Anti-fascism is apolitical movement in opposition tofascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and duringWorld War II, where theAxis powers were opposed by many countries forming theAllies of World War II and dozens ofresistance movements worldwide. Anti-fascism has been an element of movements across the political spectrum and holding many different political positions such asanarchism,communism,pacifism,republicanism,social democracy,socialism andsyndicalism as well ascentrist,conservative,liberal andnationalist viewpoints.

Fascism, afar-rightultra-nationalistic ideology best known for its use by theItalian Fascists and theNazis, became prominent beginning in the 1910s. Organization against fascism began around 1920. Fascism became the state ideology of Italy in 1922 and of Germany in 1933, spurring a large increase in anti-fascist action, includingGerman resistance to Nazism and theItalian resistance movement. Anti-fascism was a major aspect of theSpanish Civil War, which foreshadowed World War II.

Before World War II,the West had not taken seriously the threat of fascism, and anti-fascism was sometimes associated with communism. However, theoutbreak of World War II greatly changed Western perceptions, and fascism was seen as an existential threat by not only thecommunist Soviet Union but also by theliberal-democratic United States and United Kingdom. The Axis Powers of World War II were generally fascist, and the fight against them was characterized in anti-fascist terms.Resistance during World War II to fascism occurred in every occupied country, and came from across the ideological spectrum. The defeat of the Axis powers generally ended fascism as a state ideology.

After World War II, the anti-fascist movement continued to be active in places where organized fascism continued or re-emerged. There was a resurgence ofantifa in Germany in the 1980s, as a response to the invasion of thepunk scene byneo-Nazis. This influenced theantifa movement in the United States in the late 1980s and 1990s, which was similarly carried by punks. In the 21st century, this greatly increased in prominence as a response to the resurgence of theradical right, especially after theelection of Donald Trump.^[1][2]

Afasces (/ˈfæsiːz/FASS-eez;Latin:[ˈfaskeːs]; aplurale tantum, from theLatin wordfascis, meaning 'bundle';Italian:fascio littorio) is a bound bundle of wooden rods, often but not always including an axe (occasionally two axes) with its blade emerging. The fasces is an Italian symbol that had its origin in theEtruscan civilization and was passed on toancient Rome, where it symbolized aRoman king's power to punish his subjects,^[3] and later, amagistrate'spower andjurisdiction. They were carried in a procession with a magistrate bylictors, who carried the fasces and at times used the birch rods as punishment to enforce obedience with magisterial commands.^[4] In common language and literature, the fasces were regularly associated with certain offices:praetors were referred to in Greek as thehexapelekys (lit. 'six axes') and theconsuls were referred to as "the twelve fasces" as literarymetonymy.^[5] Beyond serving as insignia of office, it also symbolised theRoman Republic and its prestige.^[6]

After the classical period, with thefall of the Roman state, thinkers were removed from the "psychological terror generated by the original Roman fasces" in the antique period. By theRenaissance, there emerged a conflation of the fasces with a Greekfable first recorded byBabrius in the second century AD depicting how individual sticks can be easily broken but how a bundle could not be.^[7] This story is common across Eurasian culture and by the thirteenth century AD was recorded in theSecret History of the Mongols.^[8] While there is no historical connection between the original fasces and this fable,^[9] by the sixteenth century AD, fasces were "inextricably linked" with interpretations of the fable as one expressing unity and harmony.^[8]Italian Fascism, which derives its name from the fasces, arguably used this symbolism the most in the 20th century.

With the development and spread ofItalian Fascism, i.e. the original fascism, theNational Fascist Party's ideology was met with increasingly militant opposition by Italian communists and socialists. Organizations such asArditi del Popolo^[10] and theItalian Anarchist Union emerged between 1919 and 1921, to combat the nationalist and fascist surge of the post-World War I period.

In the words of historianEric Hobsbawm, as fascism developed and spread, a "nationalism of the left" developed in those nations threatened by Italianirredentism (e.g. in theBalkans, andAlbania in particular).^[11] After the outbreak of World War II, theAlbanian andYugoslav resistances were instrumental in antifascist action and underground resistance. This combination of irreconcilable nationalisms andleftist partisans constitute the earliest roots of European anti-fascism. Less militant forms of anti-fascism arose later. During the 1930s in Britain, "Christians – especially theChurch of England – provided both a language of opposition to fascism and inspired anti-fascist action".^[12] French philosopherGeorges Bataille believed thatFriedrich Nietzsche was a forerunner of anti-fascism due to his derision for nationalism and racism.^[13]

