Donny Gluckstein – författare

This history reclaims the Second World War as a global fight 'from below'. The vast majority of historical accounts have focused on the regular armies of the allied powers, however, the often-neglected people's militias were crucial not only to the defeat of fascism, but also colonialism, imperialism and even capitalism.Looking at militias in Yugoslavia, Greece, Poland and Latvia, as well as the Warsaw Uprising and anti-fascist movements in Germany, it presents a different battle, fought on different terms. Widening its scope to India – where an independence movement was shaking an already weak British Empire, and onto alternative anti-imperialist struggles in Indonesia and Vietnam, a global picture of people’s resistance is revealed.Despite these radical elements, the allied governments were more interested in creating a new order to suit their interests, and many of these movements were ultimately betrayed. However, many shook the existing world order to its core.

This history reclaims the Second World War as a global fight 'from below'. The vast majority of historical accounts have focused on the regular armies of the allied powers, however, the often-neglected people's militias were crucial not only to the defeat of fascism, but also colonialism, imperialism and even capitalism.Looking at militias in Yugoslavia, Greece, Poland and Latvia, as well as the Warsaw Uprising and anti-fascist movements in Germany, it presents a different battle, fought on different terms. Widening its scope to India – where an independence movement was shaking an already weak British Empire, and onto alternative anti-imperialist struggles in Indonesia and Vietnam, a global picture of people’s resistance is revealed.Despite these radical elements, the allied governments were more interested in creating a new order to suit their interests, and many of these movements were ultimately betrayed. However, many shook the existing world order to its core.

In 1871, the workers of Paris took control of the city. When they established the world's first workers' democracy, they found no blueprints or precedents for how to run their city without princes or politicians. As they built new institutions of collective power to overturn social and economic inequality, their former rulers sought to thwart their efforts. By noting the historic problems of the Commune, debates over its implications and the glimpse of a better world it provided, Gluckstein reveals its enduring lessons and inspiration for today's struggles.

The rise of the Third Reich remains one of the most widely debated and discussed events of the twentieth century. Gluckstein sets out to place Nazism in the context of the economic crisis and the failed workers' revolution, seeking to draw lessons for those interested in preventing fascism's return.