1930s
A soldier returns - letter from an American fighter in the Durruti Column
A letter from an American trade unionist and member of the revolutionary union the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) about his experiences as a fighter in the Spanish Civil War and Revolution of 1936-9 in the International section of the anarchist Durruti Column.
The following letter was published in the paper of the American IWW's paper, One Big Union Monthly in 1937.
Original introduction
A Day Mournful and Overcast... An account of the Iron Column
A personal account of a liberated prisoner's experience as a fighter during the Spanish Civil War and Revolution of 1936-9 in the anarchist militia unit called the Iron Column prior to its incorporation into the Communist-run Republican army.
Introduction
"An alliance concluded between two different parties turns to the advantage of the more reactionary of the two; this alliance necessarily enfeebles the more progressive party by diminishing and distorting its programme." - Michael Bakunin.
Towards a History of Workers' Resistance to Work - Michael Seidman
"The implications of workers' resistance to work are far-reaching. The study of their reluctance to work shows that the claim by unions and political parties of the left to represent the working class is somewhat questionable. French and Spanish workers continued their traditional ways of resistance to labour in spite of calls by communists, socialists, anarchists or syndicalists for greater production.
The persistence of workers' resistance created tensions between members of the working class and the organizations which claimed to represent them. In both revolutionary and reformist situations, persuasion and propaganda which aimed to convince the workers to work harder was inadequate and had to be supplemented by force."
Quiet Fronts in the Spanish Civil War - Michael Seidman
QUIET FRONTS IN THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR.
Author/s: Michael Seidman
Issue: Summer, 1999
Workers Against Work: Labor in Paris and Barcelona During the Popular Fronts - Michael Seidman
Workers Against Work
Labor in Paris and Barcelona During the Popular Fronts
Michael Seidman
Individualisms in Madrid during the Spanish Civil War - Michael Seidman
Individualisms in Madrid during the Spanish Civil War
Michael Seidman
PDF Format (2.05MB)
Agrarian Collectives during the Spanish Civil War - Michael Seidman
Agrarian Collectives during the Spanish Revolution and Civil War
Michael Seidman
PDF Format (108KB)
Buenaventura Durruti - Peter E. Newell
Buenaventura Durruti
1936: Fascists and Police Routed - the Battle of Cable Street
Cable Street - October 4th 1936 - an eye witness account by Reg Weston, Higham resident and life-time NUJ member.
'I was at the Battle of Cable Street. In my early twenties, I was then secretary of the recently formed Southgate branch of the Communist Party in North London.
The Tragedy of Spain - Rudolf Rocker
German anarcho-syndicalist Rudolf Rocker's history of the Spanish Civil War and Revolution.
July 19th was the anniversary of the day on which a gang of militarist adventurers rose against the republican regime in Spain and, with the assistance of outside powers and foreign troops, plunged the country into a bloody war.
