Stop the War Committee

Stop the War Committee
Name	Stop the War Committee
Formation	1939
Dissolution	1941
Type	Political pressure group
Headquarters	London
Region served	United Kingdom
Leader title	Convenor

Stop the War Committee

Stop the War Committee was a British pressure group formed in 1939 that opposed British entry into the Second World War and advocated for negotiated settlement with Nazi Germany. The Committee attracted a mix of activists from the Labour Party (UK), Liberal Party (UK), Communist Party of Great Britain, trade unionists from the Trades Union Congress, pacifists associated with the Peace Pledge Union, and public intellectuals linked to institutions such as Oxford University and Cambridge University. Its activities intersected with high-profile events including the Nazi–Soviet Pact, the Phoney War, and the Battle of Britain.

History

The Committee was established in late 1939 amid the aftermath of the Munich Agreement crisis and the outbreak of the Second World War. Founders and early supporters included figures who had been prominent in earlier campaigns like the Anti-War Movement (WWI) veterans, critics of the League of Nations policy, and erstwhile opponents of rearmament debates in Westminster. It emerged as part of a broader interwar network that encompassed activists from Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, veterans linked to the No More War Movement, and intellectuals associated with the British Institute of International Affairs. The Committee's timeline intersected with diplomatic shifts such as the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and military episodes including the Fall of France that altered public opinion and policymaking circles in Whitehall and among Members of Parliament in the House of Commons.

Objectives and Principles

The Committee's stated objectives emphasized immediate cessation of hostilities and pursuit of negotiated peace terms with Germany, invoking legal and moral arguments grounded in traditions associated with figures from the Labour Party (UK) like Ramsay MacDonald and with pacifist thinkers in publications such as the New Statesman. Its principles drew on precedents from the Paris Peace Conference (1919), critiques of the Treaty of Versailles, and appeals to international mediation involving bodies like the International Committee of the Red Cross and neutral states such as Switzerland and Sweden. The Committee also articulated positions on civil liberties referencing cases promoted by the National Council for Civil Liberties and campaigned for protection of conscientious objectors linked to tribunals under wartime legislation debated in Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Campaigns and Activities

The Committee organized public meetings, leaflet campaigns, and petitions targeting constituencies in urban centres like London, Manchester, Birmingham, and Glasgow. It leveraged networks reaching into artistic and literary circles associated with Penguin Books, the Royal Society of Arts, T. S. Eliot, Virginia Woolf, and activists who had appeared at events with George Orwell and E. M. Forster. It issued statements and open letters that featured endorsements from trade union leaders of the National Union of Railwaymen and activists from the British Legion veterans movement. The Committee mounted opposition to wartime measures debated in Parliament of the United Kingdom and coordinated with groups such as the No Conscription Fellowship and the Quakers (Religious Society of Friends). Its demonstrations sometimes met counter-protests by supporters of the British Union of Fascists opponents and stirred coverage in periodicals including the Daily Worker and the Manchester Guardian.

Organisation and Membership

Leadership drew on a heterogeneous cross-section: former Members of Parliament with pacifist or anti-war records, trade union officials, academic signatories from University of Oxford and University of Cambridge, and cultural figures from the Bloomsbury Group. Affiliations included individuals who had previously been active in the Independent Labour Party and the Fabian Society. The Committee maintained local branches aligned with municipal Labour clubs, co-operatives tied to the Co-operative Party (UK), and networks within religious communities such as the Methodist Church of Great Britain and Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales peace activists. Communications were managed through printed bulletins distributed via the British Library reading rooms and informal liaison with foreign contacts in capitals like Paris, Rome, and Washington, D.C..

Controversies and Criticism

Critics accused the Committee of naivety or worse, alleging that its positions risked facilitating German strategic aims during events like the Blitz and the Battle of Britain. Political opponents from the Conservative Party (UK) and elements within the Labour Party (UK) denounced its alleged sympathy for positions associated with the Soviet Union after the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. Intelligence services such as branches of MI5 monitored activities amid wartime security concerns; press attacks appeared in outlets including the Daily Mail and the Daily Express. Several prominent members faced ostracism, and organizations including the Trades Union Congress debated disaffiliation proposals influenced by incidents like protests against civil mobilization and clashes in towns such as Leeds and Liverpool.

Legacy and Impact

Although short-lived as an organised campaign, the Committee influenced postwar discourse on international law, pacifism, and civil liberties, feeding into debates that shaped institutions like the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Its members later participated in bodies such as the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and contributed to inquiries at universities including London School of Economics and King's College London into the ethics of intervention. Historians connected to departments in University of Birmingham and University of Manchester have assessed the Committee's role in shaping interwar and wartime public opinion in scholarship published alongside archives housed at the National Archives (UK) and collections at the Imperial War Museums.

Category:Political organisations based in the United Kingdom Category:Pacifist organisations