolice,oneadministration.
TrotskyistcritiquesoftenportrayStalinismasrevolutionaryinwords
butreformistindeeds.ButtheproblemwithStalinistreformismwas
notjustthatitsoughtgradualchangeinstages.Rather,inoccupying
the structures of statelevel manoeuvre, its strategy and vision of
socialism reproduced the characteristics of representation under
capitalism. All the initiative had to come from the central state
apparatus, while the mass of workers passively awaited change
deliveredontheirbehalf,unabletodefineitstermsforthemselves.
Workersforcommunism?
FrancesPOIwereisolatedbutalsohopefulastotheprospectsforthe
postwar world. They could draw inspiration from the example of
WorldWarI,whichconcludedwitharevolutionarywaveacrossthe
RussianEmpire,Germany,HungaryandnorthernItaly,ledbygroups
whohadbeensmallattheoutbreakofhostilities.ButiftheWehrmacht
was driven out of France and Italy only thanks to the Allies, an
AmericanBritish occupation would surely not provide much of an
opportunitytooverthrowcapitalism.TheveryexistenceoftheBadoglio
anddeGaulleprovisionalgovernmentswasintendedtoprecludeany
suchpoliticalvacuum.
However,itwasfarfromonlytheTrotskyistswhohadambitionsofa
revolutionaryoutcometothewar.TherankandfileCommunistParty
memberswhodominatedthepartisanforcessawcrossclassalliances
asjustatacticalepisode,latertobefollowedbyrevolution.Butthere
waslittleperspectiveofexactlywhatchangewasnecessaryandhowit
shouldcomeabout.
Bothcountrieshadahighpitchoflabourmilitancy,withstrikesagainst
deportationsinFranceandaseriesofstrikewavesinGenoa,Milanand
Turin. Class exploitation was a centrally important motivation for
resisting the repressive occupation rgimes. However, as the
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CommunistPartieshegemonydeveloped,manystrikessimplyhadthe
intentionofdisruptingAxissuppliesandcommunicationstohelpthe
Allies,ratherthanbuildingworkersorganisationassuch.
The Trotskyist historian Pierre Brou stressed the importance of the
PCFspre1939hegemonytoitssupportinthelatterpartofWorldWar
II. Given its strong roots in the class, even now operating on the
undergroundthepartycouldmakesignificantpoliticalturnsandretain
thetrustofmillionsofpassivesupporters.AlthoughtheHitlerStalin
pacthadthreatenedtheseties,thePCFadaptedtoMoscowslinein
relatively good order. Brou counterposed this to the PCI, which
Mussolini had crushed in 1926, relatively early in the history of the
Communist International. Since the party leadership was exiled and
hadnoeectiveorganisationinItaly,itwasunabletoimposeStalinist
politicsontheworkingclass.Assuch,whentheworkersmovement
arose from the ashes, it would have the politics of the early
Communists,notthoseofPalmiroTogliatti.
However,BrousanalysisislimitedtoanalysingStalinistbetrayal.If
Communist Parties dominated resistance movements and these
strugglesdidnotleadtorevolution,itmakessensetoaskwhatthese
partiesfailingswere;however,wemustalsoaskwhytheywerenot
simply bypassed. If the French Trotskyists could take pride in their
principlesbutdidnothavethenumberstoputthemintopractice:why
didnt their numbers grow? And if Togliatti stood at odds with the
stilldeep rooted traditions of Italian communism, then why was his
partynotmarginalised?
SinceTrotskyismcamefromasplitinanalreadywelldevelopedSoviet
bureaucracy,itplacesundueresponsibilityonleaderstochangeevents.
ItblamestheCommunistPartiesfornotbeingforthrightenoughtotake
power on behalf of the working class. The problem with such an
argumentisthatitportraysworkersaspassivevictimsoftheirleaders
betrayals,ratherthanactivesubjectsabletocastleadersasideandact
ontheirownbehalf.
TheMovimentoComunistadItalia
ThisquestionisparticularlypertinenttoItaly,sincethePCIwasnotthe
onlymajorcommunistorganisationinthecountry.Anumberofgroups
arosein194243thankstolocalinitiativesbycommunistsraisingtheir
headsafteryearsofrepression.Manyoftheimportantleadersofsuch
partieshadbeenmembersoftheCommunistPartyinthe1920s,but
expelledorforcedtoleaveduetofascistrepression.
Indeed,intheperiodfollowingthearmistice,thePCIwasnoteventhe
largest communist party in the capital. That honour lay with the
Movimento Comunista dItalia (MCdI), sometimes known after its
newspaper Bandiera Rossa. In November 1943 it boasted some 2,500
membersinRome,whereasthePCIhadaround1,700.
TheItalianleftwasstronglymarkedbydieringlevelsofexperience.
