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125-531: DFFG became one of the most successful Swedish popular movements in later years, the organization was able to mobilize thousands of young people to demonstrations, street sales of Vietnambulletinen (the publication of DFFG), leafletings, fund collections, etc. DFFG came to dominate Swedish public debate about the Vietnam War during several years. Jan Myrdal played a prominent role in the DFFG. In February 1964

250-589: A 10-day state visit to the US . President Eisenhower pledged his continued support, and a parade was held in Diệm's honor. But Secretary of State Dulles privately conceded Diệm had to be backed because they could find no better alternative. Between 1954 and 1957, the Diệm government succeeded in preventing large-scale organized unrest in the countryside. In April 1957, insurgents launched an assassination campaign, referred to as "extermination of traitors". 17 people were killed in

375-669: A Marxist–Leninist political organization which operated primarily in Hong Kong and the Soviet Union . The party aimed to overthrow French rule and establish an independent communist state in Vietnam. In September 1940, Japan invaded French Indochina, following France's capitulation to Nazi Germany . French influence was suppressed by the Japanese, and in 1941 Cung, now known as Ho Chi Minh , returned to Vietnam to establish

500-625: A Military Assistance and Advisory Group (MAAG) to screen French requests for aid, advise on strategy, and train Vietnamese soldiers. By 1954, the US had spent $ 1 billion in support of the French military effort, shouldering 80% of the cost of the war. During the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954, US carriers sailed to the Gulf of Tonkin and the US conducted reconnaissance flights. France and

625-565: A psychological warfare campaign which exaggerated anti-Catholic sentiment among the Viet Minh and distributed propaganda attributed to Viet Minh threatening an American attack on Hanoi with atomic bombs. During the 300-day period, up to one million northerners, mainly minority Catholics, moved south, fearing persecution by the Communists. The exodus was coordinated by a U.S.-funded $ 93 million relocation program, which involved

750-471: A ceasefire with the Viet Minh, and independence was granted to Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. At the 1954 Geneva Conference, Vietnam was temporarily partitioned at the 17th parallel . Ho Chi Minh wished to continue war in the south, but was restrained by Chinese allies who convinced him he could win control by electoral means. Under the Geneva Accords, civilians were allowed to move freely between

875-646: A coordinated uprising in South Vietnam against the government and a third of the population was soon living in areas of communist control. In December 1960, North Vietnam formally created the Viet Cong (VC) with the intent of uniting all anti-GVN insurgents, including non-communists. It was formed in Memot, Cambodia , and directed through COSVN. The VC "placed heavy emphasis on the withdrawal of American advisors and influence, on land reform and liberalization of

1000-459: A form of absolute command rather than as educators, gave students a reason to believe Red Guard messages. In Yang's case it is exemplified through a teacher using a poorly phrased statement as an excuse to shame a student to legitimize the teacher's own position. Attacks on culture quickly descended into attacks on people. Ignoring guidelines in the 'Sixteen Articles' which stipulated that persuasion rather than force were to be used to bring about

1125-651: A label referencing the period of time the work teams were active. The Red Guards were then free to organize without the restrictions of the Party and, within a few weeks, on the encouragement of Mao's supporters, Red Guard groups had appeared in almost every school in China. Mao had multiple reasons for supporting the Red Guards' activities, with the primary one being his wish to undermine Liu Shaoqi, with whom he grew increasingly distrustful. Furthermore, Mao intended to make

1250-520: A more "modest" winning margin of "60 to 70 percent." Diệm, however, viewed the election as a test of authority. He declared South Vietnam to be an independent state under the name Republic of Vietnam (ROV), with him as president. Likewise, Ho Chi Minh and other communists won at least 99% of the vote in North Vietnamese "elections". The domino theory , which argued that if a country fell to communism, all surrounding countries would follow,

1375-557: A person knowledgeable in Indochinese affairs who did not agree that had elections been held as of the time of the fighting, possibly 80% of the population would have voted for the Communist Ho Chi Minh as their leader rather than Chief of State Bảo Đại. Indeed, the lack of leadership and drive on the part of Bảo Đại was a factor in the feeling prevalent among Vietnamese that they had nothing to fight for. According to

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1500-468: A policy of " Vietnamization " from 1969, which saw the conflict fought by an expanded ARVN, while US forces withdrew. A 1970 coup in Cambodia resulted in a PAVN invasion and a US–ARVN counter-invasion , escalating its civil war. US troops had mostly withdrawn from Vietnam by 1972, and the 1973 Paris Peace Accords saw the rest leave. The accords were broken almost immediately and fighting continued until

1625-542: A public stand on non-Vietnam/Indochina-related issues. It did however condemn the Soviet military intervention in Czechoslovakia in 1968. Gradually DFFG became more outspoken in their anti-Soviet positions, which in turn caused conflicts within the movement. In 1974 the author Sara Lidman publicly protested against the anti-Soviet postures of DFFG. The 1975 congress of DFFG (held after the Vietnamese victory) removed

1750-633: A remarkable level of popular political mobilization. At no point in the previous history of the regime were ordinary citizens permitted, much less encouraged, to form independent political organizations." Due to the factionalism already emerging in the Red Guard movement, President Liu Shaoqi made the decision in early June 1966 to send in Chinese Communist Party (CCP) work teams. These workgroups were led by Zhang Chunqiao , head of China's Propaganda Department , in an attempt by

1875-757: A repeat of the Wuhan events and other similar ones. The PLA violently put down the national Red Guard movement in the year that followed, with the suppression often brutal. A radical alliance of Red Guard groups in Hunan province, called the Shengwulian , was involved in clashes with local PLA units, for example, and in the first half of 1968 was forcibly suppressed. At the same time the PLA carried out mass executions of Red Guards in Guangxi province that were unprecedented in

2000-551: A team of Red Guards from Beijing Normal University , led by Tan Houlan. The corpse of the 76th-generation Duke Yansheng was removed from its grave and hung naked from a tree in front of the palace during the desecration of the cemetery. Attacks on other cultural and historic sites occurred between 1966 and 1967. One of the greater damages was to the Ming Dynasty Tomb of the Wanli Emperor in which his and

