That Time 100,000 Leftist Brits Kicked The Nazis' Asses -- October 4, 1936, in labor history!

[erronis]

https://www.wonkette.com/p/that-time-100000-leftist-brits-kicked
Erik Loomis



A good history read.

On October 4, 1936, British fascists decided to hold a march in London. The British labor movement and others on the Left who despised these fascists bastards showed up ready to fight, and for the most part, they won the day. The Battle of Cable Street became an iconic moment in 20th century British history. It’s all too relevant today as well. We need to learn from this.

The specter of fascism appeals to far too many people. That’s sadly become true again in the 21st century, and the future of democracy in the United States and other nations remains unclear. That was most certainly true in the 1930s too. With the rise of Mussolini in Italy, the appeal just grew. In 1932, the vile Oswald Mosley started the British Union of Fascists. Initially, the BUF had a lot of supporters and even had 50,000 members at one point. But the rise of Hitler and the clear desire of Mosley to follow in those footsteps led to a sharp decline in membership numbers. But that didn’t stop the radicalism of Mosley and the use of violence against decent humans. In 1934, during the Olympia Rally, the Fascist Defence Force, the BUF’s paramilitary wing, beat up some antifascists.

. . .

Now, there were about 3,000 fascists. There were about 6,000 cops. They were more or less on the side of the fascists, as cops usually are. The anti-fascist forces? Minimum 100,000 and some have suggested up to three times that. But even if you go with the conservative estimates, it’s a lot of pissed off people. One of the most important people here was Communist Party activist Phil Piratin. He was also Jewish and so Oswald’s attacks were quite personal, as well as political. And like everyone came out on the East End. You didn’t even have to be political. Yes, it was largely Jews leading the resistance. But it became about as pan-religious as you could get. Catholics, Protestants, and Jews, all ready to fight fascists, showed up. Even a group of Somali Muslims in port came out, and this at a time when there were almost no Muslims in England. Initially, the Communist Party was to hold a rally the same day at Trafalgar Square but they cancelled it and urged everyone to come fight the fascists in the East End.

. . .

Let’s fight the fucking fascists today, including in the streets.

Sorry for the rough clipping. Much better to read the original!

[Bernardo de La Paz]

1. Mosley and blackshirts