Any activists under 30 would have been too young to remember
anything other than fascist totalitarianism; older comradeshad lived
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throughtheearlyyearsofthePCdI.Thisperiodhadinvolvedadegree
of struggle between stillrevolutionary forces and bureaucratic
elements,butitwascurtailedprematurelybythecrushingoftheparty
byfascism:theexilepressanditsdebatesdidnotreachItalyatall.
Thereforeactivistsrekindlingthestrugglehadanambiguoustradition
tolookbackto.WhentheMCdIformedinlateAugust1943itbrought
libertarianstogetherwithnotonlyavanguardistBordigisttendency,
butevenoutrightStalinists.SomeexPCImembersliterallycouldnot
believethatStalinwantedItalianCommuniststosupportBadoglioand
themonarchy,andcondemnedTogliattiforbetrayingtheSovietleader!
However,dierencesrandeeperthantheresistancestrategy:theMCdI
condemnedbureaucracyandtechnocraticvisionsofcommunism.
Butapartfromitsdemocraticculture,whatdistinguishedtheMCdI
fromthePCImostwasitsrejectionofthepoliticsofnationalunityor
supportfortheAllies.Insteadithighlightedtheneedtotransformthe
waragainstNazismintoawaragainstallcapitalism.
Indeed,muchunliketheothergroupstotheleftofthePCI,theMCdI
washeavilydevotedtopartisanactivity.ItsraidsonGermanprisons,
weaponsdepotsandtrooptrainsweretheenvyofRome,anditplayed
amajorroleingalvanisingaspiritofresistanceinthecity.However,it
refusedtoparticipateintheNationalLiberationCommittees,callingon
thePCItobreaktieswiththeprocapitalistpartiesandinsteadjoinits
ownRedArmy.
At the same time, the MCdI had strong cells in certain workplaces.
With over seventy firefighters, its activists set a German train
transportingfuelalight,thenarrangedforcrewstohosewaterontothe
petrolsuchthatitburnedallthemorefiercely.Itstelephoneexchange
workersputdozensoflinesoutofuse;itspostandtelegrambranch
misdirected and sabotaged German mail. Its members at the state
statisticsagencyISTATsabotagedthecensus,suchthatitreported90%
ofthepopulationwerewomen,disruptingtheconscriptionofmenfor
the army and labour service. They also produced over a hundred
thousand fake ID cards and work permits for political refugees and
Jews.
The group took bold initiatives: for instance, disrupting a mass
execution by shooting all the SS ocers and freeing the prisoners;
givingout10,000leafletsinonefellswoopbycoordinatinggangsof
threepeopletogotoeachof120cinemasatthesametime;breaking
intoaprisoncampandfreeingtheSovietPOWs.However,thisalso
visited heavy repression on the group. Twothirds of the MCdI
leadership had been arrested in December 1942, and when Badoglio
releasedpoliticalprisonersafterthearmistice,theywerethelasttobe
freed. 186 MCdI members were killed during the ninemonth
occupation,overathirdoftheantifascisttotalinRome.
Externalpressures
SothePCIdidnotoutpaceothergroupssimplybecauseoftheprestige
oftheUSSRorthekudosithadearnedfightingtheGermanoccupation,
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althoughcertainlyitbenefitedfromboththesefactors.Theargument
presentedinitspresswherebytheCommunistsstoodforeective
actionanditsleftistrivalswerejustarmchairrevolutionarieswasfar
fromthereality.Indeed,thePCIpartedwayswithmanyofitsmost
committedactivists,replacedbyweaklypoliticisednewrecruits.Two
thousandmembersbrokeawayinTurintoformStellaRossa;theNaples
federationalsosplit.ThedissidentSalernofederationsnewspaperwas
banned by the Allied authorities, and the editor imprisoned: at its
conference in April 1944, with even main PCI leaders present, the
national unity line was forced through by only one vote. The
advocatesofthispolicynotonlyreliedonsuchgerrymanderingbut
also on the promise that this was just a tactical episode, and that
revolutionwouldsoonbebackontheagenda.
Manywerenotpreparedtowaituntilthewarwasovertostartthefight
for workers power. But workers and the dispossessed in Rome
struggledtobuildanalternative.TheMCdIsstrongestpopularbase
wasintheborgate,suburbsaroundRomewheresome80%ofresidents
livedbelowthepovertyline.Populatedbysouthernmigrantsandslum
dwellers forced out of the centre by demolitions, these areas were
separatedfromthecitybyseveralmilesofbarrencountryside.Large
areas lacked running water or sewage systems. This situation was
worsenedfurtherbythewarandcollapseofthergimesfoodsupplies,
suchthatby1944survivalitselfbecamecitizensmostpressingconcern.
As Silverio Corvisieri wrote: It is true that hunger pushes the wolf
fromitslair,andthatalackoffoodrepresentsanincentivetorebellion,
butthisdoesnotdenythefactthatthereisalimittowhatahuman
beingcanbear.