2125-551: A trance of excitement and change," all student Red Guards pledged their loyalty to Chairman Mao Zedong. Many worshipped Mao above everything and this was typical of a "pure and innocent generation," especially of a generation that was brought up under a Marxist party, which discouraged religion altogether. Mao quickly formed an army based on individual interpretations of Mao's statements. All groups pledged loyalty to Mao and claimed to have his best interests in mind, yet they continually engaged in verbal and physical skirmishes throughout

2250-467: Is our Red-Commander-in-Chief and we are his Red Guards, who can stop us? First we will make China Maoist from inside out and then we will help the working people of other countries make the world red   ... and then the whole universe. Despite meeting with resistance early on, the Red Guards received personal support from Mao, and the movement rapidly grew. The movement in Beijing culminated during

2375-663: Is the most commonly used title in English . It has been called the Second Indochina War since it spread to Laos and Cambodia , the Vietnam Conflict , and Nam (colloquially 'Nam). In Vietnam it is commonly known as Kháng chiến chống Mỹ ( lit.   ' Resistance War against America ' ). The Government of Vietnam officially refers to it as the Resistance War against America to Save

2500-526: The 1975 spring offensive and fall of Saigon to the PAVN, marking the war's end. North and South Vietnam were reunified in 1976. The war exacted enormous human cost : estimates of Vietnamese soldiers and civilians killed range from 970,000 to 3 million. Some 275,000–310,000 Cambodians , 20,000–62,000 Laotians , and 58,220 US service members died. Its end would precipitate the Vietnamese boat people and

2625-610: The Châu Đốc massacre at a bar in July, and in September a district chief was killed with his family. By early 1959, Diệm had come to regard the violence as an organized campaign and implemented Law 10/59, which made political violence punishable by death and property confiscation. There had been division among former Viet Minh, whose main goal was to hold elections promised in the Geneva Accords, leading to " wildcat " activities separate from

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2750-669: The Cold War between the Soviet Union and US. American military involvement greatly escalated from 1965 until its withdrawal in 1973. The fighting spilled over into the Laotian and Cambodian Civil Wars , which ended with all three countries becoming communist in 1975. After the defeat of French Indochina in the First Indochina War that began in 1946, Vietnam gained independence in the 1954 Geneva Conference but

2875-808: The Cuban Missile Crisis (October 1962) played out on television worldwide. It was the closest the Cold War came to nuclear war . The Kennedy administration remained committed to the Cold War foreign policy inherited from the Truman and Eisenhower administrations. In 1961, the US had 50,000 troops based in South Korea, and Kennedy faced four crisis situations: the failure of the Bay of Pigs Invasion he had approved in April, settlement negotiations between

3000-569: The French Navy and the US Seventh Fleet to ferry refugees. The northern refugees gave the later Ngô Đình Diệm regime a strong anti-communist constituency. Over 100,000 Viet Minh fighters went to the north for "regroupment", expecting to return south within two years. The Viet Minh left roughly 5,000 to 10,000 cadres in the south as a base for future insurgency. The last French soldiers left South Vietnam in April 1956 and

3125-657: The Green Berets , would be effective in a "brush fire" war in Vietnam. Red Guards (China) The Red Guards were a mass, student-led, paramilitary social movement mobilized by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 until their abolishment in 1968, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution , which he had instituted. According to a Red Guard leader, the movement's aims were as follows: Chairman Mao has defined our future as an armed revolutionary youth organization   .... So if Chairman Mao

3250-669: The Ho Chi Minh trail to supply and reinforce the VC. By 1963, the north had covertly sent 40,000 soldiers of its own People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), armed with Soviet and Chinese weapons, to fight in the insurgency in the south. President John F. Kennedy increased US involvement from 900 military advisors in 1960 to 16,300 in 1963 and sent more aid to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), which failed to produce results. In 1963, Diem

3375-660: The Korean War in June convinced Washington policymakers that the war in Indochina was another example of communist expansionism, directed by the Soviet Union. Military advisors from China began assisting the Viet Minh in July 1950. Chinese weapons, expertise, and laborers transformed the Viet Minh from a guerrilla force into a regular army. In September 1950, the US further enforced the Truman Doctrine by creating

3500-628: The Pentagon Papers , which commented on Eisenhower's observation, Diệm would have been a more popular candidate than Bảo Đại against Hồ, stating that "It is almost certain that by 1956 the proportion which might have voted for Ho - in a free election against Diem - would have been much smaller than 80%." In 1957, independent observers from India, Poland, and Canada representing the International Control Commission (ICC) stated that fair elections were impossible, with

3625-487: The Tsinghua University High School , who were given the name to sign two big-character posters issued on 25 May – 2 June 1966. The students believed that the criticism of the play Hai Rui Dismissed from Office was a political issue and needed greater attention. The group of students – led by Zhang Chengzhi at Tsinghua Middle School and Nie Yuanzi at Peking University – originally wrote

3750-601: The Viet Minh , an anti-Japanese resistance movement that advocated for independence. The Viet Minh received aid from the Allies , namely the US, Soviet Union, and Republic of China . Beginning in 1944, the US Office of Strategic Services (O.S.S.) provided the Viet Minh with weapons, ammunition, and training to fight the occupying Japanese and Vichy French forces. Throughout the war, Vietnamese guerrilla resistance against

3875-457: The status quo . In addition, there were bitter divisions within the Red Guard movement itself, especially along social and political lines. The most radical students often found themselves in conflict with more conservative Red Guards. The leadership in Beijing also simultaneously tried to restrain and encourage the Red Guards, adding confusion to an already chaotic situation. On the one hand,

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4000-591: The " Red August " of 1966, which later spread to other areas in mainland China . Mao made use of the group as propaganda and to accomplish goals such as seizing power and destroying symbols of China's pre-communist past (" Four Olds "), including ancient artifacts and gravesites of notable Chinese figures. Moreover, the government was very permissive of the Red Guards, and even allowed the Red Guards to inflict bodily harm on people viewed as dissidents. The movement quickly grew out of control, frequently coming into conflict with authority and threatening public security until

