The study of fascism and polemics on general methodological problems, as well as on certain aspects of its history, politics and ideology, has been conducted for half a century. Correct coverage of the history of fascism has not only scientific but also political significance, as it contributes to the struggle against modern imperialism and counter-revolution. A complete understanding of the essence of fascism as a social phenomenon, revealing its key issues, analyzing the fascist movement after World War II and identifying its historical roots cannot be achieved without studying its diverse forms and features in different regions and countries.

It seems relevant to analyze, in addition to the main varieties of Western European fascism that reached state power, and other variants of fascism, "small" fascist movements, its incomplete forms that failed to come to power and remained the reserve of the reactionary wing of the ruling class. These countries include the United Kingdom. The importance of studying a number of problems of English fascism in the period between the two World Wars lies in the fact that it, being one of the earliest in the European region and the ancestor of a number of forms and methods of fascist activity, developed on the territory of a country that played a key role in world politics in those years. British fascism has a number of specific features. For more than a quarter of a century - before and after the Second World War, from the 30s to the 60s-O. Mosley was at its head, according to many experts, one of the most important figures of the fascist movement outside of Germany and Italy. Mosley's death in 1980 at the age of 84 revived interest in his "ideological" legacy (he wrote a large number of books and articles, had his own book publishing house, published magazines, etc.).

At the end of 1983, archive collections were partially opened in London, which contain documents that shed light on the activities of fascist groups in the country in the 30s. The question of opening the archives of fascist organizations, in particular the British Union of Fascists (BSF), headed by Mosley, became the subject of acute controversy in 1983 (including Parliament). Although archive materials in England are usually opened after 30 years, the country's Attorney General in this case forbade doing so, citing that such a step is contrary to the national interests of the country. A spokesperson for the Interior Ministry said that these documents will not be made public until 2332 (400 years after the formation of the BSF). However, in November 1983, under public pressure, some of these archives were opened. Familiarity with the documents contained in them expanded the understanding of the activities of the British fascists.

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The authorities also declassified about 500 dossiers that the British intelligence services had created on Mosley and his entourage; however, it was announced that there are several more dossiers that will not be made public until 2067. These files contain very interesting details of Mosley's close ties with the ruling circles of Great Britain, as well as with large entrepreneurs who provided him with moral and financial assistance. Interestingly, Mosley's widow, who had been active in the fascist movement in the past, believed that disclosing the Mosley organization's archives could cause "difficulties for the establishment. 1

This article, written taking into account the latest publications on the history of British fascism that appeared at the turn of the 80s, as well as the content of declassified BSF documents, examines some problems of the history of the fascist movement and the anti-fascist struggle in England in the period between the two World Wars. These problems include the genesis and evolution of the movement, its specific features, ideological and organizational forms. The article refutes the claims that English fascism has a foreign origin, reveals its roots and antecedents in Great Britain itself, pays some attention to the disclosure of the BSF's ties with representatives of monopolies and aristocracy, and reveals the reasons for the rapid revival of the activity of English fascists immediately after the Second World War2 .

The literature on this multidimensional topic is very significant. Unfortunately, there are no special publications on this subject in Soviet historiography yet. Nor was it the subject of dissertation research. Meanwhile, foreign historiography has many works, including monographs, specifically devoted to this topic. The bibliography of the history of British fascism published in England from 1923 to 1977, which contains annotations on works mainly devoted to the period before the Second World War, has about 900 titles .3
Among the Marxist books published in England at the turn of the 1980s, the work of a former member of the English Parliament from the Communist Party of Great Britain, F. Piretin, "Our Flag remains red" 4 stands out . Written by a participant in the events of the 1930s, it truthfully and accurately reveals the struggle of communists and progressive forces against the fascists in 1935-1936, shows the important role of the "battle of Cable Street", the victory of the anti-fascists in October 1936, which even the modern bourgeois British press calls "famous" 5 . Piretin's work contains an in-depth analysis of English pre-war fascism and reveals the important role of the Communist Party in the anti-fascist struggle. The author emphasizes that fascism is a complex phenomenon. The book, especially in the preface, contains important assessments and parallels that help to better understand the internal political processes in English society after the Second World War and the rapid revival of British fascism. Publications of this kind, along with previously published works, confirm that a comprehensive scientific assessment of fascism, including English fascism, is possible only on the basis of a Marxist methodology, a historical and materialist interpretation of this social phenomenon, and the disclosure of its class essence as a natural product of imperialism. Fascism, being

