Answer

The 1936 Battle of Cable Street and for Anti-Fascism in the United Kingdom

The events of Cable Street in 1936 will remain engrained in the history of Great Britain as an iconic moment for anti-fascism in the country. East London’s Cable Street witnessed a standoff between Oswald Moseley’s British Union of Fascists and the Blackshirts ­fascist paramilitary group versus an organized crowd of anti-fascists that led to anti-fascists claiming the victory with the famous words engraved on Cable Street, "THEY SHALL NOT PASS." This statement is consequential to the organized crowd of anti-fascists when they prevailed to repel Moseley's fascist groups in conducting their march in Cable Street. However, it can be argued that while anti-fascists claimed victory for stopping Moseley’s fascist march down Cable Street, the fascists may have had an advantage on the Battle of Cable Street. As much as the anti-fascist crowd claimed victory in the 1936 Battle of Cable Street, I believe that Moseley and his march of fascist supporters benefited more by gaining popularity, showing defiance from non-British immigrants on officially permitted demonstrations, and the fascist’s ability to promote intolerance and violence.

Popularity Gained

The 1936 Battle of Cable Street helped Oswald Moseley and his Blackshirts and the British Union of Fascists gain popularity. O’Shea (2016) explains that Moseley's main point was for the march on the streets of East London was to further his fascist ideology, influenced by his mentors Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler. During the marches that Mussolini and Hitler had while radicalizing people into their fascist ideologies, they performed street marches that showed their power, influence and intimidated those who would oppose it. Moseley and the British Union of Fascists took to the streets to further their influence in spreading their ideology. Cospey (2016) adds that although the anti-fascist crowds that gathered stopped the demonstrations, the British Union of Fascists gained over 5,000 recruits within two days of the demonstrations. Therefore, while anti-fascist crowds consolidated and stopped the march, fascists used this demonstration as a recruitment initiative to gain more supporters to believe in their ideology. Conclusively, anti-fascists saw victory superficially while fascists meticulously gained followers in the masses following the disruption of the demonstration.

Defiance on British Nationalists from Non-British Immigrants

Secondly, the 1936 Battle of Cable Street revealed the defiance from non-British immigrants on officially permitted demonstrations. Finally, the 1929 U.S. market crash saw a ripple of vast unemployment spread through Europe over the 1930s, leading to poverty spreading. Poverty led to the immigration of people from neighbouring countries (Pistol, 2020). Pistol (2020) adds that some of these immigrants were Jewish political refugees from neighbouring Germany escaping the Nazi tyrannical rule of Adolf Hitler and others from Ireland escaping poverty in search of better work opportunities. These immigrants settled in East London.

Moseley, during the march, had gotten a public notice that permitted his demonstration march on the streets with his fascist supporters. Therefore, while Moseley and his supporters marched on Cable Street, British citizens faced opposition from immigrants that can be registered as defiance (O'Shea, 2016). Spafford (2012) adds that Moseley was careful and strategic in instigating counter-violence from the anti-fascist crowds that provoked them while conducting the demonstration.  The implication on this act of defiance was that Moseley's Blackshirts and British Union of Fascists would be viewed as martyrs in their patriotic government-allowed demonstrative march down East London (O’Shea, 2016). On the other hand, the aliens, immigrants, and communists who opposed and blocked the demonstrative march would be viewed as the villains of the march for the counter-violent unlawful demonstration they portrayed.

Although the anti-fascist supporters won by blocking the demonstrations, fascist supporters across Great Britain saw this act of defiance on citizens of the United Kingdom by aliens and immigrants as a provocation on British-born civilians. Resultantly, the fascist supporters rained violence on German-fled Jews and aliens and supported intimidation tactics (O’Shea, 2016). To this day, far right-wing supporters in Great Britain use this tactic to intimidate and gain support by consolidating citizens through nationalistic modernistic patriotism towards opposing an emerging issue. Accordingly, although the anti-fascists managed to stop Moseley's fascist demonstrative march, the following united patriotic Brits against aliens and immigrants.

Fascistic Promotion of Intolerance and Violence

Lastly, the Battle of Cable Street led to fascists promoting intolerance and violence amongst aliens and immigrants who had settled in the United Kingdom that goes on currently. The strategic use of the government permitted demonstrative demonstration by Oswald Moseley and his fascist supporters to gain popularity and instigate violence amongst ethnic minority aliens and immigrants in Great Britain saw an upscale of intimidation by fellow far-right-wing supporters and other fascists (O’Shea, 2016). Moseley orchestrated the demonstrative march of about 3,000 fascists in East London's Cable Street, where Jewish immigrants lived to spark tensions that were met with resistance from the 250,000-capacity anti-fascist crowd that gathered (Reynolds, 2019). The popularity gained from the halting of demonstrations sparked interests with other far right-wing supporters who have always been against multiculturalism and immigration, advocating for preserving the traditional British culture (Reynolds, 2019). The fascist supporters and far right-wing supporters during the Battle of Cable Street used intimidation tactics and violence to discriminate against the Jews and ethnic minorities who settled around East London (O’Shea, 2016). Prejudice and victimization spread with the increase of supporters from the demonstration march that can be seen around the United Kingdom to date.

O’Shea (2016) reiterates; as Jews in the 1930s were discriminated against, victimized, and violated by fascists, the far right-wing supporters, who have adopted the fascist ideologies, have carried on the discrimination and prejudice. In this sentiment, I believe that the 1936 Battle of Cable Street led to the formation of white nationalists in the U.K. motivated by prejudice and victimization of ethnic minorities. Therefore, Barling (2011) explains that the Battle of Cable Street brought about the formation of white nationalists who to this day seek to preserve conventional British culture by persecuting ethnic minorities like Muslims, while there is a growing intolerance for Jews just like fascist supporters in the 1930s because they have adopted ideologies from fascism in the 1930s. Agreeably, while the anti-fascists managed to ward off the 1936 fascist demonstration march, the ripple effect is that white nationalists still victimize them through adopted fascist ideologies.

Conclusion

Oswald Moseley strategically calculated the fascist march on East London’s Cable Street that led to anti-fascist supporters, comprised of Irish labourers and politically settled Jewish refugees, which led them to believe they had gained the victory. However, looking at the nitty-gritty of the occurrence, fascists became more popular, increasing their supporters in numbers, advocated for the sensitization of treating British nationals over aliens and immigrants over national policies and brought about the rise of violence and intolerance on ethnic minorities that continues to this day. Thus, while anti-fascists claimed victory of the 1936 Battle of Cable Street, the repercussion has led to more prejudice, discrimination, and victimization by white nationalists in the U.K. presently.  On paper, anti-fascists might have claimed victory by halting the demonstrative march, but it was the fascists that left a lasting revolutionary mark that has become ideology presently.