This kind of situation did not augur well for establishing organs of
counterpower,encouraginganarrowshorttermfocus:getItalyfree
fromtheNazis,gettheeconomygoingagain,andthenwecandiscuss
socialism. While the resurgent workingclass movement did display
imaginativetactics theTurintramdriverswhowentonstrike by
refusing to take any fares, or the countless examples of raids on
staterunorWehrmachtfoodstoresthisdidnotnecessarilybuildany
lastingorganisation.Moreover,theNazisadoptedaneectivecarrot
andstickstrategy,whichterrorisedthemasseswithhostagetakingand
reprisalsforantifascistattacks,atthesametimeasgrantinglimited
concessionsoverrations.
TheAlliesalsoexertedpressureontheworkersmovementfromthe
outside.InNaples,answeringCommunistPartyrequests,theAmerican
military government revoked the licence of the radical trade union
federations newspaper, until its editor was replaced with a PCI
member. At Villa Borghese in May 1944 a British Army emissary
arrogantlyorderedtheMCdIsAntoninoPocethattheremustbeno
popularinsurrectionagainsttheNazisinRome;Poceangrilyobjected
thataBritishmajorhadnorighttotellcommunistswhattodo,but
sincethisorderalsomeantthePCIwouldnotparticipate,theBandiera
Rossasforceshadnochoicebuttoknuckleunder.Thatsamemonth,
when workers in Frances second city Marseille revolted against the
fascistauthoritiesoveracutinthebreadration,theirgeneralstrike,
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gripping the whole city, was crushed by American bombers. 1,752

peoplewerekilled.
Alliedinterventionwasnoidlethreat:thewesternimperialistpowers
weredeterminedtosetthetermsofliberationandthenewEurope.In
Greece the Allies took sides with the farright monarchy and
suppressed the Communist Partyled resistance movement. On a
smaller scale, after the Allied occupation of Rome and the
reconstitutionofthelocalstate,thepolicemountedamassiveoensive
againsttheborgate.Therewereaseriesofarmedassaults,roundingup
thousands of partisans: in the Quarticciolo district alone there were
some700arrests,withresidentslinedupagainstthewallatgunpoint
andrevolutionariesforcedtoidentifythemselves.
But the MCdIs own strategy also imposed limits on its growth.
Despiteitsanticapitalistpolitics,itthrewallofitsorganisationaleorts
into fighting the Germans: it even stopped publishing its popular
newspaper in order to focus on military resistance. Moreover, the
revolutionarylefthadnonationalorganisationwhereasthePCIwas
welldrilledandeectiveinpropagandisingforitsline.WhilethePCI
membership in Rome soared from 300 in July 1943 to 1,700 in
November 1943 and 39,000 in December 1944 over this period the
MCdIonlygrewfrom2,500to6,000.
Conclusions
1945wasnotarepeatoftherevolutionaryconclusionofWorldWarI,
butonlyafaintecho.Therulingclasswasfarbetterpreparedtoimpose
aneworder,makingconcessionstotheworkingclassinordertoavert
revolution.Stalinismwasanactiveagentofthisprocess.However,itis
also important to understand why those with truly revolutionary
ambitionsfailedtomakemoreofanimpressiononevents.
Here I have just briefly sketched some of the forces involved in the
antifascist resistance movements and the communists who rivalled
them from the left. Of course this does not fully explain all the
particular episodes of the war, but rather the reasons why dierent
tendenciesbehavedastheydid.Ifeelthattheseexperiencesarerichin
importantlessonswhichtranscendthespecificdynamicsoftheperiod.
Oneisthatthereisnotmuchuseinhavingacorrectpoliticallineifyou
eitherdonothingtoputitintoaction,orelsegetstuckintoactivismand
leavethepoliticalvisionbythewayside.ThosewhorejectedStalinist
politicsofnationalunity,butthemselvessupportedantiNaziresistance
movements,oftenfellintothiscontradiction.
Coalitionshaveastrongtendencytoadvancethepowerofthosewho
alreadystandclosesttothehegemonicinstitutions,sincecapitalismcan
acceptthesenewleadersintoitsmidstwhilepacifyingtheresistance
movementsfromwhichtheyemerge.
Thegreaterlesson,however,itthatitisnogoodfightingaparticular
rgimewithoutatthesametimebuildingsomeformofcounterpower
withwhichtoreplaceit:fightinganauthoritarianrgimeinunitywith
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bourgeoisdemocratswillsimplybringthelattertopower.Themeans
ofstrugglearereplicatedintheendsachieved.
Date:March11,2011
Tags:frenchresistance,italianpartisans,stalinism,thecommune,
worldwarII
Categories:imperialism,thecommune,workersactionagainstwar
CreateafreewebsiteorblogatWordPress.com. TheFreshyTheme.
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A Hope Unfulfilled. Communists in World War II

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