4125-543: The 'Rebels' of 1968 and the 'Liquidators' of 1970. In the spring of 1968 the so-called 'Rebel Movement', self-styled Red Guards , emerged in Uppsala and Lund. The Rebels sought to take over DFFG and demanded that the organization should, in their own words, be based on ' Mao Tse-Tung Thought '. At its height 300-400 of the DFFG activists had sided with the Rebels. The confrontations between the Rebels and others in DFFG paralyzed

4250-524: The British were opposed. Eisenhower, wary of involving the US in an Asian land war, decided against intervention. Throughout the conflict, US intelligence estimates remained skeptical of France's chance of success. On 7 May 1954, the French garrison at Dien Bien Phu surrendered. The defeat marked the end of French military involvement in Indochina. At the Geneva Conference , they negotiated

4375-478: The CCP to preserve the existing state government and apparatus . Mao, concerned that these work teams were hindering the course of the Cultural Revolution , dispatched Chen Boda , Jiang Qing , Kang Sheng , and others to join the Red Guards and combat the work teams. In July 1966, Mao ordered the removal of the remaining work teams (against the wishes of Liu Shaoqi) and condemned their 'Fifty Days of White Terror',

4500-543: The Cultural Revolution Group reiterated calls for non-violence . On the other hand, the PLA was told to assist the Red Guards with transport and lodging, and assist in organizing rallies. By the end of 1966, most of the Cultural Revolution Group were of the opinion that the Red Guards had become a political liability. The campaign against 'capitalist roaders' had led to anarchy, the Red Guards' actions had led to conservatism amongst China's workers, and

4625-574: The Cultural Revolution in September. In Wuhan there were 62 suicides and 32 murders during the same period. Intellectuals were to suffer the brunt of these attacks. Many were ousted from official posts such as university teaching, and allocated manual tasks such as "sweeping courtyards, building walls and cleaning toilets from 7am to 5pm" which would encourage them to dwell on past "mistakes." An official report in October 1966 stated that

4750-508: The Cultural Revolution, but by then the movement's official and substantial role was over. From 1962 to 1979, 16 to 18 million youths were sent to the countryside to undergo re-education. Sending city students to the countryside was also used to defuse the student fanaticism set in motion by the Red Guards. On 22 December 1968, Chairman Mao directed the People's Daily to publish a piece entitled "We too have two hands, let us not laze about in

4875-403: The Cultural Revolution, officials in positions of authority and perceived 'bourgeois elements' were denounced and suffered physical and psychological attacks. On 22 August 1966, a central directive was issued to stop police intervention in Red Guard activities. Those in the police force who defied this notice were labeled "counter-revolutionaries." Mao's praise for rebellion effectively endorsed

5000-634: The Cultural Revolution, proving that there was no core political foundation at work. These skirmishes were often violent, with rivaling groups obtaining both assault rifles and explosives, as well as utilizing forced imprisonments and widespread torture. This domestic anarchy continued until the second half of the Cultural Revolution, when the 9th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party started civil policies. Youths from families with party-members and of revolutionary origin joined conservative factions . These factions focused on

5125-497: The Cultural Revolution. The final remnants of the movement were defeated in Beijing in the summer of 1968. Allegedly, Mao had an audience with the Red Guard leaders, during which the Chairman informed them of himself being directly responsible for the orders to suppress them, in favor of the military's administration. After the summer of 1968 some more-radical students continued to travel across China and play an unofficial part in

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5250-539: The DFFG from a rightwing standpoint. Salomon claims that DFFG had a " Janus ' face", showing a non-communist exterior whilst internally being run by KFML for political purposes. Vietnam var nära : en berättelse om FNL-rörelsen och solidaritetsarbetet i Sverige 1965-1975 ('Vietnam was close: an account on the FNL-movement and the solidarity work in Sweden 1965-1975') by Åke Kilander was released in 2007. The book

5375-481: The DFFG with the older generation and Swedish labour movement were improved as the organization tuned down its more confrontational actions (such as banning egg throwing in their demonstrations). It also began discussions with the Swedish Committee for Vietnam on the possibilities of cooperation. In 1970 Ulf Mårtensson became the new chairman of DFFG. DFFG suffered two major splits during its early phase,

5500-455: The GVN, on coalition government and the neutralization of Vietnam." The identities of the leaders of the organization were often kept secret. Support for the VC was driven by resentment of Diem's reversal of Viet Minh land reforms in the countryside. The Viet Minh had confiscated large private landholdings, reduced rents and debts, and leased communal lands, mostly to poorer peasants. Diem brought

5625-588: The ICC reporting that neither South nor North Vietnam had honored the armistice agreement. From April to June 1955, Diệm eliminated political opposition in the south by launching operations against religious groups: the Cao Đài and Hòa Hảo of Ba Cụt . The campaign also attacked the Bình Xuyên organized crime group, which was allied with members of the communist party secret police and had military elements. The group

5750-472: The Japanese grew dramatically, and by the end of 1944 the Viet Minh had grown to over 500,000 members. US President Franklin D. Roosevelt was an ardent supporter of Vietnamese resistance, and proposed that Vietnam's independence be granted under an international trusteeship following the war. Following the surrender of Japan in 1945, the Viet Minh launched the August Revolution , overthrowing

5875-677: The Japanese-backed Empire of Vietnam and seizing weapons from the surrendering Japanese forces. On September 2, Ho Chi Minh proclaimed the Declaration of independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV). However, on September 23, French forces overthrew the DRV and reinstated French rule. American support for the Viet Minh promptly ended, and O.S.S. forces left as the French sought to reassert control of

6000-649: The Nation. It is sometimes called the American War . Vietnam had been under French control as part of French Indochina since the mid-19th century. Under French rule, Vietnamese nationalism was suppressed, so revolutionary groups conducted their activities abroad, particularly in France and China. One such nationalist, Nguyen Sinh Cung , established the Indochinese Communist Party in 1930,

6125-409: The PRC also completed its withdrawal from North Vietnam. Between 1953 and 1956, the North Vietnamese government instituted agrarian reforms, including "rent reduction" and "land reform", which resulted in political oppression. During land reform, North Vietnamese witnesses suggested a ratio of one execution for every 160 village residents, which extrapolates to 100,000 executions. Because the campaign