1 Morning Star, 23.II.1983.

2 See Zhigalov I. I. Neofascism in Great Britain: origins, goals, features. - Voprosy istorii, 1980, N 7.

3 Rees Th. Fascism in Britain. An Annotated Bibliography. Lnd. 1979.

4 Piratin Ph. Our Flag Stays Red. Lnd. 1978.

5 The Times, 14.V.1984.

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one of the consequences of the general crisis of capitalism, which has affected all areas of bourgeois society, is a multifaceted phenomenon that has political, economic, and socio-psychological aspects.

In the non-Marxist historiography of fascism in the interwar years, including English, in the mass of numerous publications, one can find a wide variety of approaches to this problem-historical, socio-psychological, structuralist, etc. Biographies of fascist leaders and their own writings are especially widely presented. Many bourgeois historians give a grossly distorted view of the role and place of fascism in history. Apologetics of Hitlerism, rehabilitation of the fascist movement, longing for the past fill many works about the leaders of British fascism, in particular about Mosley .6 And Mosley's own books written in the 1930s and 1950s, such as his autobiography My Life, 7 are still being reprinted today.

In non-Marxist historiography, there is no scientifically based concept of "fascism". Bourgeois researchers often focus their efforts on finding arguments to justify the system that gave rise to fascism (they try to present the reader with a kind of" fascism with a human appearance", etc.). They ignore the role of the British monopolies in the development of fascism, its class essence, do not expose the baselessness of the British fascists ' claims to respectability, their attempts to portray their movement as fascism of the "upper class", which is supposedly distinguished by a high intellectual character. The existence of the roots, sources and antecedents of fascism in Great Britain itself is denied, fascism is portrayed as a phenomenon introduced into English reality and having a purely foreign origin. All this is also typical for individual and collective studies published in the late 70s and early 80s on the topic under consideration .8
In support of the thesis that the BSF, headed by an aristocrat and a "gentleman intellectual" member of the English Parliament, was an "upper class" group, a collection of intellectuals who took into account the deep-rooted respect for constitutional and parliamentary norms in the minds of the British, the English authors refer to the fact that this union created the Federation of British University Associations (with a center in Oxford and branches in all 26 English universities), which is designed to engage in an "academic" study of British fascism, its doctrine and practice . 9 R. Skidelsky, known for his desire to whitewash the activities of the BSF, the ideological views and political activities of its creator O. Mosley, in one of his latest articles, makes new attempts to study the history of British fascism, its doctrine and practice. in this direction. Despite the overwhelming evidence that Mosley's followers repeatedly resorted to violence against their opponents, and the vicious anti-Communism and anti-Semitism of the British fascists, this author argues that it would be wrong to associate them with Hitler's Nazism.

6 See, for example, Skidelsky R. Oswald Mosley. Lnd. 1981.

7 See, for example, Mosley O. My Life. N.Y. 1972.

8 Power M. The Struggle against Fascism and War in Britain, 1931 - 1939. Lnd. 1978; Pool J. and S. Who Financed Hitler: The Secret Funding of Hitler's Rise to Power. Lnd. 1979; British Fascism. Essays on the Radical Right in Interwar Britain. Lnd. 1980; O'Neill N. Fascism and the Working Class. Lnd. 1982; Griffiths F. Fellow Travellers of the Right British Enthusiasts for Nazi Germany, 1933 - 1939. Lnd. 1983; Brewer J. Mosley's Men. Lnd. 1984; The British Union of the Fascists in the West. Midlands. Lnd. 1984; a. o.

9 Power M. Op. cit., p. 15.

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the collection in which this article is published and 10 other works by English university scientists analyzing various definitions of fascism does not even mention the classic definition given in 1935 by the VII Congress of the Comintern. It is interesting that one of the main goals of this collective work was to find out when fascism appeared in Britain.