Michael Seidman argues that traditionally anti-fascism was seen as the purview of thepolitical left but that in recent years this has been questioned. Seidman identifies two types of anti-fascism, namely revolutionary and counterrevolutionary:^[14]

• Revolutionary anti-fascism was expressed amongst communists and anarchists, where it identified fascism and capitalism as its enemies and made little distinction between fascism and other forms of right-wing authoritarianism.^[15] It did not disappear after the Second World War but was used as an official ideology of the Soviet bloc, with the "fascist" West as the new enemy.
• Counterrevolutionary anti-fascism was much more conservative in nature, with Seidman arguing that Charles de Gaulle and Winston Churchill represented examples of it and that they tried to win the masses to their cause. Counterrevolutionary antifascists desired to ensure the restoration or continuation of the prewar old regime and conservative antifascists disliked fascism's erasure of the distinction between the public and private spheres. Like its revolutionary counterpart, it would outlast fascism once the Second World War ended.

Seidman argues that despite the differences between these two strands of anti-fascism, there were similarities. They would both come to regard violent expansion as intrinsic to the fascist project. They both rejected any claim that theVersailles Treaty was responsible for the rise of Nazism and instead viewed fascist dynamism as the cause of conflict. Unlike fascism, these two types of anti-fascism did not promise a quick victory but an extended struggle against a powerful enemy. During World War II, both anti-fascisms responded to fascist aggression by creating a cult of heroism which relegated victims to a secondary position.^[14] However, after the war, conflict arose between the revolutionary and counterrevolutionary anti-fascisms; the victory of the Western Allies allowed them to restore the old regimes of liberal democracy in Western Europe, while Soviet victory in Eastern Europe allowed for the establishment of new revolutionary anti-fascist regimes there.^[16]

Counterrevolutionary anti-fascism, also known as conservative and liberal anti-fascism, refers to the opposition to fascism grounded in the defense of democracy, constitutional order, and traditional institutions. Unlike revolutionary anti-fascism, which aims for social and political transformation, counterrevolutionary anti-fascism is focused on preserving or restoring pre-war political systems, such as constitutional monarchies and republics based on Enlightenment ideals.^{[17][18][19][20]}

This form of anti-fascism is often associated with prominent figures such asFranklin D. Roosevelt,Winston Churchill andCharles de Gaulle, who opposed fascist authoritarianism while also resisting revolutionary movements that sought to radically change society.^[18][21] It was supported by a broad coalition of groups, including capitalists, trade unionists, social democrats, and traditionalists, all of whom united in their opposition to fascism and their support for political stability.^[18][19][21]

Counterrevolutionary anti-fascism sought to challenge fascist ideologies and movements, aiming to preserve existing democratic structures and stabilize society. It focused on reinforcing confidence in democratic governance and addressing extremist movements, setting itself apart from revolutionary anti-fascism, which frequently aimed at challenging capitalist systems.^[18][19]

In Britain, conservative anti-fascism primarily concentrated on maintaining democratic governance and marginalizing fascist groups through legal and institutional means.^[22][20] Liberal anti-fascism, on the other hand, opposed fascism through media campaigns, petitions, parliamentary debates, and public discourse. Both forms recognized fascism as a threat to state stability, and both approached revolutionary ideologies, including communism, with caution.^[22][20] British counterrevolutionary anti-fascism in the 1930s was shaped by an alliance that transcended traditional political divisions. Churchill's leadership was pivotal in creating an antifascist front that included both conservative and social democratic figures.^[22][20] This coalition rejected the idea that fascism was the only way to prevent communism and instead promoted a defense of "ordered freedom," which emphasized representative democracy, religious tolerance, and private property.^[22][20] Through organizations like theAnti-Nazi Council, the counterrevolutionary antifascist movement rallied elites across the political spectrum, including trade unionists and churchmen, to oppose fascism and preserve liberal democracy.^[22][20] This broader vision of antifascism, distinct from Marxist and communist approaches, helped shape Britain’s resistance to Nazi aggression.^[20][22]

French counterrevolutionary anti-fascism, particularly in the years leading up to and during World War II, was characterized by opposition to both Italian Fascism and German Nazism.^[23] Figures such asBenjamin Crémieux, a Jewish intellectual, criticized Mussolini's anti-parliamentarianism and the Fascist regime's approach to democracy, expressing concern about a potential alignment between Italian Fascism and far-right movements in France.^[23] Meanwhile, journals like L’Europe Nouvelle and individuals such asGeorges Bernanos and Charles de Gaulle opposed the policy of appeasement, emphasizing the potential dangers of Fascism's totalitarianism.^[23] They also critiqued the French right’s minimization of the threats posed by Hitler and Mussolini and advocated for an anti-fascist stance, which, in some cases, included support for alliances with the Soviet Union despite differing views on Communism.^[23] This counterrevolutionary anti-fascism was influenced by concerns over national sovereignty, democracy, and resistance to totalitarian movements.^[23]

