“They Shall Not Pass…. and they did not pass!”
Anti-Fascist Action (AFA) activists from various parts of the country explain in words and deeds the concept behind their basic principles, which were “to confront fascism both physically and ideologically.”
In this first part, Mensi, the lead singer of legendary punk band Angelic Upstarts, introduces AFA’s politics and explains his own support for militant anti-fascism. The growth of the far-right in Europe is analysed and the BNP’s ‘Rights For Whites’ campaign is set against the context of a largely politically alienated section of the white working class.
The history of Mosely’s Blackshirts and the Battle of Cable Street feature strongly in this section with eye-witness accounts from Cable Street anti-fascist veterans Joyce and Charlie Goodman (RIP).
First broadcast on Open Space in 1992