D. and S. Poole's book Who Financed Hitler: Secret Support for Hitler's Rise to Power reveals English sources of funding for Nazi activities, names various admirers and very influential supporters of Mosley, in particular Lord Rothermere. This work does not mention Lady Astor and the Cleveland Clique , a group of far-right political figures in England who met at Lord Astor's estate in Cleveland in the 1930s and advocated the "pacification" of Nazi Germany. R. Griffiths 'well-documented study" Fellow Travelers of the Right", published in 1983, contains numerous evidence that in the 1930s pro-Fascist sentiments penetrated various strata of English society, and above all into aristocratic circles, whose "hysterical fear and hatred of the Soviet Union" reinforced their strong sense of spiritual and political power. close proximity to the Nazis. The book claims that one of the most fanatical British fascists, Arnold Spencer Lees (who competed with Mosley before the Second World War and was the first to resume underground fascist activities in England in 1944-1945, i.e., in the United States). even before the end of the war with Hitler's Germany), proposed in 1935 to use gas chambers as "a gradual method of exterminating Jews, several years before the Nazis began to use it" 10 . In a book published in 1984 by J. R. R. Tolkien, Brewer examines the activities of the British fascists not only on a national scale, but also in particular detail in one of its regions - the county of West Midlands. This author can be said to be a pioneer in the study of the functioning of local, peripheral fascist organizations. This is the latest British historiography of the question.

The most massive and influential fascist organization in interwar England, the British Union of Fascists, was established in October 1932. Oswald Mosley, a descendant of an old English aristocratic family, a baronet, a millionaire, a former member of the executive committee of the Labour Party and a minister of the Labour government, an ardent anti-communist and racist. He had close family ties with the highest aristocratic circles (his first wife was the daughter of Lord Curzon, the second-an active participant in the fascist movement Diana Guinness-the daughter of Lord Ridsdale). Formally, the BSF was disbanded in 1942, but the organization's assets (about 800 people), including Mosley [11], were arrested as early as May 1940,12

The fact that Mosley had long-standing and not only ideological or organizational, but also close personal ties with Mussolini and Hitler (it is known that in Rome he together with Mussolini hosted parades of Italian fascists, that he made out his second marriage according to the laws of Prussia in the Goebbels office in Berlin and was the guest of honor at his wedding). 13), the authors of some works use as
10 Griffiths F. Op. cit., p. 37.

11 Mosley was held in a special prison "with an open door", had at his disposal a 4-room apartment, where he lived with his wife and children, with home cooking, etc. He spent most of his time studying German (see Gross C. The Fascist in Britain. Lnd. 1961, p. 196).

12 Mosley O. Op. cit., p. 405.

13 SEE Ibid., p. 303.

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an argument in favor of the thesis about the foreign origin of British fascism. Meanwhile, an in-depth and close study of the genesis of fascism in England gives every reason to speak about the presence of its own national British roots of this process, which can be found at the dawn of the XX century.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, imperial ideas became widespread in England, the desire for even greater activation of colonial politics grew, great-power imperial nationalism and jingoism flourished, and anti-Semitism and racism grew rapidly. All this created suitable ideological and psychological prerequisites for future fascist tendencies. Imperialist ideas became part of the ideology of "national efficiency" that emerged during the Boer War. The most prominent exponents of these trends were closely associated with financial, industrial, and military circles (Lord Rosebery, a member of the Rothschild family, J. Chamberlain, G. Asquith, E. Gray, and others) .14 Speaking of the predecessors of English fascism, one cannot but mention S. Rhodes, the famous colonizer of Africa, who acted with the most brutal methods, and other preachers of the racial superiority of the Anglo-Saxons over other peoples. We can also mention the English philosopher H. S. Chamberlain, who owns the idea of the" superiority " of the Aryan race over other peoples (the Nazis considered him one of the founders of racial theory).

Large and influential highly reactionary organizations emerged, which in a sense laid the foundation of the BSF. These include the British Fraternal League, founded in 1901 by Captain William Stanley Shaw. It was organized in a military fashion and carried out propaganda against the immigration of Jews and foreign workers. Access to the league was open only to natural Englishmen. Its main slogan was: "England for the English" 15 . The League speculated that the London Jewish community, which numbered about 60,000 people in 1880, had increased threefold by the end of the century, as a result of the mass emigration of Jews from Western European countries to England that began in 1881 (by 1914, 150,000 people had moved from there) .16
In March 1914, Ulster Protestant volunteers rebelled against the Irish policy of the British government. V. I. Lenin called them "revolutionaries on the right" 17 . The ideologists of the British fascists considered the Ulstermen to be their predecessors. B. Allen, for example, called this movement actually the first fascist movement in Europe 18 . Speaking about the genesis of British fascism, it is necessary to mention the British Imperial League, which emerged in 1915. At the same time, relations with the Ku Klux Klan in the United States began to improve 19 . In 1923, the first president of the British Jingoist Society, H. G. Bilish, met with Hitler.

