The International Anticommunist Entente (french: Entente Internationale Anticommuniste EIA) was an international

anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when the United States and the ...

organisation based in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. Prior to 1938, it was known as the International Entente Against the Third International (french: Entente internationale contre la III:e internationale). The organisation was founded by the Swiss advocate

Théodore Aubert Théodore Aubert (8 September 1878, Geneva – 19 January 1963) was a Swiss lawyer and writer. Biography As a lawyer, he defended the White émigré Maurice Conradi who assassinated the Soviet envoy to Switzerland Vatslav Vorovsky in 1923. A ...

and Russian émigré Red Cross leader Georges Lodygensky as a response to the

Communist International The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to "struggle by ...

in 1924. Its objectives were to defend the "principles of order, family, property and nationality". The entente had national chapters in over 20 countries, with the aim of influencing political and journalistic circles. The British chapter was the Central Council of the Economic Leagues. In Finland, the national chapter ''Suomen Suojelusliitto'' was founded by the prominent statesman

Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim Baron Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim (, ; 4 June 1867 – 27 January 1951) was a Finnish military leader and statesman. He served as the military leader of the Whites in the Finnish Civil War of 1918, as Regent of Finland (1918–1919), as c ...

a year earlier in 1923 to do anti-communist education. According to some accounts,

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War and thereafter ruled over Spain from 193 ...

's anti-communism was initially sparked by reading the entente's publications and he also met Aubert. Other notable sympathizers included

Philippe Pétain Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Pétain (24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), commonly known as Philippe Pétain (, ) or Marshal Pétain (french: Maréchal Pétain), was a French general who attained the position of Marshal of France at the end of Worl ...

and

Franz von Papen Franz Joseph Hermann Michael Maria von Papen, Erbsälzer zu Werl und Neuwerk (; 29 October 18792 May 1969) was a German conservative politician, diplomat, Prussian nobleman and General Staff officer. He served as the chancellor of Germany ...

. EIA published ''Revue Anticommuniste''. EIA opened an information centre in August 1937. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, EIA's membership numbers greatly decreased and its leaders considered the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

to be a better center for leading anti-communist activities than Europe. The organisation ceased operation in 1950.

References

Anti-communist organizations 1924 establishments in Switzerland International organisations based in Switzerland Organizations established in 1924 Organizations disestablished in 1950 {{international-org-stub