In the North West forum a claim was made that some people from Burnley went to join the CNT/FAI militias during the Spanish Civil War. To my knowledge hardly any (if any) volunteers came from Britain to fight in the anarchist militias. In fact the CNT/FAI called on anarchists to stay in their own countries to build support for them. Some units were formed from German and Italian exiles who had escaped the fascist regimes in their countries but no others. Anybody got any other information on this?
Sep 12 2005 15:38
Sep 21 2005 11:33
They could have been International Brigade members who became disillusioned and went on to join the Anarchist militias. As George Orwell considered doing.
Sep 21 2005 11:37
Seems there is nothing concrete then. Think what I'll do, if I've got the time, is contact the CNT direct, if anyone knows they will.
Sep 21 2005 17:18
They could have been International Brigade members who became disillusioned and went on to join the Anarchist militias. As George Orwell considered doing.
Quote:
Orwell was amember of the POUM militia Which was allied to the ILP in britain which Orwell was a member of.
Orwell at first supported the cp/ international brigades strategy ogf war first, revolution later and did consider transferring to the international brigades, but his experience on the front and later in barcelona during the May days convinced him of the treacherous nature of the stalinists.
Unfortunately he was never an an anarchist. although some of his arguments were close to versions of libertarian socialist.
see Homage To Catalonia for details
Sep 22 2005 10:08
Mhmmm, yes Orwell was never an Anarchist. But he did consider joining the Anarchist militias. Sorry for the first information about the POUM.
Sep 29 2005 18:19
Orwell wrote after the war that had he understood the situation when he went to Spain in 1936 he would have joined the CNT. According to Derek Pattison there was an international section in the Iron Column. Many foreign anarchist went to Spain and fought there. One was Partos, the Hungarian anarchist, who later became a friend of Jim Pinkerton in Ashton-u-Lyne, when he came to England to work as an electrician.
The pressing problem for Steve and Sol Fed is will their representative on the Manchester commemorative committee of 70th anniverary of the Spanish Civil War support the presentation of the CNT in a favourable light or not? Will he back the anarchists, the Poum and the CNT or will he continue to back the Basque catholics etc?
Sep 30 2005 08:21
Eh?
Sep 30 2005 08:28
It's all part of a bloody silly row that's been going on in the NW of England for years. Best to take note of the first paragraph which is interesting and ignore the rest.
It's tiresome.
Can comment on articles and discussions
They could have joined the international brigades then defected to the CNT, I suppose - but no, I don't have any information on this... I think anarchists with military/technical skills were asked to join.
There's a memorial to the Abraham Lincoln brigade where I work (University of Washington, Seattle) - quite a few people from here (30 or so I think) joined it.