In the United States, a coalition of liberals and conservatives, particularly under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, opposed fascism through both political and military means, with an emphasis on preserving democratic institutions in the face of growing fascist threats.^[18][21][24] American counterrevolutionary anti-fascism emerged as a response to the increasing spread of fascism in Europe and the potential for its expansion into the Western Hemisphere.^[18][21][24] Initially, Roosevelt navigated a delicate balance, adopting limited measures to avoid alienating isolationist sentiment while preparing for the possibility of war.^[18][21][24] As Germany's expansion progressed, Roosevelt shifted towards providing more active support for Britain and its allies, eventually securing public and political backing for military aid.^[18][21][24] Despite opposition from isolationists and anti-interventionists, Roosevelt's administration, supported by business and labor leaders, increasingly aligned with anti-fascist forces.^[18][21][24] This shift in American foreign policy reinforced the country's focus on countering Nazi Germany, reducing the influence of isolationists, and establishing an anti-fascist position.^[18][21][24] Examples of anti-fascist propaganda in the United States are the filmsHitler's Reign of Terror (1934),^[25] often credited as being the "first-ever American anti-Nazi film,"^[26] andDon't Be a Sucker (1943).^{[27][28][29][30]}

Anti-fascist movements emerged first in Italy during the rise ofBenito Mussolini,^[31] but they soon spread to other European countries and then globally. In the early period, Communist, socialist, anarchist and Christian workers and intellectuals were involved. Until 1928, the period of theUnited front, there was significant collaboration between the Communists and non-Communist anti-fascists.

In 1928, theComintern instituted itsultra-leftThird Period policies, ending co-operation with other left groups, and denouncing social democrats as "social fascists". From 1934 until theMolotov–Ribbentrop Pact, the Communists pursued aPopular Front approach, of building broad-based coalitions with liberal and even conservative anti-fascists. As fascism consolidated its power, and especially duringWorld War II, anti-fascism largely took the form ofpartisan orresistance movements.

In Italy, Mussolini'sFascist regime used the termanti-fascist to describe its opponents. Mussolini'ssecret police was officially known as theOrganization for Vigilance and Repression of Anti-Fascism. During the 1920s in theKingdom of Italy, anti-fascists, many of them from thelabor movement, fought against the violentBlackshirts and against the rise of the fascist leader Benito Mussolini. After theItalian Socialist Party (PSI) signed apacification pact with Mussolini and hisFasces of Combat on 3 August 1921,^[32] and trade unions adopted a legalist and pacified strategy, members of the workers' movement who disagreed with this strategy formedArditi del Popolo.^[33]

TheItalian General Confederation of Labour (CGL) and the PSI refused to officially recognize the anti-fascist militia and maintained a non-violent, legalist strategy, while theCommunist Party of Italy (PCd'I) ordered its members to quit the organization. The PCd'I organized some militant groups, but their actions were relatively minor.^[34] The Italian anarchistSeverino Di Giovanni, who exiled himself to Argentina following the 1922March on Rome, organized several bombings against the Italian fascist community.^[35] The Italian liberal anti-fascistBenedetto Croce wrote hisManifesto of the Anti-Fascist Intellectuals, which was published in 1925.^[36] Other notable Italian liberal anti-fascists around that time werePiero Gobetti andCarlo Rosselli.^[37]

Concentrazione Antifascista Italiana (English:Italian Anti-Fascist Concentration), officially known as Concentrazione d'Azione Antifascista (Anti-Fascist Action Concentration), was an Italian coalition of Anti-Fascist groups which existed from 1927 to 1934. Founded inNérac, France, by expatriate Italians, the CAI was an alliance of non-communist anti-fascist forces (republican, socialist, nationalist) trying to promote and to coordinate expatriate actions to fight fascism in Italy; they published a propaganda paper entitledLa Libertà.^[38][39][40]

Giustizia e Libertà (English:Justice and Freedom) was an Italiananti-fascistresistance movement, active from 1929 to 1945.^[41] The movement was cofounded byCarlo Rosselli,^[41]Ferruccio Parri, who later becamePrime Minister of Italy, andSandro Pertini, who becamePresident of Italy, were among the movement's leaders.^[42] The movement's members held various political beliefs but shared a belief in active, effective opposition to fascism, compared to the older Italian anti-fascist parties.Giustizia e Libertà also made the international community aware of the realities of fascism in Italy, thanks to the work ofGaetano Salvemini.

