Socialization into Rebellion: Political Engagement of Youth in Interwar Central Europe

Session Submission Type: Panel

Brief Description

Our panel will address processes of socialization into rebellious movements in the interwar period. They might have been ideologically opposed or even hostile to each other, but what the habituses of their followers had in common was a trait of radicalism in their striving to overthrow the political, social, and economic structures of their time.
Contributors will thus examine selected generational and social milieus within right-wing and left-wing movements in interwar Central Europe, including some that have been to a significant extent overlooked in the historiography: nationalist secondary school pupils, “bottom” communists without higher education and Jewish origin, Catholic university students, fascist peasant youth. The papers will discuss the social backgrounds of their representatives and the paths to radicalisation, as well as the experiences of individuals as established participants in certain political movements.
Beyond the study of different social and political milieus, this panel will offer new insights into the mechanisms of political radicalisation in the interwar period and will foster a deeper understanding of the political socialisation of youth. Moreover, it will raise questions about the transnational generation of the European interwar crisis.

Sub Unit

• History: Central and Southeast Europe, Since 1918

Chair

• Padraic J. Kenney, Indiana U Bloomington

Papers

• The Making of Fascists: Warsaw’s Private Schools and the Radicalization of Nationalists in Pre-war Poland - Piotr Franz, European U Viadrina (Germany)

• Temporalities of Revolt: Youth Radicalization and Fascism in Interwar Romania - Raul Carstocea, U of Leicester (UK)

• Muscles of Revolution: Plebeian Rebels and the Polish Communist Movement - Łukasz Bertram, Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences (Poland)

Discussant

• Padraic J. Kenney, Indiana U Bloomington

Session Manager

• Ellen Bleier, U of Notre Dame