Growing Up Communist in the Netherlands and Britain : : Childhood, Political Activism, and Identity Formation / / Elke Weesjes.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Amsterdam University Press Complete eBook-Package 2021
• VerfasserIn: Weesjes, Elke,
• Place / Publishing House: Amsterdam : : Amsterdam University Press, , [2021]; ©2021
• Year of Publication: 2021
• Language: English
• Series: Heritage and Memory Studies ; 14
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (294 p.)

This book documents communists’ attempts, successful and otherwise, to overcome their isolation and to connect with the major social and political movements of the twentieth century. Communist parties in Britain and the Netherlands emerged from the Second World War expecting to play a significant role in post-war society, due to their domestic anti-fascist activities and to the part played by the Soviet Union in defeating fascism. The Cold War shattered these hopes, and isolated communist parties and their members. By analysing the accounts of communist children, Weesjes highlights their struggle to establish communities and define their identities within the specific cultural, social, and political frameworks of the Cold War period and beyond.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Table of Contents -- Acknowledgements -- 1 Introduction: Cradle Communists and Oral History -- Part I -- 2 Under the Party’s Wing: Communist Youth Organisations 1920-1956 -- 3 Out of the Shadows: Communist Youth Organisations 1957-1968 -- 4 Fragmentation and Demise: Communist Youth Organisations 1969-1991 -- Part II -- 5 From Heroes to Villains: The Second World War and ‘1956’ -- 6 Private Spheres: Communist Home Life -- 7 Public Spheres: Neighbourhood, School and Work -- 8 Epilogue: Looking Back -- 9 Afterword -- List of Abbreviations -- Bibliography -- Index