Many Italian anti-fascists participated in theSpanish Civil War with the hope of setting an example of armed resistance toFranco's dictatorship against Mussolini's regime; hence their motto: "Today in Spain, tomorrow in Italy".^[43]

Between 1920 and 1943, several anti-fascist movements were active among theSlovenes andCroats in the territories annexed to Italy afterWorld War I, known as theJulian March.^[44][45] The most influential was the militant insurgent organizationTIGR, which carried out numerous sabotages, as well as attacks on representatives of the Fascist Party and the military.^[46][47] Most of the underground structure of the organization was discovered and dismantled by theOrganization for Vigilance and Repression of Anti-Fascism (OVRA) in 1940 and 1941,^[48] and after June 1941 most of its former activists joined theSlovene Partisans.

DuringWorld War II, many members of theItalian resistance left their homes and went to live in the mountains, fighting against Italian fascists andGerman Nazi soldiers during theItalian Civil War. Many cities in Italy, includingTurin,Naples andMilan, were freed by anti-fascist uprisings.^[49]

The anti-fascist resistance emerged within theSlovene minority in Italy (1920–1947), whom the Fascists meant todeprive of their culture, language and ethnicity.^{[citation needed]} The 1920 burning of theNational Hall in Trieste, theSlovene center in the multi-cultural and multi-ethnicTrieste by the Blackshirts,^[50] was praised by Benito Mussolini (yet to become Il Duce) as a "masterpiece of the Triestine fascism" (capolavoro del fascismo triestino).^[51] The use of Slovene in public places, including churches, was forbidden, not only in multi-ethnic areas, but also in the areas where the population was exclusively Slovene.^[52] Children, if they spoke Slovene, were punished by Italian teachers who were brought by the Fascist State fromSouthern Italy. Slovene teachers, writers, and clergy were sent to the other side of Italy.

The first anti-fascist organization, calledTIGR, was formed by Slovenes and Croats in 1927 in order to fight Fascist violence. Its guerrilla fight continued into the late 1920s and 1930s.^[53] By the mid-1930s, 70,000 Slovenes had fled Italy, mostly toSlovenia (then part of Yugoslavia) andSouth America.^[54]

The Slovene anti-fascist resistance inYugoslavia during World War II was led byLiberation Front of the Slovenian People. TheProvince of Ljubljana, occupied by Italian Fascists, saw the deportation of 25,000 people, representing 7.5% of the total population, filling up theRab concentration camp andGonars concentration camp as well as otherItalian concentration camps.

The specific term anti-fascism was primarily used^{[citation needed]} by theCommunist Party of Germany (KPD), which held the view that it was the only anti-fascist party in Germany. The KPD formed several explicitly anti-fascist groups such asRoter Frontkämpferbund (formed in 1924 and banned by theSocial Democrats in 1929) andKampfbund gegen den Faschismus (ade facto successor to the latter).^{[55][56][need quotation to verify][57][need quotation to verify]} At its height,Roter Frontkämpferbund had over 100,000 members. In 1932, the KPD established theAntifaschistische Aktion as a "red united front under the leadership of the only anti-fascist party, the KPD".^[58] Under the leadership of the committedStalinistErnst Thälmann, the KPD primarily viewed fascism as the final stage ofcapitalism rather than as a specific movement or group, and therefore applied the term broadly to its opponents, and in the name of anti-fascism the KPD focused in large part on attacking its main adversary, the centre-leftSocial Democratic Party of Germany, whom they referred to associal fascists and regarded as the "main pillar of the dictatorship of Capital."^[59]

The movement ofNazism, which grew ever more influential in the last years of theWeimar Republic, was opposed for different ideological reasons by a wide variety of groups, including groups which also opposed each other, such as social democrats, centrists, conservatives and communists. The SPD and centrists formedReichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold in 1924 to defendliberal democracy against both the Nazi Party and the KPD, and their affiliated organizations. Later, mainly SPD members formed theIron Front which opposed the same groups.^[60]

The name and logo ofAntifaschistische Aktion remain influential. Its two-flag logo, designed byMax Gebhard [de] andMax Keilson [de], is still widely used as a symbol of militant anti-fascists in Germany and globally,^[61] as is the Iron Front'sThree Arrows logo.^[62]

The historianEric Hobsbawm wrote: "TheSpanish civil war was both at the centre and on the margin of the era of anti-fascism. It was central, since it was immediately seen as a European war between fascism and anti-fascism, almost as the first battle in the coming world war, some of the characteristic aspects of which – for example, air raids against civilian populations – it anticipated."^[63]

In Spain, there were histories of popular uprisings in the late 19th century through to the 1930s against the deep-seated military dictatorships.^[64] of General Prim and Primo de Rivera^[65] These movements further coalesced into large-scale anti-fascist movements in the 1930s, many in the Basque Country, before and during theSpanish Civil War. Therepublican government and army, theAntifascist Worker and Peasant Militias (MAOC) linked to theCommunist Party (PCE),^[66] theInternational Brigades, theWorkers' Party of Marxist Unification (POUM),Spanish anarchistmilitias, such as theIron Column and the autonomous governments ofCatalonia and theBasque Country, fought the rise ofFrancisco Franco with military force.

