We Fight Fascists

We Fight Fascists:The 43 Group and Their Forgotten Battle for Post-war Britain

  • Paperback

    + free ebook

    Regular price $19.95 Sale price $15.96
    Page redirects on selection
    Add to cart
    20% off
  • Hardback

    + free ebook

    Regular price $34.95 Sale price $27.96
    Page redirects on selection
    Add to cart
    20% off
  • Ebook

    Regular price $14.99 Sale price $12.00
    Page redirects on selection
    Add to cart
    20% off

The story of the Jewish ex-servicemen who fought against Oswald Mosley after World War II

In 1946 many Jewish soldiers returned to their homes in England imagining that they had fought and defeated the forces of fascism in Europe. Yet in London they found a revived fascist movement inspired by Sir Oswald Mosley and stirring up agitation against Jews and communists. Many felt that the government, the police and even the Jewish Board of Deputies were ignoring the threat; so they had to take matters into their own hands, by any means necessary.

Forty-three Jewish servicemen met together and set up a group that tirelessly organised, infiltrated meetings, and broke up street demonstrations to stop the rebirth of the far right. The group included returned war heroes; women who went undercover; and young Jews, such as hairdresser Vidal Sassoon, seeking adventure. From 1947, the 43 Group grew into a powerful troop that could muster hundreds of fighters turning meetings into mass street brawls at short notice.

The history of the 43 Group is not just a gripping story of a forgotten moment in Britain’s postwar history; it is also a timely lesson in how to confront fascism, and how to win.

Reviews

  • Through interviews with veterans, and material from antifascist and Jewish community archives, Sonabend vividly reconstructs this story. It is a story both inspiring and uncomfortable, and the fundamental questions it raises have yet to disappear from our political landscape.

    Daniel TrillingGuardian
  • A new, comprehensive history of the group.

    The Economist
  • Brilliant, compelling and very timely. This is the sort of history we should all know about, especially in these troubled times, but were never taught at school.

    Keith Lowe, author of The Fear and the Freedom