Anti-Communism in Britain During the Early Cold War : : A Very British Witch Hunt / / Matthew Gerth.

• VerfasserIn: Gerth, Matthew,
• Place / Publishing House: London : : University of London Press,, 2022.; ©2023
• Year of Publication: 2022
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (260 pages)
• ISBN: 9781914477386
• Hierarchical level: Monograph
• Statement of Responsibility: Matthew Gerth.

The Cold War produced in many countries a form of politicalrepression and societal paranoia which often infected governmentaland civic institutions. In the West, the driving catalyst for thephenomenon was anti-communism. While much has been written on thepost-war American red scare commonly known as McCarthyism, thedomestic British response to the 'red menace' during the early ColdWar has until now received little attention. Anti-Communism inBritain During the Early Cold War is the first book to examinehow British Cold War anti-communism transpired and manifested asMcCarthyism raged across the Atlantic. Drawing from a wealth of archival material, this bookdemonstrates that while policymakers and politicians in Britainsought to differentiate their anti-communist initiatives from the'witch hunt hysteria' occurring in the United States, they wereoften keen to conduct - albeit less publicly - their own hunts aswell. Through analysing how domestic anti-communism exhibiteditself in state policies, political rhetoric, party politics andthe trade union movement, it argues that an overreaction to thecommunist threat occurred. In striking detail, this book describesa nation at war with a specific political ideology and itswillingness to use a variety of measures to disrupt or eradicateits influence.