Publications by Joshua Cohen
Fascism: Journal of Comparative Fascist Studies, 2020
This article considers the extent to which the Holocaust galvanized British antifascism in the 19... more This article considers the extent to which the Holocaust galvanized British antifascism in the 1960s. It explores whether the genocide surfaced in Jewish antifascists’ motivations and rhetoric but goes beyond this to assess the Holocaust’s political capital in wider antifascism and anti-racism. The article considers whether political coalitions were negotiated around Holocaust memory, for example, by analysing whether Jewish antifascism intersected with the black and Asian communities of Smethwick and Southall respectively who were targeted by the far right in 1964. Using archival materials and newly-collected oral histories, the article surveys organisations including the Jewish Board of Deputies, the 62 Group, Yellow Star Movement and Searchlight newspaper. It will argue that the Holocaust played a more important role in 1960s’antifascism than has been recognised. Jewish groups fragmented around the lessons of the genocide for their antifascism. The Holocaust influenced race relations legislation and became a metonym for extreme racist violence.
H-Socialisms: H-Net Reviews, 2020
H-Socialisms: H-Net Reviews, 2020
Joshua Cohen. Review of Brown, Wendy. In the Ruins of Neoliberalism: The Rise of Antidemocratic P... more Joshua Cohen. Review of Brown, Wendy. In the Ruins of Neoliberalism: The Rise of Antidemocratic Politics in the West. H-Socialisms, H-Net Reviews. May, 2020.
H-Socialisms: H-Net Reviews, 2019
European History Quarterly, 2017
Twentieth Century Communism, 2018
British Library Sound and Vision blog, 2019
Conference Presentations by Joshua Cohen
British anti-fascism is neglected social history: ‘in relative terms, far more people supported t... more British anti-fascism is neglected social history: ‘in relative terms, far more people supported the anti-fascist cause than ever supported fascist organisations’ (Copsey, 2000). The historiography of British fascism far outweighs the fascist parties’ political and social impact: anti-fascism has the greater claim to be considered a genuine mass movement.
This paper explores anti-fascist veterans’ motivations and activism, contextualizing these within a dynamic relationship between official ideologies and socially-rooted responses to fascism. For example, Jewish anti-fascist veterans, in oral testimony collected since the 1990s, tend to emphasise the galvanising effect of the Holocaust on their activism, describing their impulses to revenge as resulting from personal reactions and discussions with peers (especially ex-servicemen). However, the genocide surfaces less clearly in archival material of anti-fascist organisations. Dissonance between official and non-official anti-fascist discourses is at the heart of this paper.
The paper presents a case study of the militant anti-fascist ‘43 Group’ of Jewish ex-servicemen and women. It explores the Group’s motivations and active appeal, drawing on its newspaper 'On Guard', as well as oral life histories and memoirs. 'On Guard' evoked the unifying memory of Britain’s wartime experience and assumed a moderate, non-sectarian identity, in order to build a united front against fascism. In this appeal, the Holocaust was not as important as reference to the Second World War and postwar realities. However, oral testimony reveals a socially-constructed anti-fascism, mobilised around Jewish identities, and family and peer-group reactions to the Nazi genocide and the spectre of postwar fascism.
This paper questions whether the Holocaust galvanised the anti-fascist '43 Group'. This was a mov... more This paper questions whether the Holocaust galvanised the anti-fascist '43 Group'. This was a movement of, almost exclusively, Jewish ex-servicemen and women who returned from wartime duties to encounter resurgent fascism. The 43 Group used violence to break up fascist meetings. The paper argues that even this militant Jewish anti-fascist group had to balance its activism, through the active appeal it made in its 'On Guard' newspaper. The Group used 'On Guard' to appeal to a united front against fascism, transcending the Jewish community. In doing so, it appealed to the wider commonality of Britain's wartime experience of fighting fascism and broader post-war realities. This led it to marginalise references to the Holocaust. However, an interesting methodological issue presents in that oral life histories, captured since the 1990s, do tend to cite the Holocaust as the major factor in participants' turn to anti-fascism. Subsequent papers will explore whether this represents a reflective application of our modern sense of Holocaust remembrance to original reasons for joining the Group.
Research seminars by Joshua Cohen
Veterans of British anti-fascism, in oral testimony collected since the 1990s, tend to emphasise ... more Veterans of British anti-fascism, in oral testimony collected since the 1990s, tend to emphasise the galvanising effect of the Holocaust on their activism. However, the genocide surfaces less clearly in archival material of anti-fascist organisations from 1945-1967. This dissonance is at the heart of the research project, which analyses the motivations and aims of British anti-fascists. Through this, it will assess whether the Holocaust should be decentred to enable a better understanding of anti-fascism in this period. The historiography of postwar British anti-fascism is slight and - crucially - there has been little analysis of the Holocaust’s importance to the movement.
