The increasing radicalization of political life in most countries in Europe lends special relevance to studies of the antifascist legacies on the continent. This insightful collection of essays is an in-depth review of antifascism in Slovenia, setting it in the context of related movements elsewhere in Europe. The period treated by the 19 essays comprises the interwar period, World War Two, and the post-war decades. The comparative and transnational perspectives advanced by the volume change our understanding of antifascism.

The essays deal with the right-wing but also left-wing instrumentalization of antifascism, with a particular focus on the communist and post-communist periods. The authors point out that antifascism comes in various strains, whether inspired by liberalism, social democracy, communism, monarchism, anarchism, or even Christian conservatism. The contributors bring to light several overlooked antifascist actors, campaigns, and organisations, mostly in Slovenia and the Adriatic area.

Jože Pirjevec is a Principal Research Associate at the Science and Research Centre, Koper, and a Full Member of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts. As a recipient of grants from Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung Foundation, the Nobel Institute, the Soviet Academy of Sciences and other reputable institutions, he has conducted research work in Washington, London, Berlin, Moscow, and other archives and libraries. 

Egon Pelikan is a full professor and head of the Institute of Historical Studies of the Science and Research Centre in Koper (Slovenia). As a member of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, he was a visiting professor at the Department of History of the University of Duisburg-Essen (2004/2005).

Sabrina P. Ramet is a Professor of Political Science at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway. She is also a member of the Royal Norwegian Society of Sciences and Letters, a member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, and a Research Associate of the Science and Research Center of the Republic of Slovenia, Koper. She is the author of 13 scholarly books.

Roger Griffin:

“At a time when ‘fascism’ and ‘anti-fascism’ have too often been flung around like weapons in a children’s wet sponge fighting using filthy water, this extraordinarily comprehensive book is a welcome addition to the small number of reliable sources about the modern fight against the extreme right available to serious academics and political journalists. With an unusual degree of conceptual sophistication in the way it addresses the rich theme of anti-fascism, it not only offers a uniquely wide coverage of its many interwar manifestations, but also takes a hard look at its complex post-war evolutions and permutations. Nor does it neglect the special place in the struggle against fascism occupied by women and communists in the defense of their own causes. Anti-Fascism in European History sets a new benchmark for genuinely comparative and collaborative politico-historical studies purged of any trace of spurious distinctions between the center and the periphery, or the political, the social and the historical.”

Cathie Carmichael:

“Timely and original, this edited volume brings together a combination of thoughtful and well-crafted articles. Many of the case studies and micro-histories of Italy, Slovenia, Germany, Denmark, Slovakia, and Finland cast new light on anti-fascism’s important role. This volume is essential reading for all scholars who care about the past and the future of Central Europe.”