rise of extremism

Question 1

Who founded the BUF and when

Answer 1

Sir Oswald Moseley in 1932

Question 2

what did Moseley think he could do with fascism

Answer 2

get rid of unemployment, introducing tariffs to protect industry

Question 3

What did Black shirt membership peak at

Answer 3

50,000 in 1934

Question 4

what did black shirt membership drop to

Answer 4

5,000 in 1936

Question 5

What did Moseley describe jews as

Answer 5

hate figures

Question 6

who supported the BUF

Answer 6

Lord Rothermere and the Daily Mail

Question 7

What stories did the Daily Mail run

Answer 7

Hurrah for the Blackshirts

Question 8

why is it hard to gauge how much support they had

Answer 8

they did not contest the 1935 election

Question 9

Which high-level figure supported the BUF

Answer 9

King Edward VIII

Question 10

What did the historian Pugh say

Answer 10

during the abdication crisis, Edward might have decided to keep his throne, dismiss Baldwin and appoint Moseley as PM

Question 11

why is Pugh’s view slightly invalid

Answer 11

the BUF had no democratic mandate and Edward’s priority was his marriage rather than political influence

Question 12

when was the Battle of Cable Street

Answer 12

1936

Question 13

what was the Battle of Cable Street

Answer 13

where a BUF march ended in violent clashes with anti-fascist demonstrators. This turned many away from supporting the BUF

Question 14

What was the public reaction to Moseley

Answer 14

disgust and mockery

Question 15

what also led to the fall of the BUF

Answer 15

the developing anti-nazi feeling

Question 16

who stopped supporting the BUF after Cable street

Answer 16

the daily mail and Lord rothermere

Question 17

when was the BUF eventually banned

Answer 17

1940

Question 18

where was communism emerging

Answer 18

in areas of high unemployment like Tyneside and South Wales

Question 19

What happened in 1922

Answer 19

two communist MPs were elected (Battersea North and Motherwell)

Question 20

what did Communist party membership peak at

Answer 20

17,000 in 1926 (when it was the general strike)

Question 21

Who opposed the communist

Answer 21

the conservatives (Baldwin red terror)

Question 22

What inhibited communist success

Answer 22

the growth in the middle class
the fact that the fear of communism was greater than the actual size and influence of the movement

Question 23

what happened to the Communists in the 1930s

Answer 23

their membership was around 5000, they had no MPs and their actions were restricted to soup kitchens, hunger marches and confronting the fascists.