43 Group
 |
The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. (March 2009) |
The 43 Group was an English anti-fascist group set up by Jewish ex-servicemen after World War II. They did this when, upon returning to London, they encountered British fascist organisations such as Jeffrey Hamm's "British League of Ex-Servicemen" and later Oswald Mosley's reformed fascist party, the Union Movement. The activities of these fascist groups included antisemitic speeches in public places, inciting racial hatred, and from the rank-and-file fascists, violent attacks on London Jews and Jewish property.[1] Group members broke up far-right meetings, infiltrated fascist groups, and attacked the fascists in street fighting.[2]
Contents |
[edit] Early history
The title "43 Group" came from the number of people in the room of Maccabi House during the group's founding meeting. The instigators of the foundation meeting were Morris Beckman, who served in the Merchant Navy in World War II and was torpedoed twice, Gerald Flamberg [3], Middleweight boxing champion, 156 Battalion, who won the Military Medal at Arnhem [4] [5] during Operation Market Garden Operation Market Garden, Leonard Sherman, martial arts expert (Welsh Guards), and Alec Carson, who flew Hawker Hurricanes in the Battle of Britain. A 17-year-old Vidal Sassoon,[3] joined the group in 1947, and went on to fight in the Israeli Defence Forces during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and later founded an international hairdressing empire.[4]
The group grew to include many hundreds of men and women, and not all Jewish. The initial membership was of around 300 people and included holders of bravery decorations, a VC (Petty Officer "Tommy" Gould) Thomas William Gould,[5] DSOs, DFCs, DSMs and MMs. The organisation was sometimes portrayed by its enemies as a front for either Jewish terrorists or communists, but this was not the case and it was mostly composed of British ex-servicemen.[6]
[edit] Relationship with other organisations
43 Group was viewed by established Jewish organisations, such as the Board of Deputies of British Jews, as competitors, and this Jewish establishment also worried that the group's activities could damage the community's reputation, especially in light of the terrorist acts and guerrilla warfare carried out by militant Zionist groups like the Irgun in British Mandate Palestine.[7] However 43 Group never sought to replace the more traditional groups who preferred debate and discussion, but who had failed to stop the BUF, partly due to the non-cooperation of the then British Home Secretary, James Chuter Ede.[8] Rather, 43 Group sought to prevent the BUF mobilising and gathering support, remembering that the Nazi party had gained prominence in a similar fashion as the Brownshirts on the streets of post-WWI Germany.
[edit] Dissolution
The 43 Group was voluntarily disbanded on 5 April 1950, as its members considered that the immediate threat had passed. Although Mosley's Fascist Union Movement remained active throughout the 1950s, it was not until 1962, when the unrelated 62 Group was formed in the 43 Group's image (but named after the year of founding of the latter incarnation, rather than initial membership), did these British fascists again encounter any significant privately-organised street-level resistance. The overall effect of this movement is unclear, with the group founder Morris Beckman arguing that 43 Group was crucial in stopping a resurgence of fascism in post-war Britain, while Nigel Copsey argues in Anti-Fascism in Britain that the fascists and anti-fascists might have only radicalised each other.[1]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b Hillman, N. (2001). "Tell me chum, in case I got it wrong. What was it we were fighting during the war? The Re-emergence of British Fascism, 1945-58". Contemporary British History 15 (4): 1–34. doi:10.1080/713999428. http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/routledg/cbh/2001/00000015/00000004/art00002. Retrieved 2008-04-29.
- ^ Adam Lent "British Social Movements Since 1945: Sex, Colour, Peace and Power" Macmillan p19, ISBN 0-333-72009-1
- ^ Anita Singh Vidal Sassoon: Anti-fascist warrior-hairdresser Daily Telegraph, 21/04/2008, Accessed 27 April 2008
- ^ Pictorial History: Acquiring Arms and Personnel Aliyah Bet & Machal Virtual Museum, Accessed 27 April 2008
- ^ Mark Gould Last reunion for war heroes who came home to fight the fascists [1] [2], The Independent, 22nd February 2009, accessed 3rd March 2010
- ^ Andrew Roberts How King of Crimpers Vidal Sassoon cut Britain's fascist thugs down to size Daily Mail, 14th April 2008, Accessed 27 April 2008
- ^ Todd M. Endelman "The Jews of Britain, 1656 to 2000" University of California Press, 2002, p233 ISBN 0-520-22719-0
- ^ House of Commons[vague]
[edit] Bibliography
- Morris Beckman "The 43 Group" Centerprise Publication (June 2000) ISBN 0-903738-75-9
[edit] External links
- Voices on Antisemitism Interview with Vidal Sassoon from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum
- London's Jewish community after the war
- The 43 Group by Morris Beckman
- Morris Beckman: My favourite books
- Review of Beckman's book
- Interview with Morris Beckman on the 43 group
- The Archive Hour - A Rage in Dalston - BBC Radio program on the 43 group
- [6] - 20 minute video on 43 group with interviews
- Mark Gould "They stood up to hatred" Guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 27 January 2009 12.03 GMT
