tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8650332.post8430189893695676108..comments2024-03-18T08:20:19.461+00:00Comments on Transpontine: Eleanor Marx in SydenhamUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8650332.post-22700618553277727182008-10-02T23:19:00.000+00:002008-10-02T23:19:00.000+00:00The anarchists dont have the hang ups about the in...The anarchists dont have the hang ups about the international Brigade as the POUM<BR/><BR/>Many people went from Lewisham to fight against Franco's fascists in the International Brigade<BR/><BR/>They should be honoured<BR/><BR/>they tried to stop Hitlers fascists while most others were still calling it a capitalist war<BR/><BR/>Yes the surpression of POUM and the CNT was wrong but that was never the fault of the rank and file Brigade memberAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8650332.post-13802060050931173832008-10-02T18:21:00.000+00:002008-10-02T18:21:00.000+00:00If it wasnt for Stalin or the Red Army we would be...If it wasnt for Stalin or the Red Army we would be speaking German<BR/>FACT<BR/><BR/>As they did on the Channel Islands under the Nazi jackboot and a Quisling governmnetAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8650332.post-59228510710802743692008-09-30T09:13:00.000+00:002008-09-30T09:13:00.000+00:00Not sure I get what you're saying anonymous. In th...Not sure I get what you're saying anonymous. In the News Shopper article about Eleanor, who is one of my heroes, they gave a lot of prominence to the presence of CPB activists and the Strawberry Thieves choir featured prominently in the photo. So, it was good to see the video on Sydenham Town and realise that Eleanor's broader significance had a starring role on the day, and that her local connections were also explored. <BR/><BR/>So, I didn't mean to say anything about Les Stannard and Kath Duncan and their like. I have a lot of respect for the Communists of the 1930s, who made sacrifices to fight against fascism in Britain, to support those fighting fascism in Spain, and to fight for workers rights locally, nationally and globally. But, ultimately, the version of "socialism" they defended was not good news for the working class. <BR/><BR/>Republican Spain, whose cause both KD and LS were dedicated to, demonstrates this well. The Communist International of which they were part, and the International Brigades it controlled, and the Republican government it eventually took over, fought Franco, to be sure, but they also squashed working class revolts, and murdered hundreds, if not thousands, of working class militants from other groups, like the POUM and the anarchists. They consciously told lies about these people being in league with fascism, which is a stain on the honour of the working class movement. <BR/><BR/>While most of the CP activists in 1930s can be forgiven for this, anyone who continued to support that line after the Hitler-Stalin pact, after the Kruschev revelations, after the invasion of Hungary in 56 and Czechoslavakia in 68, after Martial Law in Poland, etc, is dangerously deluded or plain evil, and it is them to whom I am referring when I say "sad Stalinists". <BR/><BR/>More on this in <A HREF="http://brockley.blogspot.com/search/label/Spanish%20Civil%20War" REL="nofollow">my series on the Spanish Civil War</A> and in particular <A HREF="http://brockley.blogspot.com/2008/08/spanish-civil-war-in-san-francisco.html" REL="nofollow">here (on the Abraham Lincoln Brigade)</A> and <A HREF="http://brockley.blogspot.com/2008/06/alexander-cockburn-and-counterpunch.html" REL="nofollow">here (on the Daily Worker's Claud Cockburn)</A>.bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15439386754907203808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8650332.post-13617044648667594482008-09-29T15:29:00.000+00:002008-09-29T15:29:00.000+00:00Sad Stalinists like the late great Les Stannard or...Sad Stalinists like the late great Les Stannard or Kath Duncan<BR/><BR/>People who gave their lives to the cause of the working class of LewishamAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8650332.post-89177540855697300772008-09-29T13:32:00.000+00:002008-09-29T13:32:00.000+00:00That's a nice video at Sydenham Town. The News Sho...That's a nice video at Sydenham Town. The News Shopper's article on this was completely dominated by sad old Stalinists, so it was good to see a more rounded version. That rendition of the Internationale, though, is appalling - even my singing would probably have sounded better! ;)bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15439386754907203808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8650332.post-56554121827698888682008-09-28T19:27:00.000+00:002008-09-28T19:27:00.000+00:00Leanor Marx undoubtedly one Britain's greatest soc...Leanor Marx undoubtedly one Britain's greatest socialists.<BR/><BR/>yet not fully recognisedAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com