Origins of the Fourth International

How the Fourth International Was Conceived (html 22k)

This article was written by Jean van Heijenoort and first published in the August 1944 issue of Fourth International. Jean van Heijenoort (1912-1986) was Trotsky's secretary in 1932 in Prinkipo, and followed him to France, Norway and Mexico. As a leader of the Fourth International he headed a provisional international centre in the United States during World War Two and left politics shortly thereafter.

Trotsky's Struggle for the Fourth International (html 27k)

This article was written by John G. Wright and first published in Fourth International, August 1946. John G. Wright (1902-1956--legal name Joseph Vanzler) joined the Communist League of America in 1933 and was elected to the National Committee of the Socialist Workers Party/U.S. in 1939. Wright translated many of Trotsky's writings and served as an SWP staff writer in New York until he died.

The Rocky Road to the Fourth International, 1933-38 (html 91k)

A contribution to the study of the Trotskyist movement in the period leading up to the formation of the Fourth International by George Breitman. Breitman (1916-1986) joined the American Trotskyist movement in 1935 and was elected to the National Committee of the Socialist Workers Party/U.S. in 1939. Breitman edited the Militant for some years in the 1940s and 50s and subsequently edited the Writings of Leon Trotsky and James P. Cannon's writings. He was one of the old-timers driven out of the SWP by Jack Barnes in the early 1980s.