Mastodawn

On the 4th October, 1936, the British Union of Fascists had planned a march to the East End of London.

Despite the petition of East Londoners, with 100,000 signatures over two days, the Home Office declined to ban the march. Authorities refused to allow a counter-march by the Ex-Servicemen's Movement Against Fascism, because the fascists had organised their march first.

On the day, around 3,000 fascists turned up for the march, protected by more than double that number in police.

The fascists and police were resisted by over ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND anti-fascists who erected barricades, chanting "They Shall Not Pass". Police attempted to dismantle the barricades and clear a path for the fascists, and were pelted with rotten vegetables, and the contents of chamber-pots thrown from upstairs residents.

There's a damn good reason why fascism had a hard time establishing itself in the UK; I'm pretty sure it wasn't the government nor the police.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cable_Street

#fascism #antifa

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Flippin' 'eck, Tucker!Nov 24

@pjf How can you mention the Battle of Cable Street without saying the word "Jewish" even once?

The East End was targetted by Mosley specifically because of its huge Jewish population.

The counter-mobilisation was organised jointly by local Jewish community organisations and the Communist Party (who were in many cases one and the same individuals).

And the thing that stopped the fascists wasn't just the fact that large numbers of organised anti-fascists turned up. It was that the entire community - men, women, children, the elderly, all overwhelmingly Jews - came out of their houses and stood on their own streets shoulder to shoulder to say They Shall Not Pass.

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catch

@losttourist @pjf the communist party originally organised a central London rally on the same day that would have drawn people away, it was only local CP activists that prevented this from happening. Joe Jacobs' account covers this.

https://libcom.org/article/battle-cable-st-1936-joe-jacobs

The Battle of Cable St, 1936 - Joe Jacobs

Joe Jacobs was in 1936 a local Communist Party activist in London's East End. This is his account of his involvement in the famous defence of the East End against an attempted march by Mosley's fascists.

libcom.org