Anarchist Catalonia

This article needs references that appear in reliable third-party publications. Primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject are generally not sufficient for a Wikipedia article. Please add more appropriate citations from reliable sources. (May 2009) Anarquisme a Catalunya Anarchist controlled areas in Catalonia, Spain ← 1936–1939 → Flag Motto No pasarán! No passaran! (They shall not pass!) Situation of the fronts of the Spanish Civil War, November 1938. Nationalist zone in blue, Republican zone in red. The anarchist areas strongholds were in the Republican held northeast corner of Spain (Catalonia). Capital Not specified Language(s) Spanish, Catalan Government Anarcho-syndicalism (de facto) Historical era Spanish Civil War  - Spanish Revolution July 21, 1936  - Funeral of Buenaventura Durruti November 23, 1936  - Barcelona May Days May 3–8, 1937  - Fall of Barcelona January 26, 1939  - End of the Spanish Civil War February 10, 1939 Anarchist Catalonia (July 21, 1936–February 10, 1939) was the part of Catalonia controlled by the anarchist Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT) during the Spanish Civil War. Contents 1 Anarchists enter government 2 1936 Revolution 3 Anarchists militias 4 Clashes with the Communists 5 Criticism 6 Film 7 See also 8 References 9 Bibliography Anarchists enter government In 1936, the main anarchist movement, Confederación Nacional del Trabajo-Iberian Anarchist Federation (CNT-FAI), for the first time decided to collaborate with the Catalan government,1 at this moment under Lluís Companys i Jover. Juan García Oliver became Minister of Justice (he abolished legal fees and had all criminal dossiers destroyed), Diego Abad de Santillán became Minister of the Economy, and Federica Montseny became Minister of Health, to name a few instances. During the Spanish Civil War, many anarchists outside of Spain (such as Alexander Schapiro and Emma Goldman) criticized CNT-FAI for entering into the government.2 There was also concern among anarchists with the growing power of Marxist communists within the government. Montseny later explained: "At that time we only saw the reality of the situation created for us: the communists in the government and ourselves outside, the manifold possibilities, and all our achievements endangered."3 Indeed, some anarchists outside of Spain viewed their concessions as necessary considering the possibility of the Nationalists winning the war. Emma Goldman said, "With Franco at the gate of Madrid, I could hardly blame the CNT-FAI for choosing a lesser evil: participation in government rather than dictatorship, the most deadly evil."4 1936 Revolution Main article: Spanish Revolution Anarchism was frowned upon by the government of the Spanish Republic, which considered the anarchists a threat and disloyal to both the Republic and the war. Clashes were particularly vicious between Soviet-backed communists and anarchists, since the movements often found themselves completely at odds with each other (see Barcelona May Days). Anarchists militias The most effective anarchist unit in Catalonia was the Durruti Column, led by the militant Buenaventura Durruti. It was the only anarchist unit which managed to gain respect from otherwise fiercely hostile political opponents. In a section of her memoirs which otherwise lambasts the anarchists, Communist militant Dolores Ibarruri states: "The [Spanish Civil] war developed with minimal participation from the anarchists in its fundamental operations. One exception was Durruti..." (Memorias de Dolores Ibarruri, p. 382). Buenaventura Durruti. The column began with 3,000 troops but at its peak, was made up of about 8,000 people. They had a difficult time getting arms from a suspicious Republican government, so Durruti and his men compensated by seizing unused arms from government stockpiles. Durruti's death on November 20, 1936, weakened the Column in spirit and tactical ability; they were eventually incorporated, by decree, into the regular army. Over a quarter of the population of Barcelona attended Durruti's funeral.5 It is still uncertain how Durruti died. Modern historians tend to agree that it was an accident, perhaps a malfunction with his own gun. Widespread rumors at the time claimed treachery by his men. Anarchists tended to claim that he died heroically and was shot by a fascist sniper. Another famous unit was the Iron Column, comprising ex-convicts and other "disinherited" Spaniards sympathetic to the Revolution. In March 1937 they were incorporated into the regular army. Clashes with the Communists During the Civil War, the Spanish Communist Party gained considerable influence due to the reliance on supplies from the Soviet Union. Communists and liberals on the Republican side suppressed the anarchists revolution in order, as they said, to ensure that the war received maximum resources. They accused the anarchists of not fighting as hard as the Republican forces, and putting social change before defeating the Nationalists. The Anarchists' response was that "the revolution and the war are inseparable". P. O. U. M. Their efforts to weaken the Anarchists were successful: government was eventually restored, to be monopolized by the Popular Front. Throughout the Civil War, various Communist newspapers engaged in a massive propaganda campaign against the anarchists and the the Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (POUM). They were often called "Hitlerites" and "fascists" in the pay of Franco. George Orwell noted this in Homage to Catalonia: "Just imagine how odious it must be to see a young 15-year old Spaniard brought back from the front lines on a stretcher, to see, poking out from under the blanket an anemic, bewildered face and to think that in London and Paris there are gentlemen dressed to the nines, blithely engaged in writing pamphlets to show this little lad is a covert fascist." Criticism The Austrian author, Franz Borkenau, was sharply critical of the Anarchists in Catalonia. In a book which was also very critical of the USSR-backed Communists, he described the "terror" which they had inflicted on Barcelona and its environs.6 Film "Vivir la utopia - Living Utopia". Anarchism in Spain. Film by Juan Gamero, TVE-Arte Catalunya, 1997. Short description and direct link to view the film, (many footage from Catalonia): [1] See also Anarchism in Spain Spanish Revolution Homage to Catalonia References ^ Alba, Víctor (1983). The Communist Party in Spain. Transaction Publishers. p. 208. ISBN 9780878554645. http://books.google.com/books?id=H0ydA3137WQC&pg=PA208.  ^ Bolloten 1991, p. 201 ^ Bolloten 1991, p. 210 ^ Address to the International Working Men's Association Congress by Emma Goldman. ^ About Buenaventura Durruti by Peter E. Newell ^ Borkenau, Franz (1974). The Spanish Cockpit. University of Michigan Press. p. 178.  Bibliography Bolloten, Burnett (1991). The Spanish Civil War: revolution and counterrevolution. University of North Carolina Press. 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