6250-452: The Party to keep the movement under control. Rival Red Guard groups led by the sons and daughters of cadres were formed by these work teams to deflect attacks from those in positions of power towards bourgeois elements in society, mainly intellectuals . In addition, these Party-backed rebel groups also attacked students with 'bad' class backgrounds, including children of former landlords and capitalists . These actions were all attempts by

6375-413: The Red Guards had already arrested 22,000 'counterrevolutionaries'. The Red Guards were also tasked with rooting out ' capitalist roaders ' (those with supposed ' right-wing ' views) in positions of authority. This search was to extend to the very highest echelons of the CCP, with many top party officials, such as Liu Shaoqi, Deng Xiaoping and Peng Dehuai , being attacked both verbally and physically by

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6500-494: The Red Guards' violence, by vaguely ordering the army to 'support the left'. In August 1966, the 11th Plenum of the CCP Central Committee had ratified the 'Sixteen Articles', a document that stated the aims of the Cultural Revolution and the role students would be asked to play in the movement. After the 18 August rally, the Cultural Revolution Group directed the Red Guards to attack the ' Four Olds ' of Chinese society (i.e., old customs, old culture, old habits, and old ideas). For

6625-450: The Red Guards. Liu Shaoqi was especially targeted, as he had taken Mao's seat as State Chairman (Chinese President) following the Great Leap Forward . Although Mao stepped down from his post as a sign of accepting responsibility, he was angered that Liu could take the reins of communist China. The Red Guards were not completely unchallenged. They were not permitted to enter Zhongnanhai , the Forbidden City , or any military facility that

6750-408: The State of Vietnam, with Bảo Đại as Emperor, and Ngô Đình Diệm as prime minister. Neither the US, nor Diệm's State of Vietnam, signed anything at the Geneva Conference. The non-communist Vietnamese delegation objected strenuously to any division of Vietnam, but lost when the French accepted the proposal of Viet Minh delegate Phạm Văn Đồng , who proposed Vietnam eventually be united by elections under

6875-451: The Stockholm branch of Clarté started a study circle on the topic 'USA in the world of today'. Bo Gustafsson was the main speaker. Participants included Sköld Peter Matthis, Åsa Hallström and Gunnar Bylin. The group began holding protests in 1965. At first the Clarté activists held their protest outside the U.S. embassy, noticed by few. On June 14, 1965 a small group of clartéists gathered on Hötorget in central Stockholm. The protest

7000-502: The Swedish Committee for Vietnam, Social Democratic Party, the Left Party - Communists and KFML. The main speaker at Norra Bantorget was Nguyen Van Thien , the head of the PRG delegation at the Paris Peace Talks . Around 50,000 people participated in the rally, making it one of the largest anti-war demonstrations in Swedish history. In 1972 DFFG bought itself a new office space, a 1,000 square meter basement real estate on Döbelnsgatan in central Stockholm. Generally DFFG avoided taking

7125-424: The Swedish social democracy and the Swedish government, and one of the most frequent slogans of the movement was Tage och Geijer - Lyndons lakejer (' Tage [Erlander] and [Arne] Geijer - lackeys of Lyndon [B. Johnson] '). In a 1970 debate on foreign affairs in the parliament , both Prime Minister Olof Palme and Foreign Minister Torsten Nilsson referred to the DFFG activists as 'rascals'. However, relations of

7250-453: The US discussed the use of tactical nuclear weapons , though reports of how seriously this was considered and by whom, are vague. According to then-Vice President Richard Nixon , the Joint Chiefs of Staff drew up plans to use nuclear weapons to support the French. Nixon, a so-called " hawk ", suggested the US might have to "put American boys in". President Dwight D. Eisenhower made American participation contingent on British support, but

7375-473: The Vienna summit with Khrushchev, "Now we have a problem making our power credible and Vietnam looks like the place." Kennedy's policy toward South Vietnam assumed Diệm and his forces had to defeat the guerrillas on their own. He was against the deployment of American combat troops and observed "to introduce U.S. forces in large numbers there today, while it might have an initially favorable military impact, would almost certainly lead to adverse political and, in

7500-419: The actions of the Red Guards, which grew increasingly violent. Public security in China deteriorated rapidly as a result of central officials lifting restraints on violent behavior. Xie Fuzhi , the national police chief, said it was "no big deal" if Red Guards were beating "bad people" to death. The police relayed Xie's remarks to the Red Guards and they acted accordingly. In the course of about two weeks,

7625-428: The activities in the Malmö local group, and temporary partially paralyzed some activities of DFFG in Stockholm and Uppsala. However, by the summer of 1968 the Rebel Movement self-imploded. In 1970 DFFG suffered a split parallel to the split that was taking place in KFML. A group in Göteborg had called for DFFG to become and explicitly socialist organization and support KFML in elections. Their demands were rebuffed by

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7750-743: The border. About 500 of the "regroupees" of 1954 were sent south on the trail during its first year of operation. The first arms delivery via the trail was completed in August 1959. In April 1960, North Vietnam imposed universal military conscription for men. About 40,000 communist soldiers infiltrated the south from 1961 to 1963. In the 1960 U.S. presidential election , Senator John F. Kennedy defeated incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon. Although Eisenhower warned Kennedy about Laos and Vietnam, Europe and Latin America "loomed larger than Asia on his sights." In June 1961, he bitterly disagreed with Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev when they met in Vienna to discuss key U.S.–Soviet issues. Only 16 months later,

7875-402: The branch. The Anti-Economy Liaison Headquarters dismantled economic organizations in Shanghai, investigated bank withdrawals, and disrupted regular bank service in the city. Due to the sensitive nature of this part of Chinese history, most Red Guard cemeteries were demolished prior to 2007. The Red Guard Cemetery in People's Park (人民公园) in Shapingba District , Chongqing commemorates

