one other development during the war years merits mention at this point. a small grouping of german and austrian militants came close to left communist positions in these years. best known as the revolutionary communist organisation, these young militants were exiles from nazism living in france at the start of world war ii and were members of the trotskyist movement but they had opposed the formation of the fourth international in 1938 on the grounds that it was premature. they were refused full delegates' credentials and only admitted to the founding conference of the youth international on the following day. they then joined hugo oehler's international contact commission for the fourth (communist) international and in 1939 were publishing "der marxist" in antwerp.