TheFriends of Durruti, associated with theFederación Anarquista Ibérica (FAI), were a particularly militant group. Thousands of people from many countries went to Spain in support of the anti-fascist cause, joining units such as theAbraham Lincoln Brigade, theBritish Battalion, theDabrowski Battalion, theMackenzie-Papineau Battalion, theNaftali Botwin Company and theThälmann Battalion, includingWinston Churchill's nephew,Esmond Romilly.^[67] Notable anti-fascists who worked internationally against Franco included:George Orwell (who fought in the POUM militia and wroteHomage to Catalonia about his experience),Ernest Hemingway (a supporter of the International Brigades who wroteFor Whom the Bell Tolls about his experience), and the radical journalistMartha Gellhorn.

The Spanish anarchistguerrillaFrancesc Sabaté Llopart fought against Franco's regime until the 1960s, from a base in France. TheSpanish Maquis, linked to the PCE, also fought the Franco regime long after the Spanish Civil war had ended.^[68]

In the 1920s and 1930s in theFrench Third Republic, anti-fascists confronted aggressivefar-right groups such as theAction Française movement in France, which dominated theLatin Quarter students' neighborhood.^{[citation needed]} After fascism triumphed via invasion, the French Resistance (French:La Résistance française) or, more accurately,resistance movements fought against theNazi German occupation and against the collaborationistVichy régime. Resistance cells were small groups of armed men and women (called themaquis in rural areas), who, in addition to theirguerrilla warfare activities, were also publishers ofunderground newspapers and magazines such asArbeiter und Soldat (Worker and Soldier) during World War Two, providers of first-hand intelligence information, and maintainers of escape networks.^{[citation needed]}

The rise ofOswald Mosley'sBritish Union of Fascists (BUF) in the 1930s was challenged by theCommunist Party of Great Britain,socialists in theLabour Party andIndependent Labour Party,anarchists,IrishCatholic dockmen andworking classJews inLondon's East End. A high point in the struggle was theBattle of Cable Street, when thousands of local residents and others turned out to stop the BUF from marching. Initially, the national Communist Party leadership wanted a mass demonstration atHyde Park in solidarity withRepublican Spain, instead of a mobilization against the BUF, but local party activists argued against this. Activists rallied support with the sloganThey shall not pass, adopted from Republican Spain.

There were debates within the anti-fascist movement over tactics. While many East End ex-servicemen participated in violence against fascists,^[69] Communist Party leaderPhil Piratin denounced these tactics and instead called for large demonstrations.^[70] In addition to the militant anti-fascist movement, there was a smaller current of liberal anti-fascism in Britain; SirErnest Barker, for example, was a notable English liberal anti-fascist in the 1930s.^[71]

Anti-fascist Italian expatriates in the United States founded theMazzini Society inNorthampton, Massachusetts in September 1939 to work toward ending Fascist rule in Italy. As political refugees from Mussolini's regime, they disagreed among themselves whether to ally with Communists and anarchists or to exclude them. The Mazzini Society joined with other anti-Fascist Italian expatriates in the Americas at a conference inMontevideo, Uruguay in 1942. They unsuccessfully promoted one of their members,Carlo Sforza, to become the post-Fascist leader of a republican Italy. The Mazzini Society dispersed after the overthrow of Mussolini as most of its members returned to Italy.^[72][73]

During theSecond Red Scare which occurred in the United States in the years that immediately followed the end ofWorld War II, the term "premature anti-fascist" came into currency and it was used to describe Americans who had strongly agitated or worked against fascism, such as Americans who had fought for theRepublicans during theSpanish Civil War, before fascism was seen as a proximate and existential threat to the United States (which only occurred generally after theinvasion of Poland byNazi Germany and only occurred universally after theattack on Pearl Harbor). The implication was that such persons were either Communists or Communist sympathizers whose loyalty to the United States was suspect.^[74][75][76] However, the historiansJohn Earl Haynes andHarvey Klehr have written that no documentary evidence has been found of the US government referring to American members of theInternational Brigades as "premature antifascists": theFederal Bureau of Investigation,Office of Strategic Services, andUnited States Army records used terms such as "Communist", "Red", "subversive", and "radical" instead. Indeed, Haynes and Klehr indicate that they have found many examples of members of theXV International Brigade and their supporters referring to themselves sardonically as "premature antifascists".^[77]

