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=Fascism and National Socialism=

=Fascism and National Socialism=

[[George Orwell]], a socialist who fought for the Soviet-backed government of Spain in the Spanish Civil War, wrote prophetically in 1936 that "Socialism, in the form in which it is now presented, appeals chiefly to unsatisfactory or even inhuman types," including, among others, "the astute young social-literary climbers who are Communists now, as they will be Fascists five years hence, because it is all the go."<ref>George Orwell, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=E-ZpkC4RNfIC The Road to Wigan Pier]'' (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1958) ISBN 0156767503, p. 182</ref> Five years later, Hitler and Stalin were partners in the [[Nazi-Soviet pact]], the joint invasion of Poland and the division of Europe; Orwell watched in despair as his former comrades supported the pact, even as Hitler launched his Blitz on London.<ref>"[T]he Nazi-Soviet Pact and the Lincolns' willingness to change their position on the antifascist struggle in order to conform to Soviet policy would forever cast a shadow on their legacy, as it would with the other elements of the Communist Left." [http://www.alba-valb.org/resources/lessons/world-war-ii-letters-from-the-abraham-lincoln-brigade/before-pearl-harbor Before Pearl Harbor], World War II Letters from the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives</ref>

[[George Orwell]], a socialist who fought for the Soviet-backed government of Spain in the Spanish Civil War, wrote prophetically in 1936 that "Socialism, in the form in which it is now presented, appeals chiefly to unsatisfactory or even inhuman types," including, among others, "the astute young social-literary climbers who are Communists now, as they will be Fascists five years hence, because it is [http://www.macmillandictionary.com/thesaurus/british/go_106#all-the-go_1 all the go]."<ref>George Orwell, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=E-ZpkC4RNfIC The Road to Wigan Pier]'' (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1958) ISBN 0156767503, p. 182</ref> Five years later, Hitler and Stalin were partners in the [[Nazi-Soviet pact]], the joint invasion of Poland and the division of Europe; Orwell watched in despair as his former comrades supported the pact, even as Hitler launched his Blitz on London.<ref>"[T]he Nazi-Soviet Pact and the Lincolns' willingness to change their position on the antifascist struggle in order to conform to Soviet policy would forever cast a shadow on their legacy, as it would with the other elements of the Communist Left." [http://www.alba-valb.org/resources/lessons/world-war-ii-letters-from-the-abraham-lincoln-brigade/before-pearl-harbor Before Pearl Harbor], World War II Letters from the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives</ref>

When Britain declared war on the Nazis, German Communist Party leader Walter Ulbricht denounced not Naziism but "English Imperialism" as “the most reactionary force in the world”:<ref>[http://library.fes.de/fulltext/sozmit/1940-008.htm ''Sozialistische Mitteilungen'', No. 8] (April 18, 1940)</ref> “The [Nazi] German government declared itself ready for friendly relations with the Soviet Union, whereas the English-French war bloc desires a war against the socialist Soviet Union,” declared Ulbricht. “The Soviet people and the working people of Germany have an interest in preventing the English war plan.”<ref>''Die Welt'', February 1940. Cited in: Walther Hofer: Die Entfesselung des Zweiten Weltkrieges, 2007, Lit Verlag, ISBN 9783825803834; S. 224–225</ref> When France fell to the Nazi invaders, French Communist Party leaders Maurice Thorez and Jacques Duclos celebrated, declaring that "the struggle of the French people has the same aim as the struggle of [Nazi] German imperialism." During the battle of Britain, "Communists in the factories actually fomented strikes, and spread defeatist propaganda in the blitzed areas of London," writes Orwell prize winning<ref>[http://theorwellprize.co.uk/shortlists/peter-hitchens/ Peter Hitchens], theorwellprize.co.uk</ref> journalist Peter Hitchens.<ref>[http://hitchensblog.mailonsunday.co.uk/2010/07/a-final-word.html A Final Word], ''The Mail on Sunday'', July 5, 2010</ref>

When Britain declared war on the Nazis, German Communist Party leader Walter Ulbricht denounced not Naziism but "English Imperialism" as “the most reactionary force in the world”:<ref>[http://library.fes.de/fulltext/sozmit/1940-008.htm ''Sozialistische Mitteilungen'', No. 8] (April 18, 1940)</ref> “The [Nazi] German government declared itself ready for friendly relations with the Soviet Union, whereas the English-French war bloc desires a war against the socialist Soviet Union,” declared Ulbricht. “The Soviet people and the working people of Germany have an interest in preventing the English war plan.”<ref>''Die Welt'', February 1940. Cited in: Walther Hofer: Die Entfesselung des Zweiten Weltkrieges, 2007, Lit Verlag, ISBN 9783825803834; S. 224–225</ref> When France fell to the Nazi invaders, French Communist Party leaders Maurice Thorez and Jacques Duclos celebrated, declaring that "the struggle of the French people has the same aim as the struggle of [Nazi] German imperialism." During the battle of Britain, "Communists in the factories actually fomented strikes, and spread defeatist propaganda in the blitzed areas of London," writes Orwell prize winning<ref>[http://theorwellprize.co.uk/shortlists/peter-hitchens/ Peter Hitchens], theorwellprize.co.uk</ref> journalist Peter Hitchens.<ref>[http://hitchensblog.mailonsunday.co.uk/2010/07/a-final-word.html A Final Word], ''The Mail on Sunday'', July 5, 2010</ref>