The first English organization that officially called itself a fascist organization was formed in 1923. It was headed by a World War II participant, the granddaughter of Field Marshal R. Linthorn-Orman. Later, General Blakeney and Admiral Armstrong emerged as leaders. In mani-

14 Searli Y. The Quest for National Efficiency (1899 - 1914). Berkeley. 1971, p. 107; Matthew H. The Liberal Imperialists. Oxford. 1973, p. 45.

15 Mullaly F. Fascism Inside Britain. Lnd., p. 33; Веnewick R. The Fascist Movement in Britain. Lnd., pp. 25 - 26.

16 Alderman G. The Political Impact of Zionism in the East End of London before 1940. - The London Journal, 1983, N 1, Summer, p. 35.

17 Lenin V. I. PSS. Vol. 25, p. 75.

18 Drennan F. В. U. F. Osvald Mosley and British Fascism. Lnd. 1934, p. 292.

19 Ivanov R. F., Lisnevsky E. V. Ku-klux klan, Moscow, 1981, p. 94.

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the festival of this organization, which adopted the name "British Fascists", stated its intention to carry out" severe measures against disloyal elements", to seek the closure of communist Sunday schools, etc.According to some sources, the number of this organization by August 1924 had grown several dozen times. It consisted of women's detachments, local combat groups to fight against the Communists. The distinctive badge of its members was a black handkerchief. In 1932, this organization joined the BSF. The most militant members of the organization "British Fascists" in October 1924 formed a new organization "National Fascists", whose members operated mainly in London (they wore black shirts and had edged weapons). In 1928, one of the most active British fascists, who openly supported the position of the German National Socialists, Liz, formed the Imperial Fascist League, characterized by fierce anti-Semitism. Liz demanded the expulsion of Jews not to Palestine, but to Madagascar.

In March 1931, Mosley created the "New Party", which became an intermediate link on the way to the formation of a large centralized fascist organization and the center of attraction of forces that advocated the establishment of a"solid order" in the country. Six months earlier, while still a member of the Labour government, Mosley, in the face of a sharp deterioration in the economic situation in England, an unprecedented increase in unemployment (up to 3 million people, and in the areas of the shipbuilding industry, unemployment reached 60% of the working-age population), proposed his "national program", which includes a series of measures to combat unemployment. The program reflected one of the two variants in the development of state - monopoly capitalism that developed at that time, namely, the military-fascist version, which was embodied primarily in Germany and Italy and differed from the bourgeois-reformist, Roosevelt's. These two variants represented two trends in the class strategy of the ruling circles of imperialist countries in the struggle against the forces of democracy and socialism. Mosley was personally acquainted with F. Roosevelt, studied the New deal, but did not approve of it as a measure that presupposes a "democratic context" and does not rely on a "disciplined fascist party." Mosley's program was rejected by the leadership of the Labour Party, although his proposed measures to regulate the economy as a whole did not contradict those that the British government had been implementing since 1931 .21
Thus, the BSF created by Mosley in 1932 had many predecessors. It combined and absorbed considerable ideological and organizational experience, the main cadres of the former reactionary and semi-fascist formations, and was a product of the development of British imperialism. In addition, the BSF, unlike the fragmented and heterogeneous fascist movements in a number of other Western European countries, was highly centralized and unified. On the day of the formation of the BSF, Mosley published his book "Great Britain", which became the manifesto of English fascism. Taking into account the deep-rooted respect for parliamentary norms in the minds of the British, he emphasized the peaceful transition to the fascist order, and tried to show a certain respectability. Fascist gatherings ended with the singing of the national anthem, national flags were hung out, and emphasized respect for the monarch was shown. One-

20 Stevenson J. Echoes oi the Thirties. - New Society, 10.V.1984, p. 219; Power M. Op. cit., p. 2.

21 Beer S. H. Modern British Politics: Parties and Pressure Groups in the Collective Age. N. Y. 1982, p. 384.

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However, the" moderate " course did not bring Mosley the desired results and did not last long.

