92.54.250.178: Grammar Mistake

2026-03-29T20:39:49Z

Grammar Mistake

← Older revision		Revision as of 20:39, 29 March 2026
Line 13:		Line 13:
	When news of the success of the [[Russian revolution of 1917\|October Revolution]] in [[Russian Federation\|Russia]] arrived in 1917, Pollitt was overjoyed at his foreign comrades' success and subsequently became a steadfast supporter of the Soviet Union. When the young Socialist Republic was attacked by the armies of the [[Imperialism\|imperialist]] powers, Pollitt immediately joined the [[Hands off Russia]] campaign to oppose the intervention, becoming a national organiser for the movement. When it was discovered in May 1920 that the British Government intended to ship arms on board the ''SS Jolly George'' for [[Republic of Poland (1918–1939)\|Poland]] to use in the [[Polish–Soviet War]], Pollitt helped convince the London dockers to refuse to load the vessel. The British government retreated from the conflict soon after.<ref name=":0" />		When news of the success of the [[Russian revolution of 1917\|October Revolution]] in [[Russian Federation\|Russia]] arrived in 1917, Pollitt was overjoyed at his foreign comrades' success and subsequently became a steadfast supporter of the Soviet Union. When the young Socialist Republic was attacked by the armies of the [[Imperialism\|imperialist]] powers, Pollitt immediately joined the [[Hands off Russia]] campaign to oppose the intervention, becoming a national organiser for the movement. When it was discovered in May 1920 that the British Government intended to ship arms on board the ''SS Jolly George'' for [[Republic of Poland (1918–1939)\|Poland]] to use in the [[Polish–Soviet War]], Pollitt helped convince the London dockers to refuse to load the vessel. The British government retreated from the conflict soon after.<ref name=":0" />

	In 1920 Pollitt took part in the foundation of the Communist ~~Part~~ of Great Britain before taking his first trip to the Soviet Union in 1921.<ref name=":0" /> In 1922 he became a member of the CPGB Central Committee and of the Central Committee’s Politburo and from 1924 to 1943 he was a member of the Executive Committee of the [[Communist International (1919–1943)\|Comintern]]. From 1921 to 1924 he was secretary of the London Bureau of the [[Red International of Trade Unions]] and between 1924 and 1929 he was general secretary of the National Minority movement opposing the reformism of other workers movements.<ref name=":1" />		In 1920 Pollitt took part in the foundation of the Communist Party of Great Britain before taking his first trip to the Soviet Union in 1921.<ref name=":0" /> In 1922 he became a member of the CPGB Central Committee and of the Central Committee’s Politburo and from 1924 to 1943 he was a member of the Executive Committee of the [[Communist International (1919–1943)\|Comintern]]. From 1921 to 1924 he was secretary of the London Bureau of the [[Red International of Trade Unions]] and between 1924 and 1929 he was general secretary of the National Minority movement opposing the reformism of other workers movements.<ref name=":1" />

	In March 1925 Pollitt was kidnapped by a members of the [[British Fascists]] which prevented him speaking at a meeting in [[Liverpool]]. Later in the year, days after his marriage, he was arrested with eleven other leading members of the Communist Party. The charge was one of publishing seditious libel and inciting to commit breaches of the Incitement to Mutiny Act of 1797. The politically motivated charge resulted in Pollitt and others being sentenced to twelve months in prison enough to keep them conveniently locked up during the period of the 1926 [[General strike\|General Strike]].<ref name=":0" />		In March 1925 Pollitt was kidnapped by a members of the [[British Fascists]] which prevented him speaking at a meeting in [[Liverpool]]. Later in the year, days after his marriage, he was arrested with eleven other leading members of the Communist Party. The charge was one of publishing seditious libel and inciting to commit breaches of the Incitement to Mutiny Act of 1797. The politically motivated charge resulted in Pollitt and others being sentenced to twelve months in prison enough to keep them conveniently locked up during the period of the 1926 [[General strike\|General Strike]].<ref name=":0" />

