‘We all make mistakes’: the Communist Party of Australia and Khrushchev’s Secret Speech, 1956

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Deery, Phillip and Calkin, Rachael (2008) ‘We all make mistakes’: the Communist Party of Australia and Khrushchev’s Secret Speech, 1956. Australian Journal of Politics & History, 54 (1). pp. 69-84. ISSN 0004-9522

Abstract

This article examines the impact of the Twentieth Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union on the Communist Party of Australia. Specifically it focuses on the reverberations of Khrushchev’s ‘secret speech’ within the CPA leadership for the first six months of 1956. It argues that, in contrast to the received wisdom, the response of the leadership was characterised by confusion rather than consistency, division rather than unanimity. This had implications for CPA members as they struggled to come to terms with the line of the leadership and the authenticity or otherwise of the New York Times version of Khrushchev’s speech.

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Item type Article
URI https://vuir.vu.edu.au/id/eprint/15466
DOI 10.1111/j.1467-8497.2008.00485.x
Subjects Historical > SEO Classification > 970121 Expanding Knowledge in History and Archaeology
Historical > Faculty/School/Research Centre/Department > School of Social Sciences and Psychology
Historical > FOR Classification > 2103 Historical Studies
Historical > RFCD Classification > 430000 History and Archaeology
Keywords Communist Party of Australia, CPA, Twentieth Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Khrushchev's “secret speech"
Citations in Scopus 6 - View on Scopus
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