From mid-1934, Mosley, while maintaining close relations with Mussolini, began to reorient himself towards German fascism. On the pages of fascist periodicals, the greeting " Heil, Hitler!". In 1936, the BSF changed its name to the British Union of Fascists and National Socialists (BSFNS). The new edition of "Great Britain" (1939) reveals an approach to the basic principles of "classical fascism", in particular, it provides for a sharp narrowing of the powers of Parliament. In April 1935, Mosley told a rally that he was" for the first time and publicly "challenging the" Jewish interests in England" that dominate trade, the press, the cinema, the City of London, etc .22 Along with anti-communism, anti-Semitism, pogroms are brought to the fore, and Jews are no longer accepted into the fascist union. 23
The biggest massacre was staged by the Nazis on June 7, 1934 in London, in the Olympia Pavilion. This gathering was attended by from 20 to 40 thousand people (some authors believe that this was the largest rally that the Nazis had ever managed to gather anywhere in a closed room). In the presence of the police, the fascists during Mosley's speech attacked those who did not agree with his speech and somehow expressed their dissatisfaction. In the glare of the floodlights, Mosley's men beat them savagely. A significant number of victims of the Fascist rampage were taken to hospitals 24 . The details of this barbaric pogrom are preserved in numerous letters of eyewitnesses and testimonies of witnesses belonging to various strata of society - The facts of direct and brutal Fascist violence, pogroms and beatings of anti-fascists sharply contradicted the morals and habits of most Englishmen, helped to expose the true face of the English fascists and their leader. The myth of their respectability gradually dissipated.

One of the most pressing issues in the study of the history of English fascism is the connections of Mosley and his organization with the largest industrial and financial magnates and influential aristocrats, and the material and moral support that the fascists receive from them. Many documents in which this connection is found are still inaccessible to researchers, despite the disclosure of the main archives of the fascist groups of the 30s. These include, in particular, the transcript of Lord Kirkett's 16-hour interrogation of Mosley after his arrest in 1940,25 It can be assumed that these documents contain a list of people who held important positions in the Conservative Party and in the government during the Second World War and after it, were prominent political figures and actively supported the fascists. These include, for example, Lord Rothermere, one of the leading barons of the British press, who in his newspapers, which had a total circulation of 2.5 million copies, proclaimed Mosley "the savior of Britain", personally met with Hitler and encouraged English boys and girls to carefully study "the progress made by the Nazi regime in Germany" .26 . It is known that Mosley and his relatives were their own people at the top of the English aristocracy. But, of course, the main thing that attracted right - wing conservative circles was Mosley's program, imbued with an imperialist spirit, aimed at fighting against the de facto regime.-

22 Power M. Op. cit., p. 17.

23 Mоsley O. Op. cit., pp. 337 - 338.

24 Mullaly F. Op. cit., p. 130.

25 The Times, 9.XI.1983; Morning Star, 9.XI.1983.

26 Kadlipp H. The Prerogative of the Harlot. Press Barons and Power. Lnd. 1980.

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It is also aimed at suppressing the working-class movement, establishing the world domination of British imperialism, and organizing a "crusade" against the USSR.

Nevertheless, the archives opened in 1983 confirmed what Mosley had previously denied-both material support from British monopolists and handouts from abroad, particularly from Italian fascists, coming through the Italian Embassy in London .27 These data contradict, among other things, the official statement of Minister R. Stones made in December 1940 (i.e., after Mosley's arrest) that the BSF did not receive financial assistance from abroad .28 Some of Mosley's high-ranking patrons were exposed by the materials of the Nuremberg trials, in particular by Gaushofer's report to Hitler of May 12, 1941, meaningfully titled "English Connections and their possible Uses." The report names the individuals Hess was counting on for his infamous flight to England on 29 . The first among them are the Duke of Hamilton, Lord Dunglass, former private secretary to Chamberlain, and Deputy Foreign Secretary in the Churchill government, Harold Balfour, Assistant Minister of Aviation in the latter's government, and 30 others . High-ranking patrons of Mosley and his associates could also be found in the ranks of the "imperial policy group", formed in the English Parliament by right-wing conservative MPs in 1933 (Lord Bertie of Tame, Lord Fillimore, Lord Mansfield, the Earl of Glasgow and others). The pro-Fascist and anti-Soviet sentiments of many representatives of the British ruling circles were so strong that Hitler, not without reason, considered them as his allies against the USSR .31
Both the research of specialists and archival materials irrefutably show that the cradle of British fascism was a large industrial and banking capital. Its most prominent figures were: one of the most influential representatives of the British oil monopolies G. Deterding, the head of the chemical concern Mond, the already mentioned newspaper magnate Lord Rothermere, the automobile king Lord Nuffield, the long-term manager of the Bank of England, the well-known anti-Semite M. Norman and others .32 Even these names are sufficient to make clear the true character of British fascism as the representative of the interests of the most reactionary group of British imperialism. In the fascist doctrine and activities of the BSF (BSFNS), British monopolists were attracted by anti-communism and a willingness to break the power of organized workers. Mosley emphasized in his book Great Britain and in a special "Open Letter to the Business World" that the victory of fascism in England does not threaten capitalism and private enterprise .33
A comprehensive and comprehensive analysis of the history of English fascism involves examining the anti-fascist struggle and the role played by progressive forces, especially the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPW). In the works of bourgeois historians, its participation in the struggle against the British fascists is often ignored, ignored or directly distorted. Meanwhile, the CPV has played an important role

