fifth column

A fifth column is a group of people who clandestinely undermine a larger group to which it is expected to be loyal, such as a nation.

Origin

The term originated with a 1936 radio address by Emilio Mola, a nationalist general during the 1936-39 Spanish Civil War. As four of his army columns moved on Madrid, the general referred to his militant supporters within the capital as his "fifth column," intent on undermining the Republican government from within (see Siege of Madrid).

In fact, this supposed "fifth column" did not prove very effective, as evidenced by the fact that Madrid held out until 1939 despite very heavy fighting. Nevertheless, the term caught on and was used extensively, especially by those fighting the Fascists and Nazis. It was especially in wide use in Britain in the early stages of the Second World War. There, fear of the "fifth Column" was used as justification for the mass internment on the Isle of Man of German nationals resident in the country, including German Jews and staunch anti-Nazis who had sought refuge in Britain after the rise of Hitler,^{[citation needed]} as well as in the western portion of Canada and the United States in the evacuation, relocation, and internment of Japanese immigrants and naturalized citizens.

Usage

The term is also used in reference to a population who are assumed to have loyalties to countries other than the one in which they reside, or who support some other nation in war efforts against the country they live in, which makes them traitors (see dual loyalty.) During World War II, German minority organizations in Poland and Czechoslovakia formed the Selbstschutz, which actively helped the Third Reich in conquering those nations and engaged in atrocities. After 1945, this was cited as justification for the wholesale expulsion of ethnic Germans from Czechoslovakia, Poland and the Soviet Union, including considerable former German territories annexed to these countries after the war.

Modern usage

Today the term "Fifth column" has a pejorative connotation, whereas partisan can be considered a positive or negative term. Resistance movements (when the government they live under is clearly an authoritarian dictatorship) are looked upon more favorably than fifth columnists, but it can be argued that there is an overlap between the two. For example, from the point of view of the German occupiers and the Vichy regime, the French Resistance could have been considered "a Fifth column", whereas the members of the resistance itself considered the Vichy collaborators to be in that role.

During wars, citizens of enemy countries are often held or watched because of concerns that they might be a fifth column. During World War II, enemy aliens and citizens descended from immigrants from enemy countries were interned throughout Allied and Axis countries, from Japan and Japanese-occupied territories such as the Philippines, to India, Canada and Latin America. This was the justification for the Japanese American internment along the West Coast of the United States and the Japanese Canadian internment in British Columbia, Canada. Thousands of German and other enemy nationals were also held by various US authorities.

Irish Catholic residents in the UK have been sometimes viewed in this way by unionists due to "The Troubles" of the late 20th century (see also Guildford Four, Birmingham Six). Around the time of the First World War, President Woodrow Wilson blamed Irish Americans in the Democratic Party for blocking attempts for the USA to ally with the UK. He also blamed German Americans for their loyalty to Germany and denounced "hyphenated Americans" as potentially traitorous.

Koreans in Japan, particularly those affiliated to Chongryun (which is in turn affiliated to the government of North Korea) are also often seen this way by ordinary Japanese, and have been the victims of verbal and physical attacks, more frequently since the government of Kim Jong Il admitted it had abducted Japanese nationals and tested ballistic missiles.^[1]

Other uses of the term

• In the popular 1980s TV series V there was a faction of the invading aliens army called Fifth Column who opposed their leader's plans and collaborated with the human resistance.
• Dr. Seuss was also very fond of using this phrase to refer to fascist sympathizers or anybody opposed to the war effort.
• The 5th Column was the name of a villain organization in the City of Heroes video game that had ties to the original German Nazi Party (though the term "Nazi" is never actually used in any information regarding the group). It was later removed from the game, replaced by The Council, a villain group which apparently had ties to the original Italian Fascist National Party.
• The Fifth Column is the name of a political and media gossip page in Ireland's Sunday Independent. The page is currently edited by Liam Collins, the paper's news editor.
• The Agatha Christie book 'N or M' centres around married couple Tommy and Tuppence going undercover and trying to unmask two 'Fifth Column' operatives - N and M.
• The official AFI street team is called the 5th Column.
• A Dutch Post-Hardcore/Rock/Alternative band.
• "The Fifth Column" is the title of episode 2.35 of the military science fiction series Exosquad.

See also

• Quisling
• Sixth Column
• Eurabia

Sources

• "The German Fifth Column in Poland" London: Polish Ministry of Info, 1941
• "Fifth Column at Work" by Bilek Bohumil, description of German minority in Czechoslovakia, London, Trinity, 1945.
• "The German Fifth Column in the Second World War" Jong, Louis de New York Fertig, 1973
• "The Fifth Column, and Four Stories of the Spanish Civil War" New York Scribner, 1969
• Dr. Seuss Goes to War: The World War II Editorial Cartoons of Theodor Seuss Geisel, a selection with commentary by Richard Minnear (New Press, 2001; ISBN 1-56584-704-0).

References

The factual accuracy of this article is disputed.

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