TheAnti-Fascist Organisation (AFO) was aresistance movement which advocated the independence of Burma and fought against theJapanese occupation of Burma duringWorld War II. It was the forerunner of theAnti-Fascist People's Freedom League. The AFO was formed during a meeting which was held inPegu in August 1944, the meeting was held by the leaders of theCommunist Party of Burma (CPB), theBurma National Army (BNA) led by GeneralAung San, and the People's Revolutionary Party (PRP), later renamed theBurma Socialist Party.^[78][79] Whilst in Insein prison in July 1941, CPB leadersThakin Than Tun andThakin Soe had co-authored theInsein Manifesto, which, against the prevailing opinion in the Burmese nationalist movement led by theDobama Asiayone, identified worldfascism as the main enemy in the coming war and called for temporary cooperation with the British in a broad allied coalition that included theSoviet Union. Soe had already gone underground to organise resistance against the Japanese occupation, and Than Tun as Minister of Land and Agriculture was able to pass on Japanese intelligence to Soe, while other Communist leaders Thakin Thein Pe and Thakin Tin Shwe made contact with the exiled colonial government inSimla,India. Aung San was War Minister in the puppet administration which was set up on 1 August 1943 and included the Socialist leadersThakin Nu andThakin Mya.^[78][79] During a meeting which was held between 1 and 3 March 1945, the AFO was reorganized as a multi-party front which was named theAnti-Fascist People's Freedom League.^[80]

The Anti-Fascist Bloc was an organization ofPolish Jews formed in the March 1942 in theWarsaw Ghetto. It was created after an alliance betweenleftist-Zionist, communist and socialist Jewish parties was agreed upon. The initiators of the bloc wereMordechai Anielewicz,Józef Lewartowski (Aron Finkelstein) from thePolish Workers' Party,Josef Kaplan fromHashomer Hatzair,Szachno Sagan fromPoale Zion-Left,Jozef Sak as a representative of socialist-Zionists andIzaak Cukierman with his wifeCywia Lubetkin fromDror. TheJewish Bund did not join the bloc though they were represented at its first conference byAbraham Blum andMaurycy Orzech.^{[81][82][83][84]}

The anti-fascist movements which emerged during the period of classical fascism, both liberal and militant, continued to operate after the defeat of theAxis powers in response to the resilience and mutation of fascism both in Europe and elsewhere. In Germany, as Nazi rule crumbled in 1944, veterans of the 1930s anti-fascist struggles formedAntifaschistische Ausschüsse,Antifaschistische Kommittees, orAntifaschistische Aktion groups, all typically abbreviated to "antifa".^[85] The socialist government ofEast Germany built theBerlin Wall in 1961, and theEastern Bloc referred to it officially as the "Anti-fascist Protection Rampart". Resistance to fascists dictatorships in Spain and Portugal continued, including the activities of theSpanish Maquis and others, leading up to theSpanish transition to democracy and theCarnation Revolution, respectively, as well as to similar dictatorships inChile and elsewhere. Other notable anti-fascist mobilisations in the first decades of the post-war period include the43 Group in Britain.^[86]

The war ends in Italy on 2 May 1945, with the complete surrender ofGerman andRSI forces to theAllied forces, as formally established during the so-calledSurrender at Caserta on 29 April 1945, marks the definitive defeat ofNazism andFascism in Italy. By 1st May, all of northern Italy was liberated from occupation, includingBologna (21 April),Genoa (23 April),Milan (25 April),Turin^[87] andVenice (28 April). The liberation put an end to two and a half years of German occupation, five years of war, and twenty-three years of fascist dictatorship. The aftermath ofWorld War II left Italy bitter toward the monarchy for endorsing the Fascist regime for over 20-plus years. These frustrations contributed to a revival of the Italian republican movement.^[88] The liberation symbolically represents the beginning of the historical journey which led tothe referendum of 2 June 1946, when Italians opted for the end of the monarchy and the creation of the Italian Republic. This was followed by the adoption of the 1948Constitution of the Republic,^[89] created by theConstituent Assembly and representatives from the anti-fascist forces that defeated the Nazis and the Fascists during theliberation of Italy and theItalian civil war.^[90]

With the start of theCold War between the former World War II allies of the United States and the Soviet Union, the concept oftotalitarianism became prominent in Westernanti-communist political discourse as a tool to convert pre-war anti-fascism into post-war anti-communism.^{[91][92][93][94][95]}

