The 'Leading War Party': Communists and World War Two

Abstract

During the Second World War the Communist Party of Australia (CPA) reached the peak of its influence and membership. There had been rapid growth in the early 1940s, the result, at least as far as the leadership was concerned, of the attitude the Party took to the war effort. The party was able to benefit from both its identification with the successes of the Soviet people in resisting fascism, and its advancement of populist policies. This was most evident in its positions on the prosecu tion of the war, positions which were articulated within the framework of a strategy for a 'people's front against fascism'.