8000-427: The chairman, who stood for six hours. The 8-18 Rally, as it was known, was the first of eight receptions the Chairman gave to Red Guards in Tiananmen in the fall of 1966. It was this rally that signified the beginning of the Red Guards' involvement in implementing the aims of the Cultural Revolution. A second rally, held on 31 August, was led by Kang Sheng and Marshal Lin Biao also donned a red arm band. The last rally

8125-465: The chaos. The order came within months of incidents of PLA forces disobeying government and CRG orders during the summer (the most extreme case being the Wuhan incident , where the Wuhan Military Region under Chen Zaidao went further than cracking down on Red Guards to arrest the Minister of Public Security Xie Fuzhi ), the aftermath of these resulted in even more violence amongst the Red Guards, even targeting local level PLA formations, raising fears of

8250-442: The city", which quoted Mao as saying "The intellectual youth must go to the country, and be educated from living in rural poverty." In 1969 many youths were rusticated. Among the economic positions some Red Guards supported was the abolishment of interest . The majority of the workers in the Shanghai branch of the People's Bank of China were Red Guards and they formed a group called the Anti-Economy Liaison Headquarters within

8375-438: The country . Tensions between the Viet Minh and French authorities had erupted into full-scale war by 1946, a conflict which soon became entwined with the wider Cold War . On March 12, 1947, US President Harry S. Truman announced the Truman Doctrine , an anticommunist foreign policy which pledged US support to nations resisting "attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures". In Indochina, this doctrine

8500-438: The country to the Virgin Mary . In the summer of 1955, Diệm launched the "Denounce the Communists" campaign, during which suspected communists and other anti-government elements were arrested, imprisoned, tortured, or executed. He instituted the death penalty in August 1956 against activity deemed communist. The North Vietnamese government claimed that, by November 1957, over 65,000 individuals were imprisoned and 2,148 killed in

8625-418: The demilitarized zone, between North and South Vietnam. The North Vietnamese Communist Party approved a "people's war" on the South at a session in January 1959, and, in May, Group 559 was established to maintain and upgrade the Ho Chi Minh trail , at this time a six-month mountain trek through Laos. On 28 July, North Vietnamese and Pathet Lao forces invaded Laos, fighting the Royal Lao Army all along

8750-431: The development of Red Guard factions across China. Interests of individuals, interactions with authority figures, and social interactions all altered identities to forge factions that would fight for new grievances against "the system". By February 1967, political opinion at the center had decided on the removal of the Red Guards from the Cultural Revolution scene in the interest of stability. The PLA forcibly suppressed

8875-432: The early period of the Cultural Revolution. Under this political view, the issue of a good class background was a precondition for political participation. Students whose parents had been labeled right wing elements in 1957, for example, were not admitted in groups adhering to the bloodline theory. Although it was quickly politically discredited, the bloodline theory was highly influential and contentious among Red Guards in

9000-582: The early stages of the Cultural Revolution. The primary goal of the radicals was to restructure existing political and social systems, as supposed " capitalist roaders " were corrupting the Socialist agenda. Primarily influenced by travel and a freer exchange of ideas from different regions of China, more joined the radical, rebel factions of the Red Guards by the second half of the Cultural Revolution. Some historians, such as Andrew Walder , argue that individuals and their political choices also influenced

9125-802: The empress' corpses, along with a variety of artifacts from the tomb, were destroyed by student members of the Red Guard. During the assault on Confucius' tombs alone, more than 6,618 historic Chinese artifacts were destroyed in the desire to achieve the goals of the Cultural Revolution. Individual property was also targeted by Red Guard members if it was considered to represent one of the Four Olds. Commonly, religious texts and figures would be confiscated and burned. In other instances, items of historic importance would be left in place, but defaced, with examples such as Qin Dynasty scrolls having their writings partially removed, and stone and wood carvings having

9250-477: The end of 1965, and to 536,000 by the end of 1968. US forces relied on air supremacy and overwhelming firepower to conduct search and destroy operations in rural areas. In 1968, North Vietnam launched the Tet Offensive , which was a tactical defeat but convinced many in the US that the war could not be won. The PAVN began engaging in more conventional warfare . Johnson's successor, Richard Nixon , began

9375-465: The end of the organization. It had split into three factions, one group fully supporting Vietnam, one fully condemning Vietnam and supporting the Chinese attack on Vietnam and a third group that opposed the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia but did not support the Chinese attack on Vietnam. The organization was disbanded on May 14, 1979. An important factor to the success of the DFFG was the strong support

9500-439: The faces and words carved out of them. Re-education came alongside the destruction of previous culture and history; throughout the Cultural Revolution schools were a target of Red Guard groups to teach both the new ideas of the Cultural Revolution as well as to point out what ideas represented the previous era idealizing the Four Olds. For example, one student, Mo Bo, described a variety of the Red Guards activities taken to teach

9625-589: The government made efforts to rein the youths in, with even Mao himself finding the leftist students to have become too radical. The Red Guard groups also suffered from in-fighting as factions developed among them. By the end of 1968, the group as a formal movement had dissolved with many of the red guards sent to rural areas and country side due to the Down to the Countryside Movement . The first students to call themselves "Red Guards" in China were from

9750-488: The group was outlawed on conspiracy and anarchism charges, followed by the arrest of most Cultural Revolution Group members (except Jiang Qing). Mao became increasingly frustrated with the Red Guards' perceived inability to cooperate, which was the ongoing cause of constant violence. This eventually led to chairman's decision to call on the PLA to reestablish order. A nationwide campaign was later launched to liquidate "May Sixteenth Elements", which created further chaos. There

9875-460: The information environment of the Cultural Revolution. A small but significant group of the Red Guard press focused on press criticism. This subset of Red Guard newspapers criticized pre-Cultural Revolution practices and proposed new modes of journalism. For example, a group of journalists from the prestigious newspaper Guangming Daily founded a rebel newspaper called Guangming Battle Bulletin (光明战报; Guangming zhanbao) in which they denounced

10000-789: The insurgency entitled "The Road to the South" to the Politburo in Hanoi. However, as China and the Soviets opposed confrontation, his plan was rejected. Despite this, the North Vietnamese leadership approved tentative measures to revive southern insurgency in December 1956. Communist forces were under a single command structure set up in 1958. In May 1958, North Vietnamese forces seized the transportation hub at Tchepone in Southern Laos near