27 The Times, 9.XI.1983.

28 Hansard, 1940, December 10, Vol. 367, col. 839.

29 The materials of the "Hess case" will be closed in the British archives until 2200 (see Izvestiya, 15. VIII. 1983).

30 Mallali F. Fascism in England, Moscow, 1947, pp. 13-14; Izvestiya, 15. VIII. 1983.

31 Knox М. Conquest Foreign and Domestic in Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. - The Journal of Modern History, 1984, N 1, March, p. 24.

32 Pool J. and S. Op. cit.; Griffiths F. Op. cit.; The Times, 9.XI.1983.

33 Fascist Week, 1.II.1934.

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role in the struggle of the progressive forces of England against fascism. Issues of the anti-fascist struggle were the focus of attention of the Communist parties and the Comintern. Special importance was attached to the creation of a united workers ' and People's front in Great Britain, given the enormous role of this country in international politics, and of the British proletariat in the struggle for the unity of the international working - class movement.

The CPV sought to organize a decisive rebuff to the fascists, in particular, it demanded measures to democratize the army and eliminate pro-fascist elements from leading army posts .34 Much attention was paid to the ideological struggle against fascism. In 1934, a book by one of the leaders of the CPV, Palm Date35, was published, which was a serious attempt at a generalized analysis of international fascism in relation to the general economic and political trends in the development of the imperialist world. It was Dutt who coined the term "anti-fascism" and revealed its content.

At the initiative of the Communist Party, thousands of anti-Fascist rallies were systematically held in London, which also had an international resonance, contributing to the exposure of Hitlerism. In England, there were favorable conditions for rallying anti-fascist forces and organizing a rebuff to fascist elements. A significant role in exposing fascism was played by the London counter-trial on the Reichstag arson case held in 1933 under the chairmanship of the famous English lawyer D. N. Pritt. Unprecedented in history, this counter-trial opened a week before the start of the trial in Leipzig. It was held openly and was attended by prominent public figures, including the writer G. Wells, the leader of the Labor Party D. Lansbury. The first meeting was chaired by one of the leaders of the left-wing Labour party, Stafford Cripps, on September 20, 1933 (the day before the start of the Leipzig trial), a statement was read out at a large rally in Kingsway Hall, which refuted the Fascist version of arson.

Anti-fascist sentiment in England was growing stronger. When the fascists began to hold gatherings in Trafalgar Square and elsewhere in London (they called between 500 and 600 meetings a month), the CPV was already able to mobilize all party cells and all party members for anti-fascist demonstrations in a few days .37 In the fight against fascism, the party grew stronger, its ranks multiplied. If in 1930 it had only 2.5 thousand members, then by 1939 its ranks had grown 7-fold and reached 17,756 people. 38 On September 9, 1936, a major anti-fascist rally took place in Hyde Park, when 150 thousand Londoners came out against the rally of fascists (2.5 thousand participants, guarded by 6 thousand policemen) .39
A decisive rebuff to the British fascists was also given on the initiative of the Communist Party on October 4, 1936, when the speech was held under the slogan "Mosley will not pass". The leader of the British fascists decided to hold an impressive demonstration, timed to coincide with the fourth anniversary of the founding of the BSF. The Blackshirts were drawn to London from all over the country. Their numbers were not officially known at the time (Mosley always refused to answer such questions40 ). However

34 It Can be Done. Report oi the Fourteenth Congress of the CP of Great Britain Battersea, May 19 - 31, 1937. Lnd. 1937, pp. 279 - 280.

