43 Group

Template:Distinguish Template:Short description Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox organization The 43 Group was a British anti-fascist group set up by Jewish ex-servicemen after the Second World War. 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 new fascist party, the Union Movement. The activities of these fascist groups included antisemitic speeches in public places, and from the rank-and-file fascists, violent attacks on London Jews and Jewish property.<ref name=Hillman2001>Template:Cite journal</ref> Group members broke up far-right meetings, infiltrated fascist groups, and attacked the fascists in street fighting.<ref>Adam Lent "British Social Movements Since 1945: Sex, Colour, Peace and Power". Macmillan p19, Template:ISBN</ref>

Their newspaper, On Guard, was published from 1947 to 1949.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref>

Early history and activitiesEdit

The name "43 Group" came from the number of people in the room of Maccabi House (a Jewish sports centre in Hampstead, London) during the group's founding meeting in April 1946.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Those who convened the initial meeting included:

Morris Beckman, served in the Merchant Navy during World War II. He lived through two torpedo attacks during the War.
Gerald Flamberg, a middleweight boxing champion and member of 156 Battalion. Flamberg won the Military Medal at Arnhem during Operation Market Garden;<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Leonard Sherman, a martial arts expert and member of the Welsh Guards;
Alec Carson, who flew Hawker Hurricanes in the Battle of Britain.

The organisation had two aims: to prevent fascist activities by physical force if necessary, and to pressure Parliament into making racial incitement a criminal offence.<ref name=":1" />

The 17-year-old Vidal Sassoon joined the group and later joined the Israeli Defence Forces to fight in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Sassoon later founded a multinational hair styling business.<ref>Anita Singh (21 April 2008). "Vidal Sassoon: Anti-fascist warrior-hairdresser". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 27 April 2008.</ref><ref>"Pictorial History: Acquiring Arms and Personnel". Aliyah Bet & Machal Virtual Museum. Retrieved 27 April 2008.</ref>

The initial membership was around 300 people. The group grew to include many hundreds of men and women, not all Jewish.<ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Many among them had been decorated for bravery, including the VC (Petty Officer Tommy Gould<ref>Mark Gould (22 February 2009). "Last reunion for war heroes who came home to fight the fascists". The Independent. London. Retrieved 3 March 2010.</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>), DSO, DFC, DSM, and MM. The organisation was sometimes portrayed by its enemies as a front for either Jewish terrorists or communists, but in fact it was mostly composed of British ex-servicemen.Template:Cn

The group published On Guard, from July 1947 to December 1949, an anti-fascist paper which often published intelligence gathered by Group spies. As well as covering the activities of Oswald Mosley and the British fascists, On Guard reported on the activities of fascists all around the world and racist injustices in countries including the USA and South Africa.<ref name=":0" />

Relationship with other organisationsEdit

The 43 Group was viewed by established Jewish organisations, such as the Board of Deputies of British Jews, as counterproductive.<ref name=":1" /> The Board of Deputies of British Jews worried that the 43 Group's activities could damage the Jewish community's reputation, especially in light of the terrorist acts and guerrilla warfare carried out by militant Zionist groups such as the Irgun in British Mandate Palestine.<ref>Todd M. Endelman "The Jews of Britain, 1656 to 2000" University of California Press, 2002, p233 Template:ISBN</ref> However it also had promiment supporters, both political and social. Left-wing Labour MPs such as D. N. Pritt, John Platt-Mills, and Woodrow Wyatt were keen supporters, while entertainment giants Jack Solomon and Bud Flanagan regularly donated significant sums to the organisation.<ref name=":1" />

However, the 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 Home Secretary, James Chuter Ede.<ref>House of Commons Template:Webarchive Template:Vague</ref> Rather, 43 Group sought to prevent the Union Movement mobilising and gathering support, remembering that the Nazi Party had gained prominence in a similar fashion as the Brownshirts on the streets of post-World War I Germany.<ref name=":2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Dissolution and impactEdit

The 43 Group was voluntarily disbanded on 4 June 1950, as various Jewish organizations and influential individuals members considered that the immediate threat had passed.<ref>Daniel Sonabend "We Fight Fascists: The 43 Group and Their Forgotten Battle for Post-War Britain" Verso Books (October 2019) Template:ISBN P.307</ref><ref name=":2" /> Although Mosley's Union Movement remained active throughout the 1950s, it was not until 1962, when Colin Jordan and his National Socialist Movement unfurled an enormous banner in Trafalgar Square bearing the words "Free Britain from Jewish Control" that former 43 group members formed the 62 Group in the former group's image and British fascists again encountered any significant privately organised street-level resistance.<ref name=":2" />

The overall effect of 43 Group is unclear. Morris Beckman argued that it was crucial in stopping a resurgence of fascism in post-war Britain. The 43 group was undoubtedly an inspiration to other militant anti-fascist groups such as the 62 Group and Anti-Fascist Action.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

LegacyEdit

In 2004, the group was the subject of BBC Radio 4 programme A Rage in Dalston, part of The Archive Hour series.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In September 2015, it was announced that BBC2 and NBC were co-developing a six-part drama series alongside surviving members of The 43 Group and produced by The Tenafly Film Company and Tiger Aspect Drama,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> but the series was not made.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Historical MarkerEdit

Placed by the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation, U.K. Branch, organised by Martin Sugarman, financed by Jerry Klinger (JASHP), and the Association of Jewish Ex-Servicemen and Women, at the site of the 43 Group Headquarters. The marker is located about 1/4 mile from Trafalgar Square in London.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

File:43 Group.jpg

British Post-WW2 Jewish antifascist fighters

"At 4 Panton Street was the Headquarters of the mostly Jewish ex-servicemen and Women's organization. The 43 Group They confronted the British Neo-fascist movement in 1946-50 and early 1960s to rid Britain of Antisemitism and all hatred. Be strong and of good courage (Joshua 1:9) Hebrew (The Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation U.K. Branch and AJEX UK)"

File:Ridley Rd 2.jpg

Ridley Rd 2

December, 2023, the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation, U.K. Branch, together with the Association of Jewish Ex-Servicemen and Women, organised by Martin Sugarman, placed the Ridley Rd. Marker.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Ridley Rd. area was the key area where the hatred, bigotry and racism of the British Neo-Nazi/Fascist movement was confronted by the 43 Group.

The Text reads:

"This Ridley Road plaque marks a key site where the mainly Jewish Ex-Servicemen and Women anti-Fascist organization 'The 43 Group' Confronted the British Neo-Fascist movement in 1946-50 and early 1960s to rid Britain of antisemitism and all hatred."

"Be Strong and of Good Courage (Joshua 1:9) (The Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation UK Branch and AJEX UK)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

ReferencesEdit

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External linksEdit

Voices on Antisemitism, Interview with Vidal Sassoon from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
London's Jewish community after the war
Morris Beckman: My favourite books
Review of Beckman's book
Interview with Morris Beckman
The 43 Group - UK Jewish Anti-Fascist Organization - J-Grit.com