This paper will present a case study of the ‘43 Group’ of Jewish ex-servicemen and women, which used violence to break up fascist meetings in the period 1946-1951. The paper will explore the group’s motivations and active appeal, drawing on its monthly newspaper On Guard, as well as oral life histories and memoirs created over the last twenty-five years. The paper will argue that On Guard evoked the unifying memory of Britain’s wartime experience and assumed a moderate, non-sectarian identity, in order to build a united front against fascism. In this appeal, the Holocaust was not as important as reference to wider wartime and postwar realities. The paper will outline future research intended to elicit how the Holocaust might have come to emerge so much more strongly in anti-fascists’ recent recollections of their experience of activism.
Public talks by Joshua Cohen
Papers by Joshua Cohen
Fascism, 2020
This article considers the extent to which the Holocaust galvanized British antifascism in the 19... more This article considers the extent to which the Holocaust galvanized British antifascism in the 1960s. It explores whether the genocide surfaced in Jewish antifascists’ motivations and rhetoric but goes beyond this to assess the Holocaust’s political capital in wider antifascism and anti-racism. The article considers whether political coalitions were negotiated around Holocaust memory, for example, by analysing whether Jewish antifascism intersected with the black and Asian communities of Smethwick and Southall respectively who were targeted by the far right in 1964. Using archival materials and newly-collected oral histories, the article surveys organisations including the Jewish Board of Deputies, the 62 Group, Yellow Star Movement and Searchlight newspaper. It will argue that the Holocaust played a more important role in 1960s’antifascism than has been recognised. Jewish groups fragmented around the lessons of the genocide for their antifascism. The Holocaust influenced race relat...
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Publications by Joshua Cohen
Conference Presentations by Joshua Cohen
This paper explores anti-fascist veterans’ motivations and activism, contextualizing these within a dynamic relationship between official ideologies and socially-rooted responses to fascism. For example, Jewish anti-fascist veterans, in oral testimony collected since the 1990s, tend to emphasise the galvanising effect of the Holocaust on their activism, describing their impulses to revenge as resulting from personal reactions and discussions with peers (especially ex-servicemen). However, the genocide surfaces less clearly in archival material of anti-fascist organisations. Dissonance between official and non-official anti-fascist discourses is at the heart of this paper.
The paper presents a case study of the militant anti-fascist ‘43 Group’ of Jewish ex-servicemen and women. It explores the Group’s motivations and active appeal, drawing on its newspaper 'On Guard', as well as oral life histories and memoirs. 'On Guard' evoked the unifying memory of Britain’s wartime experience and assumed a moderate, non-sectarian identity, in order to build a united front against fascism. In this appeal, the Holocaust was not as important as reference to the Second World War and postwar realities. However, oral testimony reveals a socially-constructed anti-fascism, mobilised around Jewish identities, and family and peer-group reactions to the Nazi genocide and the spectre of postwar fascism.
Research seminars by Joshua Cohen
This paper will present a case study of the ‘43 Group’ of Jewish ex-servicemen and women, which used violence to break up fascist meetings in the period 1946-1951. The paper will explore the group’s motivations and active appeal, drawing on its monthly newspaper On Guard, as well as oral life histories and memoirs created over the last twenty-five years. The paper will argue that On Guard evoked the unifying memory of Britain’s wartime experience and assumed a moderate, non-sectarian identity, in order to build a united front against fascism. In this appeal, the Holocaust was not as important as reference to wider wartime and postwar realities. The paper will outline future research intended to elicit how the Holocaust might have come to emerge so much more strongly in anti-fascists’ recent recollections of their experience of activism.
Public talks by Joshua Cohen
Papers by Joshua Cohen
This paper explores anti-fascist veterans’ motivations and activism, contextualizing these within a dynamic relationship between official ideologies and socially-rooted responses to fascism. For example, Jewish anti-fascist veterans, in oral testimony collected since the 1990s, tend to emphasise the galvanising effect of the Holocaust on their activism, describing their impulses to revenge as resulting from personal reactions and discussions with peers (especially ex-servicemen). However, the genocide surfaces less clearly in archival material of anti-fascist organisations. Dissonance between official and non-official anti-fascist discourses is at the heart of this paper.
The paper presents a case study of the militant anti-fascist ‘43 Group’ of Jewish ex-servicemen and women. It explores the Group’s motivations and active appeal, drawing on its newspaper 'On Guard', as well as oral life histories and memoirs. 'On Guard' evoked the unifying memory of Britain’s wartime experience and assumed a moderate, non-sectarian identity, in order to build a united front against fascism. In this appeal, the Holocaust was not as important as reference to the Second World War and postwar realities. However, oral testimony reveals a socially-constructed anti-fascism, mobilised around Jewish identities, and family and peer-group reactions to the Nazi genocide and the spectre of postwar fascism.
This paper will present a case study of the ‘43 Group’ of Jewish ex-servicemen and women, which used violence to break up fascist meetings in the period 1946-1951. The paper will explore the group’s motivations and active appeal, drawing on its monthly newspaper On Guard, as well as oral life histories and memoirs created over the last twenty-five years. The paper will argue that On Guard evoked the unifying memory of Britain’s wartime experience and assumed a moderate, non-sectarian identity, in order to build a united front against fascism. In this appeal, the Holocaust was not as important as reference to wider wartime and postwar realities. The paper will outline future research intended to elicit how the Holocaust might have come to emerge so much more strongly in anti-fascists’ recent recollections of their experience of activism.