General-KJ: Created the page

2024-12-14T23:31:18Z

Created the page

New page

{{Infobox politician|name=Harry Pollitt|caption=Pollitt in 1934|birth_date=22 November 1890|birth_place=Droylsden, [[Lancashire]], [[England]]|death_date=27 June 1960 (aged 69)|death_place=Great Australian Bight, aboard SS Orion|nationality=[[British]]|political_orientation=[[Marxism-Leninism]]<br>[[Revisionism]]|political_party=[[CPGB]]|image=Pollitt_Portrait_(cropped).png}}

'''Harry Pollitt''' (22 November 1890 – 27 June 1960) was a [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland|British]] [[Communism|communist]] who served as the General Secretary of the [[Communist Party of Great Britain]] (CPGB) from July 1929 to September 1939 and again from 1941 to 1956. After being succeeded as General Secretary by [[John Gollan]] in 1956, he served as party chairman until his death in 1960. Pollitt spent most of his life as a [[Marxism–Leninism|Marxist-Leninist]] in support of the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1922–1991)|USSR]] and in particular [[Joseph Stalin]], however, in 1951 he would help write the CPGB's [[Revisionism|revisionist]] party program, ''[[Britain’s Road to Socialism]]'', which continues to distort the British communist movement to this day.

== Early life ==
Pollitt was born on November 22, 1890 in the textile village of Droylsden in [[Lancashire]]. His father was a blacksmith's striker whilst his mother was a weaver, both of who were ardent [[Trade union|trade unionists]]. At the age of 12 he started working with his mother at the mill as a half-timer. His experiences at the mill; witnessing the conditions his mother was subjected to, helped shape his views on [[socialism]] and his desire to bring down the [[ruling class]]. Consequently he was introduced to his local [[Independent Labour Party]] branch by his mother, which he would become an enthusiastic member of in 1909.<ref name=":0">{{Citation|author=Executive Committee of the Communist Party of Great Britain|year=1969|title=Harry Pollitt, a tribute|title-url=https://ia903106.us.archive.org/20/items/harrypollitttrib00comm/harrypollitttrib00comm.pdf}}</ref>

Pollitt became a boilermaker’s apprentice at Gorton Tank railway locomotive building plant before becoming a first-class member of the Boilermakers’ Society in 1912. He retained this membership proudly all his life and was later elected [[London]] district secretary of the Boilermakers’ Society in 1919.<ref name=":0" />

== Young militant ==
In 1912 he took part in the formation of the [[British Socialist Party]] with his local organisation and spoke firmly in favour of [[revolution]] instead of the [[reformism]], producing his first leaflet, ''Socialism or Social Reform'', arguing thus in 1911. His outlook made him an outspoken opponent of the [[First World War]], regarding it as a war between rival imperialist groups in which the workers on both sides would suffer and gain nothing.<ref name=":0" /> For the duration of the war he devoted his energy to strengthening [[Proletariat|working class]] organisation and improving working conditions, helping lead a 1915 strike of shipyard workers in [[Southampton]].<ref name=":1">{{Citation|author=N. V. Matkovskii|year=1979|title=The Great Soviet Encyclopedia|title-url=https://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Harry+Pollitt|chapter=Pollitt, Harry}}</ref> His work led to his victimisation by the [[Capitalism|capitalist]] owners of big factories or shipyards who refused to give him employment forcing him to work in smaller workshops.<ref name=":0" />

When news of the success of the [[Russian revolution of 1917|October Revolution]] in [[Russian Federation|Russia]] arrived in 1917, Pollitt was overjoyed at his foreign comrades' success and subsequently became a steadfast supporter of the Soviet Union. When the young Socialist Republic was attacked by the armies of the [[Imperialism|imperialist]] powers, Pollitt immediately joined the [[Hands off Russia]] campaign to oppose the intervention, becoming a national organiser for the movement. When it was discovered in May 1920 that the British Government intended to ship arms on board the ''SS Jolly George'' for [[Republic of Poland (1918–1939)|Poland]] to use in the [[Polish–Soviet War]], Pollitt helped convince the London dockers to refuse to load the vessel. The British government retreated from the conflict soon after.<ref name=":0" />