35 Datt P. Fascism and the Socialist Revolution, Moscow, 1935.

36 Mace R. Trafalgar Square. Emblem of Empire. Lnd. 1976, pp. 28, 302; Power M. Op. cit., p. 18.

37 Kommunist, 1983, N 16, p. 84.

38 Power M. Op. cit., p. 4.

39 Ibid., p. 17.

40 Ibid., p. 19.

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archival materials published in 1983 show that the BSF consisted of up to 40 thousand people. These data call into question the traditional statements of some experts about the small number of British fascists, since they did not have a significant social base. Now it has become known that the BSF headquarters had only 147 paid employees .41 Thousands of police detachments were also sent to London, primarily to neutralize the actions of anti-fascists. As one of the English researchers wrote, "in the complacent pre-war England of Beaverbrook's isolationism and Chamberlain's mediocrity, a fierce hatred of fascists lived in the hearts of the workers. They remembered their comrades, who at that time in Spain were fighting to the death with Franco's Moroccans, Mussolini's fascist divisions and Goering's air armadas. " 42 At the call of the Communist Party and other left-wing forces, London workers totaling up to 150,000 people came out for a counter-demonstration .43 Several barricades were set up on Cable Street. Fights with the police began. Hundreds of anti-fascists were injured.

Faced with a powerful and determined rebuff, Mosley retreated. He canceled the march through the city and limited himself to seeing the Fascist forces. The victory of the anti-fascists in the "battle of Cable Street", which became a certain symbol and milestone in the resistance to British fascism, led to the decline of the fascist movement. His extremism also began to alarm the ruling circles, as it provoked an active anti-fascist rebuff and led to an increase in the influence of progressive forces and the CPV. In May 1940, already during the Second World War, Mosley and about 800 active members of the BSF were arrested on the basis of legislative acts on preventive measures against potential enemy agents .44 The British fascists showed themselves, as one of the founders of the British intelligence service, F. Jones, wrote, as "a fifth column equipped with radio transmitters" .45 The arrests continued until the end of 1940. In total, about 8 thousand people were detained, many of them were members of the Union of fascists. But at the end of 1940, fascist magazines were still being published in England, demanding Mosley's release. The BSF was officially disbanded only in 1942.

But Mosley was relatively short-lived in disgrace. The success of the USSR in the war against the Fascist aggressors led to the fact that, as the English progressive magazine Labor Monthly wrote, by 1943, "panic seized the Western rulers at the thought of the possibility of the fall of fascism and the victory of communism." 46 In October 1942, a secret government memorandum appeared in England on the need to create a union of European states directed against the USSR. The British establishment launched a smear campaign against the Soviet Union. Even the opening of the second front, as the Morning Star newspaper writes, was aimed not so much at defeating Hitler as at stopping the Red Army on its way to Berlin. 47
It was at this time that Mosley and other active fascists were released (although without the right to engage in political activism48 ). However, they immediately started creating underground organizations.

41 Times, 9.XI.1983.

42 Mullаllу F. Op. cit., pp. 102 - 103.

43 Piratin Ph. Op. cit., p. 85.

44 Mоsley O. Op. cit., p. 405.

45 Jones R. Most Secret War. British Scientific Intelligence 1935 - 1945. Lnd. 1978, p. 526.

46 Labour Monthly, 1963, March, p. 103.

47 Morning Star, 6.VI.1984.

48 Put Mosley Back in Prison (1943). CPGB, p. 4.

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fascist groups. The BSF is being restored under the banner of the Mosley Publishing house as an organization for the distribution of fascist literature. The Mosley News Letter is published, which throws mud at democracy, the labor movement, and the Soviet Union. Immediately after the end of the war, an active "return" of fascism began, and its neo-fascist base was opened. Already on February 8, 1948, the unification of 51 fascist groups led to the creation of a single fascist organization , the Unionist Movement, led by Mosley, 49 who decided to "start all over again." 50 According to F. Cohen, a prominent figure of the Communist Party of England, " the modern neo-fascist movement in Great Britain reflects and continues the racist ideas of A. Lees, who conceived the idea of organizing a superhetto on Madagascar for Jews around the world, G. G. Bilish, the first president of the jingoist British Society (who maintained ties with Hitler back in 1923) and O. Mosley with his BSF" 51 .