Modern antifa politics can be traced to opposition to the infiltration of Britain'spunk scene bywhite power skinheads in the 1970s and 1980s, and the emergence ofneo-Nazism in Germany following thefall of the Berlin Wall. In Germany, young leftists, including anarchists and punk fans, renewed the practice of street-level anti-fascism. ColumnistPeter Beinart writes that "in the late '80s, left-wing punk fans in the United States began following suit, though they initially called their groupsAnti-Racist Action (ARA) on the theory that Americans would be more familiar with fighting racism than they would be with fighting fascism".^[96]

Today'sItalian constitution is the result of the work of theConstituent Assembly, which was formed by the representatives of all the anti-fascist forces that contributed to the defeat of Nazi and Fascist forces during theliberation of Italy.^[97]

Liberation Day is a national holiday inItaly that commemorates the victory of theItalian resistance movement againstNazi Germany and theItalian Social Republic,puppet state of the Nazis andrump state of the fascists, in theItalian Civil War, acivil war in Italy fought duringWorld War II, which takes place on 25 April. The date was chosen by convention, as it was the day of the year 1945 when theNational Liberation Committee of Upper Italy (CLNAI) officially proclaimed the insurgency in a radio announcement, propounding the seizure of power by the CLNAI and proclaiming the death sentence for all fascist leaders (includingBenito Mussolini, who was shot three days later).^[98]

Associazione Nazionale Partigiani d'Italia (ANPI; "National Association of ItalianPartisans") is an association founded by participants of theItalian resistance against theItalian Fascist regime and the subsequentNazi occupation duringWorld War II. ANPI was founded inRome in 1944^[99] while the war continued innorthern Italy. It was constituted as acharitable foundation on 5 April 1945. It persists due to the activity of its antifascist members. ANPI's objectives are the maintenance of the historical role of the partisan war by means of research and the collection of personal stories. Its goals are a continued defense againsthistorical revisionism and the ideal and ethical support of the high values of freedom and democracy expressed in the 1948constitution, in which the ideals of theItalian resistance were collected.^[100] Since 2008, every two years ANPI organizes its national festival. During the event, meetings, debates, and musical concerts that focus on antifascism, peace, and democracy are organized.^[101]

Bella ciao (Italian pronunciation:[ˈbɛllaˈtʃaːo]; "Goodbye beautiful") is anItalian folk song modified and adopted as an anthem of theItalian resistance movement by the partisans who opposednazism andfascism, and fought against the occupying forces ofNazi Germany, who were allied with the fascist and collaborationistItalian Social Republic between 1943 and 1945 during theItalian Civil War. Versions of this Italian anti-fascist song continue to be sung worldwide as a hymn of freedom and resistance.^[102] As an internationally known hymn of freedom, it was intoned at many historic and revolutionary events. The song originally aligned itself with Italian partisans fighting against Nazi German occupation troops, but has since become to merely stand for the inherent rights of all people to be liberated from tyranny.^[103][104]

The contemporary antifa movement in Germany comprises different anti-fascist groups which usually use the abbreviation antifa and regard the historicalAntifaschistische Aktion (Antifa) of the early 1930s as an inspiration, drawing on the historic group for its aesthetics and some of its tactics, in addition to the name. Many new antifa groups formed from the late 1980s onward. According to Loren Balhorn, contemporary antifa in Germany "has no practical historical connection to the movement from which it takes its name but is instead a product of West Germany's squatter scene and autonomist movement in the 1980s".^[105]

One of the biggest antifascist campaigns in Germany in recent years was the ultimately successful effort toblock the annual Nazi-rallies in the east German city of Dresden in Saxony which had grown into "Europe's biggest gathering of Nazis".^[106] Unlike the original Antifa which had links to theCommunist Party of Germany and which was concerned with industrial working-class politics, the late 1980s and early 1990s,autonomists were independentanti-authoritarianlibertarian Marxists andanarcho-communists not associated with any particular party. The publicationAntifaschistisches Infoblatt, in operation since 1987, sought to exposeradical nationalists publicly.^[107]

German government institutions such as theFederal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and theFederal Agency for Civic Education describe the contemporary antifa movement as part of the extreme left and as partially violent. Antifa groups are monitored by the federal office in the context of its legal mandate to combatextremism.^{[108][109][110][111]} The federal office states that the underlying goal of the antifa movement is "the struggle against theliberal democratic basic order" and capitalism.^[109][110] In the 1980s, the movement was accused by German authorities of engaging interrorist acts of violence.^[112]