10125-963: The lack of discipline and the factionalism in the movement had made the Red Guards politically dangerous. 1967 would see the decision to dispel the student movement. During the early period of the Cultural Revolution, independent publications by mass political organizations such as Red Guards grew, reaching an estimated number as high as 10,000. Publications were not uniform in style or form and ranged from mimeographed tabloids to newspapers printed with professional metal type in broadsheet format. The first Red Guard newspapers, Red Guard News (红卫兵报; Hongweibing bao ) and Red Guard (红卫兵; Hongweibing ) were published on September 1, 1966. Red Guard newspapers adopted standard journalistic practices such as publishing editorials and commentator articles, as well as reprinted articles from publications such as People's Daily . Red Guard newspapers contained many articles regarding big-character posters and their function within

10250-504: The landlords back, people who had been farming land for years had to return it to landlords and pay years of back rent. Marilyn B. Young wrote that "The divisions within villages reproduced those that had existed against the French: 75% support for the NLF, 20% trying to remain neutral and 5% firmly pro-government". In March 1956, southern communist leader Lê Duẩn presented a plan to revive

10375-472: The larger Indochina refugee crisis , which saw millions leave Indochina, an estimated 250,000 perished at sea. The US destroyed 20% of South Vietnam's jungle and 20–50% of the mangrove forests, by spraying over 20 million U.S. gallons (75 million liters) of toxic herbicides; a notable example of ecocide . The Khmer Rouge carried out the Cambodian genocide , while conflict between them and

10500-837: The leadership of the organization. The group, consisting of the followers of KFML(r) inside DFFG, broke away from DFFG and formed the Solidarity Front for the People of Indochina in January 1971. In January 1973 the Karlskrona FNL-Group broke away and formed the Workers Front for Indochina . On May Day 1972, a joint rally was held in Stockholm ; co-organized by the Stockholm NLF Group,

10625-538: The long run, adverse military consequences." The quality of the South Vietnamese military, however, remained poor. Poor leadership, corruption, and political promotions weakened the ARVN. The frequency of guerrilla attacks rose as the insurgency gathered steam. While Hanoi's support for the VC played a role, South Vietnamese governmental incompetence was at the core of the crisis. One major issue Kennedy raised

10750-600: The massive purge among knowledgeable and contributive CCP officials and members and CYLC members in the name of Maoism, let Red Guards replace them to inherit the party. Mao Zedong expressed personal approval and support for the Red Guards in a letter to the Tsinghua University Red Guards on 1 August 1966. During the " Red August " of Beijing , Mao gave the movement a public boost at a massive rally on 18 August at Tiananmen Square . Mao appeared atop Tiananmen wearing an olive green military uniform,

10875-548: The more radical Red Guard groups in Sichuan , Anhui , Hunan , Fujian , and Hubei provinces in February and March. Students were ordered to return to schools; student radicalism was branded 'counterrevolutionary' and banned. These groups, as well as many of their supporters, were later branded May Sixteenth elements after an ultra-left Red Guard organization based in Beijing. May Sixteenth elements (五一六分子) were named after

11000-417: The movement was able to gather amongst prominent artists and intellectuals at the time, such as Jan Myrdal, Sara Lidman, Lars Forssell , Cornelis Wreesvijk and Fred Åkerström . The posters of the organization were often painted by well-known artists. DFFG published Vietnambulletinen ('The Vietnam Bulltine'), which was sold by DFFG activists outside Systembolaget shops and in the streets. The first issue

11125-422: The next generation what was no longer the norms. This was done according to Bo with wall posters lining the walls of schools pointing out workers who undertook "bourgeois" lifestyles. These actions inspired other students across China to join the Red Guard as well. One of these very people, Rae Yang , described how these actions inspired students. Through authority figures, such as teachers, using their positions as

11250-446: The other communists and anti-GVN activists. Douglas Pike estimated that insurgents carried out 2,000 abductions, and 1,700 assassinations of government officials, village chiefs, hospital workers and teachers from 1957 to 1960. Violence between insurgents and government forces increased drastically from 180 clashes in January 1960, to 545 clashes in September. In September 1960, COSVN , North Vietnam's southern headquarters, ordered

11375-524: The people of Vietnam on their own terms, 3) Fight US imperialism. DFFG was, however, neither the only nor the first Vietnam solidarity movement in Sweden at the time. In the spring of 1965 the Swedish Vietnam Committee had been formed, with older activists from peace and anti-nuclear movements. In 1966 the communist parliamentarian John Takman, one of few Swedes that had visited Vietnam and met several times with Ho Chi Minh , launched

11500-440: The posters as a constructive criticism of Tsinghua University and Peking University's administrations, who were accused of harbouring intellectual elitism and bourgeois tendencies. Most of the early Red Guards came from the so-called " Five Red Categories ". The Red Guards were denounced as counter-revolutionaries and radicals by the school administration and by fellow students and were forced to secretly meet amongst

11625-427: The press theories of Liu Shaoqi and argued that the proletarian press should be a tool of the dictatorship of the proletariat . Rebel workers at Xinhua News Agency also published newspapers in which they commented and reported on press issues. Because of their grass roots nature and organic connection with the masses, the Red Guard press was able to exercise public oversight over the Party press. "Enveloped in

11750-706: The pro-Western government of Laos and the Pathet Lao communist movement in May, construction of the Berlin Wall in August, and the Cuban Missile Crisis in October. Kennedy believed another failure to stop communist expansion would irreparably damage US credibility. He was determined to "draw a line in the sand" and prevent a communist victory in Vietnam. He told James Reston of The New York Times after

11875-412: The process. According to Gabriel Kolko , 40,000 political prisoners had been jailed by the end of 1958. In October 1956, Diệm launched a land reform program limiting the size of rice farms per owner. 1.8m acres of farm land became available for purchase by landless people. By 1960, the process had stalled because many of Diem's biggest supporters were large landowners. In May 1957, Diệm undertook

