1945: Context

Context

David Marr disputes the popular notion that Communism was the reason Vietnam gained independence. The Communist party was the primary actor in Vietnam’s struggle for independence. There are many novels, movies, and other text to back this argument. Marr however, provides ample evidence that it was not just the Communist party. He argues that it was a Nationalist movement just as much as a Communist Revolution. The Vietnamese people were first ruled by an oppressive French imperialist regime and then a similar repressor in the Japanese in March of 1945. (Marr 1995, pg. 1) The people of Vietnam endured many hardships under theses tyrannical regimes and were looking to gain independence by any means. The Communist party just happened to be at the right place at the right time.

The vital role of the Communist party in the August 1945 Revolution and Vietnam’s independence is widely known. The main catalyst in the Communist party was Ho Chi Minh. Ho believed that for Vietnam to gain independence it would take all the Vietnamese people. Ho believed in the people and their invincible power to overcome the colonial oppressors. (Trinh 2006, pg. 147) The line between Communism and Nationalism is skewed during this period. Ho and his compatriots believed in Vietnam gaining independence by any means. He is even quoted as saying, “I am a Communist, but the point in which I am concentrating now is independence and freedom for the country of Vietnam, not Communism. I have one special revelation to share with you: Communism will not be realized in Vietnam during the next fifty years.” (Borton 2007, pg. 83) Ho himself saw that Communism was not what the Vietnamese people were fighting for, they were fighting for freedom.

One could argue that the 1945 revolution was a Nationalist revolution and not Communist. The people of Vietnam no longer wanted to be under the rule of their colonial oppressors and wanted a nation of their own. In his own thoughts on the struggle to gain independence Ho said, “To sacrifice our lives, interests, and ideas to create a national revolution.” (Borton 2007, pg. 47) This quote underlines a national revolution, not a Communist revolution.

Ho Chi Minh and the Communist were also willing to collaborate with anyone who would help them in their struggle. An important provider of intelligence and other support for Ho and the Communist was the United States and the OSS, the predecessor for the CIA. Marr would argue that this is proof that it was not primarily a Communist revolution in that they were willing to ally with any type of government as long as it aided them in gaining independence. To back up this argument after Vietnam gained independence Ho created the Vietnamese Declaration of Independence after the American model, not a Communist manifesto. (Jeffreys-Jones 2002, pg. 195-196)