In Greece, anti-fascism is a popular part of leftist and anarchist culture, September 2013 anti-fascist hip-hop artistPavlos 'Killah P' Fyssas was accosted and attacked with bats and knives by a large group ofGolden Dawn affiliated people leaving Pavlos to be pronounced dead at the hospital. The attack lead international protests and riots, the retaliatoryshooting of three Golden Dawn members outside of theirNeo Irakleio as well as condemnations against the party by politicians and other public figures, includingPrime MinisterAntonis Samaras.^{[citation needed]} This episode led to Golden Dawn to being criminally investigated, with the result in sixty-eight members of Golden Dawn being declared part of a criminal organization whilst fifteen out of the seventeen members accused in Pavlos's murder were convicted,^[113] "effectively banning" the party.^[114]

Dartmouth College historian Mark Bray, author ofAntifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook, credits the ARA as the precursor of modern antifa groups in the United States. In the late 1980s and 1990s, ARA activists toured with popular punk rock and skinhead bands in order to preventKlansmen, neo-Nazis and other assorted white supremacists from recruiting.^[115][116] Their motto was "We go where they go" by which they meant that they would confrontfar-right activists in concerts and actively remove their materials from public places.^[117] In 2002, the ARA disrupted a speech in Pennsylvania byMatthew F. Hale, the head of the white supremacist groupWorld Church of the Creator, resulting in a fight and twenty-five arrests. In 2007,Rose City Antifa, likely the first group to utilize the name antifa, was formed inPortland, Oregon.^{[118][119][120]} Other antifa groups in the United States have other genealogies. In 1987 inBoise, Idaho, the Northwest Coalition Against Malicious Harassment (NWCAMH) was created in response to the Aryan Nation's annual meeting nearHayden Lake, Idaho. The NWCAMH brought together over 200 affiliated public and private organizations, and helped people, across six states--Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming.^[121] InMinneapolis, Minnesota, a group called the Baldies was formed in 1987 with the intent to fight neo-Nazi groups directly. In 2013, the "most radical" chapters of the ARA formed theTorch Antifa Network^[122] which has chapters throughout the United States.^[123] Other antifa groups are a part of different associations such as NYC Antifa or operate independently.^[124]

Modern antifa in the United States is a highlydecentralized movement. Antifapolitical activists areanti-racists who engage inprotest tactics, seeking to combatfascists andracists such asneo-Nazis,white supremacists, and otherfar-rightextremists.^[125] This may involvedigital activism,harassment,physical violence, andproperty damage^[126] against those whom they identify as belonging to the far-right.^[127][128] According to antifa historian Mark Bray, most antifa activity is nonviolent, involving poster and flyer campaigns, delivering speeches, marching in protest, and community organizing on behalf of anti-racist and anti-white nationalist causes.^[129][119]

A June 2020 study by theCenter for Strategic and International Studies of 893 terrorism incidents in the United States since 1994 found one attack staged by an anti-fascist that led to a fatality (the2019 Tacoma attack, in which the attacker, who identified as an anti-fascist, was killed by police), while attacks by white supremacists or other right-wing extremists resulted in 329 deaths.^{[130][131][132]} Since the study was published, onehomicide has been connected to anti-fascism.^[130] ADHS draft report from August 2020 similarly did not include "antifa" as a considerable threat, while noting white supremacists as the top domestic terror threat.^[133]

There have been multiple efforts to discredit antifa groups via hoaxes on social media, many of themfalse flag attacks originating fromalt-right and4chan users posing as antifa backers onTwitter.^[134][135] Some hoaxes have been picked up and reported as fact by right-leaning media.^[136][137]

During theGeorge Floyd protests in May and June 2020, theTrump administration blamed antifa for orchestrating the mass protests. Analysis of federal arrests did not find links to antifa.^[138] There had been repeated calls by the Trump administration to designate antifa as a terrorist organization,^[139] a move that academics, legal experts and others argued would both exceed the authority of the presidency and violate theFirst Amendment.^{[140][141][142]}

Some post-war anti-fascist action took place inRomania under theAnti-Fascist Committee of German Workers in Romania, founded in March 1949.^[143] A Swedish group,Antifascistisk Aktion, was formed in 1993.^[144]

TheChristian Democratic Union of Germany politicianTim Peters notes that the term is one of the most controversial terms inpolitical discourse.^[145]Michael Richter, a researcher at theHannah Arendt Institute for Research on Totalitarianism, highlights the ideological use of the term in the Soviet Union and the Eastern bloc, in which the termfascism was applied toEastern bloc dissidents regardless of any connection to historical fascism, and where the termanti-fascism served to legitimize the ruling government.^[146]

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