Communism in Crisis in Britain and Abroad, 1931-1979

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Communism in Crisis in Britain and Abroad, 1931-1979

A black and white image of Russian tanks occupying Budapest, during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.

The personal papers of John Gollan

The whole idea of Socialism is now compromised in Hungary. The masses of workers now say ‘We are not interested in Socialism or Capitalism. We want to live better.'

Charlie Coutts and Chris Birch, CPGB Report on Hungary

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Study first hand accounts of the international and domestic crises of communism

A black and white image of John Gollan giving a speech into microphones.

John Gollan (1911-1977) was a political leader and communist activist in Britain during the 20th century. Gollan joined the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) in 1926 following his involvement in the General Strike of the same year. A close apprentice and confidante of Harry Pollitt, he was seen as the most appropriate and able person to take over his crucial role of General Secretary in 1956.

Gollan’s leadership became characterised by crises in both the international communist movement and in his party back home. His and others’ apologist attitude for the Soviet Union’s interventions in Hungary (1956) and Czechoslovakia (1968) caused reputational damage to the CPGB and sowed deep divisions in the very fabric of the party. This collection, drawn from Gollan’s personal papers, attests to the slow decline of the CPGB as it increasingly lurched from firefighting international controversies to domestic irrelevance.

The collection is also accompanied by three contextual essays written by Professor Kevin Morgan.

Highlights

Section of the opening to a transcription of a trial, The Lord Advocate vs John Gollan, dated 17 July 1931.

Licensed to access Gollan on trial for sedition, 1931

Radicalised during his youth, Gollan’s first major conflict with the authorities came in the form of his trial on charges of sedition in 1931. This document demonstrates his early political activity and willingness to commit his future to the cause of communism.

Section of a document titled Party Democracy.

Licensed to access Fallout from the Hungarian Revolution, 1956

The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 was a large-scale uprising against the Soviet Union’s de facto control of Hungarian policy. It came during the first year of Gollan’s premiership of the CPGB, and caused a major rift between those like Gollan who stuck loyal to the Soviet Union, and those who believed the intervention went too far.

Outline of the south of Britain, upside down, with Wales enlarged. The text Devolution, other perspectives on Britain overlays the map, with the text Comment above.

Licensed to access The cause for Welsh and Scottish devolution, 1967-1977

As a native of Edinburgh, the issue of regional devolution was one close to Gollan’s heart. This document contains a range of pro-devolution material from CPGB campaigns during the 1960s and 1970s.

Section of an article from Soviet News, dated 23 July 1968, titled Letter to Central Committee of Czechoslovak Communist Party.

Licensed to access Damage limitation during the Prague Spring, 1968

Gollan’s CPGB was again knocked when the Soviet Union crushed another rebellion in Czechoslovakia. This further exacerbated tensions in the party and led to a hemorrhaging of popular support that the party never recovered from.

Insights

John Gollan was born into a working class family in Scotland in 1911 and became politicised during the General Strike of 1926. Featured material from his early life shows his role in the youth movements of the 1930s.
He gradually built up a respected reputation within the CPGB and became close to General Secretary Harry Pollitt. He was deemed the most able and appropriate person to take over this key position upon Pollitt’s retirement in 1956.
Gollan’s premiership at the top of the CPGB seemed intertwined with disasters for the international communist movement and a declining influence for the CPGB in Britain.
Consecutive Soviet interventions in Hungary in 1956 and Czechoslovakia in 1968, two of their ‘satellite’ states during the Cold War, caused massive reputational damage for the CPGB. It also created a deep chasm between those, like Gollan, who acted as apologists for Soviet violence, and those who believed it’s authoritarianism had gone too far.
The seeds of division sowed by the experience of Hungary and Czechoslovakia led to a blossoming of Eurocommunism in the CPGB as a counter-weight to the Soviet-supporting hardliners. By the time Gollan stepped down in the 1970s the CPGB was in barely disguised open warfare over the direction of the party.
As well as a wealth of material on international issues, the collection also demonstrates Gollan’s efforts to keep the CPGB relevant to British politics amid disasters and lost credibility.

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Worker and Kolkhoz Woman monument, Moscow, modern-day Russia

Licensed to access Communisms and the Cold War, 1944-1986

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A black and white image of a crowd of people cheering and clapping their hands above their heads.

Licensed to access British Communism in Campaigns and Events, 1947-1991

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A black and white image of a session at the Grand Kremlin Palace.

Licensed to access The Political Culture of British Communism, 1920-1991

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