State Library Victoria members can access hundreds of databases from home (if your home is in Victoria). That’s millions of articles, magazines, archives, ebooks, videos, songs, audiobooks and more, available through the catalogue anytime. We’re taking a closer look at new and/or interesting databases as well as hidden gems from our collections. Read on for top picks and tips from Librarians.
Not a member yet? Sign up online, and begin exploring.
Today, we are looking at Political Extremism and Radicalism. This database includes a wide range of material from groups crossing the political spectrum seeking to build support for their cause, and keep their followers informed and on script. Finding secondary materials on these organisations and their activities can be difficult. Some appear in the news and in academic research papers, but for many, archives such as these are the only sources available.
This database does contain visual and textual material representing various historical viewpoints related to race, gender, sexuality, terrorism, and other subjects, including terminology and concepts that today may be considered offensive. These materials are provided for research purposes and the Library does not endorse any specific views.
In his work, French Workers Fight Fascism, Roubaud traces the history of the union movement and its involvement in the resistance to the Vichy government and the demands of the Reich:
The overwhelming majority of the people of France has been consistently opposed to the Germans and to Vichy… the most active, the most efficient, the most organised element in the struggle was undeniably the labour movement, without which no organised resistance would have been possible. 1
William Joyce, later known as Lord Haw-Haw, (above right) was a propagandist for the fascist cause, broadcasting from Germany during World War II. Arrested at the end of the war, he was convicted of treason and sentenced to death.
Of particular interest in this collection is the series of over 60 oral history interviews, part of the Searchlight Archive at the University of Nottingham. Available as audio recordings, transcripts are also provided. Subjects include Max Levitas, a lifelong activist, anti-fascist and member of the British Communist Party. His family, Jewish émigrés from Lithuania and Latvia arrived in Dublin in 1914, and dogged by poverty moved to Glasgow, before settling in London’s East End. There, Levitas worked as a tailor, becoming a union activist and shop steward. Mark Metcalf was involved in the Anti-Fascist Action organisation, formed in the north of England in 1985 to oppose the National Front and limit their recruitment. Metcalf continues today to write on politics, trade unionism and football.
The Searchlight Magazine Archive (1917-2017) publishes research on far right organisations from Britain and overseas. The organisation’s archive is also included in the collection. This image (below), published by the National Socialist Party of Australia, is included in Box 1 — alongside the rules of association, flyers, a list of militant right organisations, and a draft essay on far right organisations in New Zealand.
The National Front in the UK, founded in 1967, peaked in influence in the 1970s. 2 The collection includes books, manuscripts and journal articles on the wider context of this organisation in British political and social life.
The American Radicalism Collection includes a wide range of material grouped under 4 broad categories:
Part 1: Leftist Politics and Anti-War Movements
Part 2: The Religious and Radical Right
Part 3: Race, Gender, and the Struggle for Justice and Equal Rights
Part 4: Twentieth-Century Social, Economic, and Environmental Movements.
Angela Davis is an American activist, academic and author. This interview (see image below left) published in Muhammad Speaks was in response to her being arrested and charged with murder in 1970, after a shooting at Marin County Gaol. After serving 16 months in prison, Davis was acquitted of all charges. The questions were gathered in a call-out to the people of Harlem. Muhammad Speaks, founded by Malcolm X and published by the Nation of Islam, ran from 1960 to 1975.
The Hall-Hoag Collection of Dissenting and Extremist Printed Propaganda consists of a large collection of material produced by right wing extremist groups, dating from the 1942 to the 1990s. The page on the right is from Kill! magazine, published by the American National Party. It survived 3 issues before publication was suspended ‘due to the imprisonment of the party leader, and lack of funds’.3
American National Party, 1962. 4 Right: Advertisement for the American National Party from Kill! magazine, vol 1 no 1, p 3 5
Australian material is included across the collection — this image from the ‘Topic Finder’ search illustrates the breadth of content.
We always welcome your recommendations for database trials – let us know what you’d like to see.
Have a research query or questions on how to use our online collections? Ask a Librarian.
Check out our latest databases on trial, and see a full list of all new and trial databases, by visiting our A-Z Databases page.
More to explore
Independent Voices – open access collection of alternative press publications
Government and Politics – from our A-Z databases listing
Social Sciences and Humanities – from our A-Z databases listing
Reason in Revolt — Source Documents in Australian Radicalism
Protests, activism and dissent in Victoria – research guide
References
- Roubaud, R A, 1944, French Workers Fight Fascism, Communist Party, London, p 1. Accessed via Political Extremism and Radicalism on 10 July 2024
- Taylor, Stan, 2018, ‘National Front (UK)’, A Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics and International Relations. Accessed on 10 July 2024
- Kill, vol 1 no 3 1962, p 12. Accessed via The Hall-Hoag Collection of Dissenting and Extremist Printed Propaganda on 10 July 2024
- ‘Angela Davis’, 1944-March 9, 1991, MS Reel 128, ‘The American Radicalism Collection: Part 3: Race, Gender, and the Struggle for Justice and Equal Rights’, Michigan State University. Accessed via Political Extremism and Radicalism on 10 July 2024
- Accessed via The Hall-Hoag Collection of Dissenting and Extremist Printed Propaganda on 10 July 2024
