Working-Class Internationalism through Children's Eyes: The International Experiences of Norwegian Young Pioneers in the Interwar Period.

Children growing up communist in interwar Norway were socialized into an international sense of belonging, often displaying awareness of events affecting working-class children elsewhere in the world. Organizations like the Pioneer Association worked to put Norwegian children in contact with an international network of children through letter-writing, summer camps, and international travel. This article draws on child-produced texts to explore how children related to these international experiences. Research on children and internationalism in the early twentieth century has mainly emphasized the liberal internationalist variety represented by organizations like the Scout movement or the Red Cross. Children's international experiences under the Comintern umbrella raise a different set of questions regarding the interplay between internationalism and nationalism. Here, the aim was to build a class-based political identity that transcended national borders, as well as promoting loyalty to the Soviet Union. The article analyzes the ways in which the international nature of the communist movement influenced Norwegian children's outlook on the world and their own place in it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]