Summing up the analysis of some actual problems of the history of British fascism, taking into account the content of the archives opened in 1983 and the latest studies of its evolution in the interwar period, it is possible to determine its character, features and features with good reason. In the period between the two World Wars, various forms of fascism emerged in European countries, reflecting the peculiarities of the evolution of capitalist society, the specifics of the general crisis of capitalism. Fascism on English soil was one of the first in Europe, it is the fruit of the socio-economic and political development of British imperialism and reflects the interests of the most reactionary elements of the financial and industrial capital of Great Britain.

Fascism in Great Britain sought to fit into the system of bourgeois parliamentarism. Being an integral part of world fascism, it tried to act as a fascism of the "upper class", characterized by an intellectual character, tending to respectability. The history of British fascism once again confirms that bourgeois-democratic traditions and parliamentarism do not provide immunity from fascist ideology and practice, and that all forms and variants of fascism, no matter how "moderate" or "respectable" they may look, are always deeply reactionary in their essence and orientation. English fascism was strongly influenced by Italian and German fascism, but the possibilities of its maturation and spread were hindered not only by the relatively high social stability in the country, in the social structure of which the working class clearly prevails over the petty-bourgeois strata. It is also necessary to take into account such a factor as the political skill of the English bourgeoisie, which, for historical and opportunistic reasons, relied not so much on fascism as on other methods of defending its class rule.

Archival and documentary evidence that has recently become known shows that British fascism was more widespread and its organizations more numerous than previously thought, that it was the originator of a number of forms and methods of fascist activity, which later became widespread in other countries.

The development of the anti-fascist movement in England was important, including internationally. Active activity of the Communist Party of Great Britain, mass movement of British workers, rebuff

49 Mosleu O. Op. cit., p. 432.

50 Zhigalov I. I. UK. soch.

51 Cohen Ph. Racist Foregears of the National Front. - Morning Star, 28.II.1980.

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Mosley's fascist detachments in October 1936 stopped the further offensive of the fascists in this country.

In connection with the opening of the archives of fascist groups, there is an opportunity for further in-depth development of the history of English fascism, research of its social base and methods of influencing the masses. The desire to analyze more deeply the history of fascism, in particular the British one, to reveal the traditions and experience of the anti - fascist struggle is not only a tribute to the past, to the memory of the fighters against fascism and its victims, but also a study of an important phenomenon of modern history that has not been eradicated even today. It should not be forgotten that English fascism, having shown great vitality, was actually the first in Europe after 1945 to open a band of neo-fascism. Mosley, one of the few major fascist leaders, survived World War II.

Although the main forces of "traditional" fascism were defeated during the Second World War, those who consider fascism as such to belong only to the past are seriously mistaken. Its class roots have been preserved. Today, parties and organizations of the fascist type exist in more than 50 countries, being the ideological and political successor of pre-war fascism. In the conditions of further deepening of the general crisis of capitalism, the social and political conditions for the activities of neo-fascists and other carriers of fascist tendencies remain. The ideological and political crisis of bourgeois society is intensifying, the situation of the petty bourgeoisie is deteriorating, and mass unemployment is growing. The evils of capitalist society are used by reaction and the bourgeois media to push the population into the arms of demagogues who promise to "restore order" and establish a " strong government." Neo-fascism can be found in modern England in its most diverse manifestations: in the pro-fascist wing of the Conservative Party and its organizations, as well as in individual representatives of the military elite and the police.

Representatives of British neo-fascism, as well as other trends of Western European neo-fascism, are not averse to dissociating themselves from the most compromised attributes of fascism of the interwar period and adapting to the changed conditions and structural changes in English society. Great hopes are pinned on the new technocracy, on representatives of the state bureaucracy, and on the military-industrial complex, which is increasingly opposing itself to traditional bourgeois-democratic institutions .52 The study of neo-fascism is necessary for a timely and well-reasoned rebuff to enemy ideology and politics, the latest forms of anti-communism and anti-Sovietism. A deeper study of English fascism throughout its existence is important both for understanding the history and modern development of Great Britain, and for analyzing fascism, this international social phenomenon as a whole.

52 For more information, see: Zhigalov I. I. UK. soch.

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