In 1920 Pollitt took part in the foundation of the Communist Part of Great Britain before taking his first trip to the Soviet Union in 1921.<ref name=":0" /> In 1922 he became a member of the CPGB Central Committee and of the Central Committee’s Politburo and from 1924 to 1943 he was a member of the Executive Committee of the [[Communist International (1919–1943)|Comintern]]. From 1921 to 1924 he was secretary of the London Bureau of the [[Red International of Trade Unions]] and between 1924 and 1929 he was general secretary of the National Minority movement opposing the reformism of other workers movements.<ref name=":1" />

In March 1925 Pollitt was kidnapped by a members of the [[British Fascists]] which prevented him speaking at a meeting in [[Liverpool]]. Later in the year, days after his marriage, he was arrested with eleven other leading members of the Communist Party. The charge was one of publishing seditious libel and inciting to commit breaches of the Incitement to Mutiny Act of 1797. The politically motivated charge resulted in Pollitt and others being sentenced to twelve months in prison enough to keep them conveniently locked up during the period of the 1926 [[General strike|General Strike]].<ref name=":0" />

== General Secretary ==
Pollitt was elected General Secretary in August 1929, replacing [[Albert Inkpin]], and soon after in 1930 he played a leading role in launching party newspaper, the [[Morning Star|Daily Worker]], which he regarded as essential for the interests of the working class. During the 1930’s he led great campaigns against [[unemployment]] and [[fascism]], resulting in his temporary arrest in 1934 for speeches against the treatment of the unemployed. He also played a part in the organisation of the British section of the [[International Brigade]] and other forms of aid for the Republican Government of [[Spanish Republic (1931–1939)|Spain]] in the [[Spanish Civil War]] against [[Francisco Franco|Franco]]'s fascists supported by [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]] and [[Benito Mussolini|Mussolini]].<ref name=":0" />

In the leadup to the [[Second World War]] he consistently opposed [[Neville Chamberlain]]’s policy of appeasing and allowing the [[German Reich (1933–1945)|Nazi Germany]] to gain strength. He urged for an alliance between Britain, the Soviet Union and [[French Republic|France]] to check fascism and achieve peace along with the opening up of a Second Front in the war and measures to produce a lasting peace. After the end of the war Pollitt became overly optimistic and began campaigning to abolish [[nuclear weapons]] and to end [[United States of America|Statesian]] domination of Britain via an alliance between Britain and the USSR.<ref name=":0" />

Throughout his tenure as General Secretary he supported both the socialist nations and the people of [[Colonialism|colonised]] nations in their fights for independence. He visited many of these places on multiple occasions allowing him to see the progress being made in the Soviet Union, as well as in every socialist country in [[Europe]] and [[People's Republic of China|China]]. Pollitt made contributions to both [[Marxism]] and revisionism, most notably in his enthusiastic campaigning for the 1951 CPGB party program, ''Britain’s Road to Socialism'', which distorted Marxism and called for a non-existent path to power via [[bourgeois democracy]].<ref name=":0" />

== Later life ==
In 1956 illness compelled him to retire from the position and instead accepted the post of chairman instead. His illness later became more serious and he sustained a stroke in March 1958 at the age of sixty-seven. His recovery was declared satisfactory enough to enable him to continue to do political campaigning and he was given medical clearance for his visit to [[Commonwealth of Australia|Australia]]. However, on the way back to Britain from his tour of Australia, Pollitt died at the age of 69 on June 27, 1960. His funeral was held on July 9 and was attended by representatives from his own party as well as the [[French Communist Party|PCF]] and [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|CPSU]], with numerous tributes pouring in from both Britain and the wider world.<ref name=":0" />

== See also ==

* [[Quotes:Harry Pollitt]]

== References ==
<references />
[[Category:1890 births]]
[[Category:1960 deaths]]
[[Category:British communists]]
[[Category:Communist Party of Great Britain members]]

Harry Pollitt - Revision history

92.54.250.178: Grammar Mistake

General-KJ: Created the page