Heather Streets-Salter gave an illuminating talk about the Noulens Affair and the events that occurred in the 1930s around Asia. The lecture began by laying out the events of how European communists living in Asia were arrested and the aftermath of their arrest and investigation. The Noulens affair exposed the vast network that existed within Asia and their connections with the Soviet Union. The investigation unearthed important documents that showed direct connections between the Soviets and parts of Southeast Asia and led to hundreds of arrests.<\/p>\n
Dr. Streets-Salter talked about the underestimation of colonized people in relation to the Noulens Affair. She mentions how the Noulens, European communists, got the spotlight and the Asian communists that had helped build this vast secret network were underreported, propagating the narrative that colonized peoples are mean to take orders and not think for themselves. In addition, the women involved in this were also sidelined, while the men got all the attention and credit.<\/p>\n
The lecture extends the history of the Cold War and exposed the inner mechanisms of empires. Dr. Streets-Salter used the Noulens affair to illustrate how the European colonies in Southeast Asia were secretly and effectively rebelling and building up systems of authority independent of their colonizers. As Dr. Streets-Salter said, empire in the 20th century were loosely defined territories which reported to a “mother country”. Through this lens, we see how the early anti-communist movement, led by the British and French, was fueled by the fight for colonial stability. The origins of the Cold War and anti-communist movement in was created by the possibility of colonial revolt if the colonies decided to side with the Soviets and create a new communist government. This worry of upheaval caused the European colonizers to vilify communism, and consequently caused the United States to jump aboard the anti-communist movement.<\/p>\n
Dr. Streets-Salter mentioned that there was not much literature regarding the Noulens Affair, even though it was an international news story at the time. Dr. Streets-Salter’s talk gave insight into the anticommunist movement from the perspective of the European nations, as well as the Southeast Asian nations. This deepens our understanding of the Noulens Affair, and the international relations that existed in the 1930s, and how that effects us today. This makes me think about our biases and how reliable history really is sometimes. It is very possible that the Soviets or communists working in Asia tried to bury this story as to not expose them. In addition, when learning about the Cold War and the anti-communist movement in school, this wasn’t mentioned at all. Learning history in a specific country means that you will hear the narrative that most pertains to that country. This creates history that is one-dimensional and doesn’t show the true intricacies of past events. It is a hard task to ensure that all aspects of a historical event are told and analyzed, but it is important to note that, usually, when learning history we are only getting one piece of the larger picture. I wonder how this the Noulens Affair \u00a0is taught in Russia, China, and around the Asian countries who were also involved in this event.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Heather Streets-Salter gave an illuminating talk about the Noulens Affair and the events that occurred in the 1930s around Asia. The lecture began by laying out the events of how European communists living in Asia were arrested and the aftermath of their arrest and investigation. The Noulens affair exposed the vast network that existed within … <\/p>\n