12000-817: The publication Vietnam-Press . The Communist Party, with Takman as their most prominent spokesperson on Vietnam, and the Social Democratic Party argued in favour of the position of 'Peace in Vietnam'. In 1968 the Swedish Committee for Vietnam was formed, as a continuation of the Swedish Vietnam Committee, the National Fundraiser for Vietnam and the Support Committee for the Stockholm Conferences on Vietnam, with Gunnar Myrdal as its chairman. DFFG

12125-460: The rest of the year, Red Guards marched across China in a campaign to eradicate the 'Four Olds'. Old books and art were destroyed, museums were ransacked , and streets were renamed with new revolutionary names, adorned with pictures and the sayings of Mao. Many famous temples, shrines, and other heritage sites in Beijing were attacked. The Cemetery of Confucius was attacked in November 1966 by

12250-432: The revolutionary ideals more ingrained in the Chinese youth, as a way to harden their spirit and combat traditional scholarly education. Chiang Kai-Shek believed Mao lost trust in CCP officials and members, Communist Youth League of China (CYLC) members, and even workers, peasants and soldiers, so he had put faith in the students, and made use of the Red Guards to preserve his authority, Chiang also believed Mao started

12375-688: The ruins of the Old Summer Palace . Nevertheless, Chairman Mao Zedong ordered that the manifesto of the Red Guards be broadcast on national radio and published in the People's Daily newspaper. This action gave the Red Guards political legitimacy , and student groups quickly began to appear across China. By the end of August 1966, almost every Chinese city and a majority of counties had Red Guard activity. Eighty-five percent of counties had local Red Guard activity by October 1966. According to sociologist Andrew G. Walder , "These figures represent

12500-401: The same time, several military commanders, oblivious to the ongoing chaos that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) had to deal with, disregarded their chain of command and attacked Red Guards whenever their bases or people were threatened. When Red Guards entered factories and other areas of production, they encountered resistance in the form of worker and peasant groups who were keen to maintain

12625-725: The slogan "Fight U.S. imperialism", with the rationale than a movement that solely condemned U.S. imperialism would become a tool of 'Soviet social imperialism'. With the signing of the Paris Peace Accords and the withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from Vietnam in 1973, the intensity of the Vietnam solidarity work declined. Following the coup d'état in Chile , sectors of the activist milieu began reorienting themselves towards solidarity work with Latin America . The Chile Committee was, however, not connected to KFML nor did it reach

12750-406: The so-called May Sixteenth Army Corps (五一六兵团; 1967–1968), ultra-left Red Guards in Beijing during the early years of the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) who targeted Zhou Enlai with the backing of Jiang Qing. The name came from the historic May 16 Notice (五一六通知) which Mao Zedong partially wrote and edited, which triggered the revolution. However, Mao was concerned with its radicalism, so in late 1967

12875-409: The socio-political status quo, keeping within their localities and working to challenge existing distributions of power and privilege. Those from the countryside and without ties to the CCP often joined radical groups who sought to change and uproot local government leadership. Among the disputes between Red Guard factions was the bloodline theory advocated by most conservative Red Guard groups in

13000-709: The strength that DFFG had during its peak. Upon the declaration of the victory of FNL in 1975, DFFG activists gathered at the Östermalm representation office of the Provisional Revolutionary Government in celebrations. The following day, 15,000 people celebrated the victory in Stockholm on May 1, 1975. In 1977 DFFG was renamed the Vietnam and Laos League for Friendship and Solidarity ( Vietnam- & Laosförbundet för vänskap och solidaritet ). The 1978 Cambodian–Vietnamese War would mean

13125-894: The supervision of "local commissions". The US countered with what became known as the "American Plan", with the support of South Vietnam and the UK. It provided for unification elections under the supervision of the UN, but was rejected by the Soviet delegation. The US said, "With respect to the statement made by the representative of the State of Vietnam, the United States reiterates its traditional position that peoples are entitled to determine their own future and that it will not join in any arrangement which would hinder this". US President Eisenhower wrote in 1954: I have never talked or corresponded with

13250-522: The two provisional states for a 300-day period. Elections throughout the country were to be held in 1956 to establish a unified government. However, the US, represented at the conference by Secretary of State John Foster Dulles , objected to the resolution; Dulles' objection was supported only by the representative of Bảo Đại. John Foster's brother, Allen Dulles , who was director of the Central Intelligence Agency , then initiated

13375-468: The type favored by Red Guards, but which he had not worn in many years. He personally greeted 1,500 Red Guards and waved to 800,000 Red Guards and onlookers below. The rally was led by Chen Boda and Lin Biao gave a keynote speech . Red Guard leaders, led by Nie Yuanzi, also gave speeches. A high school Red Guard leader, Song Binbin , placed a red armband inscribed with the characters for "Red Guard" on

13500-592: The unified Vietnam escalated into the Cambodian–Vietnamese War . In response, China invaded Vietnam , with border conflicts lasting until 1991. Within the US, the war gave rise to Vietnam syndrome , a public aversion to American overseas military involvement, which, with the Watergate scandal , contributed to the crisis of confidence that affected America throughout the 1970s. Various names have been applied and have shifted over time, though Vietnam War

13625-531: The violence left some 100 teachers, school officials, and educated cadres dead in Beijing's western district alone. The number injured was "too large to be calculated." The most gruesome aspects of the campaign included numerous incidents of torture, murder, and public humiliation. Many people who were targets of 'struggle' could no longer bear the stress and committed suicide . In August and September 1966, there were 1,772 people murdered in Beijing alone. In Shanghai there were 704 suicides and 534 deaths related to

13750-631: Was a wide backlash in the spring against the suppression, with student attacks on any symbol of authority and PLA units, but not on Marshal Lin Biao, the Minister of National Defense and one of the Chairman's biggest allies. An order from Mao, the Cultural Revolution Group, the State Council, and the Central Military Affairs Committee of the PLA on 5 September 1967 instructed the PLA to restore order to China and end

13875-542: Was an armed conflict in Vietnam , Laos , and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam was supported by the Soviet Union and China , while South Vietnam was supported by the United States and other anti-communist nations. The conflict was the second of the Indochina Wars and a major proxy war of

