South Africa and the Communist International

This publication is a comprehensive selection of unique documents pertaining to the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA) from the formerly closed archives of the Communist International, a powerful international Communist organization which operated from Moscow in 1919-1943. These reveal the complex history of relations between South Africa and Moscow Communists in the 1920s and 1930s and disclose both the official and covert methods which the Comintern used to control and manipulate the international communist movement.
The documents also shed light on debates within the CPSA, of internal problems of the party and on its strengths and weaknesses. The issues in question, such as CPSA's approach to the nationality problem in South Africa, its understanding of the link between class and colour in South African society and its vision of goals and character of the national liberation movement are still pertinent today.