14000-498: Was broken up by police, and Sköld Petter Matthis was arrested. The event, and subsequent trial of Matthis, was covered in several newsmedia and made the movement known nationwide. Later the same year the first NLF Group was formed. NLF groups then began to appear in Uppsala , Lund , Linköping , Örebro and Göteborg , all cities with universities. DFFG was formed as a contact network of local activist groups in April 1966. In 1967 it

14125-734: Was built up polemizing against the 'Peace in Vietnam' line. The 'Peace in Vietnam' line was denounced for not differentiating between aggressor and victim. Takman, who was seen as representing Soviet revisionism , was one of the foremost targets of the DFFG propaganda. The DFFG brought previously unknown protest methods into Swedish politics, such as wildcat marches, sit-in protests and aggressive sloganeering. Initially, this caused discontent amongst older Swedes. The Swedish police had no previous experience of wildcat marches, and on several occasions minor violent confrontations erupted. American diplomats were targeted with eggs, tomatoes and occasionally, surströmming . DFFG took an uncompromising stand against

14250-520: Was consolidated into a national organization. Sköld Petter Matthis became the chairman of DFFG. By 1967 it had grown to 20 local groups, in 1969 there were 90 and in 1973 DFFG consisted of 150 local groups. Politically, the Communist League Marxist-Leninists (KFML) wielded insignificant influence in the DFFG. DFFG was built up on the lines of a united front , based on three core demands; 1) USA out of Vietnam, 2) Support

14375-455: Was defeated in April following a battle in Saigon . As broad-based opposition to his harsh tactics mounted, Diệm increasingly sought to blame the communists. In a referendum on the future of the State of Vietnam in October 1955, Diệm rigged the poll supervised by his brother Ngô Đình Nhu and was credited with 98% of the vote, including 133% in Saigon. His American advisors had recommended

14500-433: Was divided into two parts at the 17th parallel : the Viet Minh , led by Ho Chi Minh , took control of North Vietnam, while the US assumed financial and military support for South Vietnam, led by Ngo Dinh Diem . The North Vietnamese began supplying and directing the Viet Cong (VC), a common front of dissidents in the south, which intensified a guerrilla war from 1957. In 1958, North Vietnam invaded Laos , establishing

14625-888: Was first proposed by the Eisenhower administration . John F. Kennedy , then a senator , said in a speech to the American Friends of Vietnam : "Burma, Thailand, India, Japan, the Philippines and obviously Laos and Cambodia are among those whose security would be threatened if the Red Tide of Communism overflowed into Vietnam." A devout Roman Catholic, Diệm was fervently anti-communist, nationalist, and socially conservative. Historian Luu Doan Huynh notes "Diệm represented narrow and extremist nationalism coupled with autocracy and nepotism ." Most Vietnamese were Buddhist , and alarmed by Diệm's actions, like his dedication of

14750-627: Was first put into practice in February 1950, when the United States recognized the French-backed State of Vietnam in Saigon , led by former Emperor Bảo Đại, as the legitimate government of Vietnam, after the communist states of the Soviet Union and People's Republic of China recognized the Democratic Republic of Vietnam , led by Ho Chi Minh, as the legitimate Vietnamese government the previous month. The outbreak of

14875-414: Was held on 26 November 1966. In all, the Chairman greeted eleven to twelve million Red Guards, most of whom traveled from afar to attend the rallies including one held on National Day 1966, which included the usual civil-military parade. During Red August, large number of members of " Five Black Categories " were persecuted and even killed. Mao had originally instructed the PLA to not interfere against

15000-474: Was killed in a US-backed military coup , which added to the south's instability. Following the Gulf of Tonkin incident in 1964, the US Congress passed a resolution that gave President Lyndon B. Johnson authority to increase military presence without a declaration of war. Johnson launched a bombing campaign of the north and began sending combat troops, dramatically increasing deployment to 184,000 by

15125-733: Was labelled a ' coffee table book ' in a Svenska Dagbladet editorial. Kilander is a former DFFG activist himself. The book is based on interviews amongst former DFFG activists. Vietnam War ≈860,000 (1967) ≈1,420,000 (1968) Total military dead/missing: ≈1,100,000 Total military wounded: ≈604,200 (excluding GRUNK / Khmer Rouge and Pathet Lao ) Second Third American intervention 1965 1966 1967 Tet Offensive and aftermath Vietnamization 1969–1971 1972 Post- Paris Peace Accords (1973–1974) Spring 1975 Air operations Naval operations Lists of allied operations The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975)

15250-471: Was mainly in the Red River Delta area, 50,000 executions became accepted by scholars. However, declassified documents from Vietnamese and Hungarian archives indicate executions were much lower, though likely greater than 13,500. In 1956, leaders in Hanoi admitted to "excesses" in implementing this program and restored much of the land to the original owners. The south, meanwhile, constituted

15375-578: Was published in May 1965. At its peak, Vietnambulletinen had a circulation of 50,000. In 1975 DFFG published FNL i Sverige: Reportage om en folkrörelse under tio år ('FNL in Sweden: Report on a people's movement during ten years') a detailed account of the history of the organization from its own perspective. The first major academic study on the DFFG was published in 1996, Rebeller i takt med tiden: FNL-rörelsen och 60-talets politiska ritualer by Lund University historian Kim Salomon. and reviews

15500-425: Was tasked with classified information (i.e. special intelligence , Nuclear Weapons development). Several times, Red Guards attempted to storm Zhongnanhai and the 8341 Special Regiment , which was responsible for Mao's security, fired upon them. Jiang Qing promoted the idea that the Red Guards should "crush the PLA," with Lin Biao seemingly supportive of her plans (e.g., permitting Red Guards to loot barracks). At

15625-524: Was whether the Soviet space and missile programs had surpassed those of the US. Although Kennedy stressed long-range missile parity with the Soviets, he was interested in using special forces for counterinsurgency warfare in Third World countries threatened by communist insurgencies. Although they were intended for use behind front lines after a conventional Soviet invasion of Europe, Kennedy believed guerrilla tactics employed by special forces, such as

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