Friends of Durruti

Theses on the Spanish Civil War and the revolutionary situation created on July 19, 1936 - BALANCE (Agustín Guillamón)

A 2001 text summarizing the results of the research carried out by Agustín Guillamón for the Spanish journal, BALANCE, concerning the lessons of the Spanish Civil War in Catalonia, denying the existence of “dual power” in Catalonia in 1936, discussing the struggles of the CNT rank and file against militarization and in favor of socialization, emphasizing the revolutionary potential of the ubiquitous committees and their neutralization and eventual destruction due to a lack of coordination and centralization, and claiming that the proletarian revolution requires the destruction of the capitalist state and the creation of a centralized workers power based on workers councils.

Theses on the Spanish Civil War and the Revolutionary Situation Created on July 19, 1936 in Catalonia - BALANCE 1

“The working class is revolutionary or it is nothing.”
Karl Marx, Letter to Schweitzer (February 13, 1865)

  • 1. BALANCE. Cuadernos de historia del movimiento obrero, Cuaderno No. 21, Barcelona, June 2001 (2nd edition).

From defense cadres to popular militias - Augustín Guillamón

Submitted by Alias Recluse on Nov 4 2013 20:00

A short article summarizing the history and transformation of the CNT’s Defense Committees in Barcelona during the 1930s from their origins as street fighting units to their reorganization as integrated combat/intelligence formations, to their suppression by the Republic after the working class defeat of May 1937.

From Defense Cadres to Popular Militias – Augustín Guillamón

The defense cadres were formed shortly after the proclamation of the Republic, and were a continuation of the armed defense groups of the years of pistolerismo.

From Shapiro’s report to the Presentation of October 1934

The revolutionary message of the Friends of Durruti.

Submitted by rat on Apr 1 2012 16:33

George Fontenis' analysis of the Friends of Durruti from a pamphlet translated by the Workers' Solidarity Movement.

The revolutionary message of the Friends of Durruti.

Spanish Civil War and Revolution poster gallery, 1936-39

Submitted by Ed on Feb 22 2012 11:30

Archive of posters from the Spanish Civil War and Revolution, 1936-39. Includes posters from the CNT, FAI, Mujeres Libres, Friends of Durruti, FIJL, the Iron Column, UHP (Uníos Hermanos Proletarios - Union of Proletarian Brothers) and some joint posters between the CNT and the reformist UGT.

Anarchism, the Republic and Civil War in Spain: 1931-1939 - Julian Casanova

Spanish historian's look at the role anarchism played in the Spanish Civil War and reasons why it failed to resurface after Franco's demise.

The Friends of Durruti Group: 1937-39 - Agustin Guilamòn

Guillamòn's in-depth study of the hugely important anarcho-syndicalist CNT militants who opposed their union's collaboration with the Republican government during the Spanish Civil War.

Towards a Fresh Revolution - Friends of Durruti

Durruti's funeral, 1936.

Highly influential pamphlet of anarcho-syndicalist CNT militants during the Spanish Civil War who opposed the co-option of their organisation in the Republican government.

Workers Power and the Spanish Revolution - Tom Wetzel

Submitted by Steven. on Dec 27 2006 00:55
Workers in Spain, 1936

Tom Wetzel's historical article and analysis of the Spanish Civil War and Revolution, and in particular the activities of the Spanish anarchists within it. In text and PDF format.

Available here as a PDF.

Pérez Navarro, Joaquín, 1907-2006

Submitted by Steven. on Dec 22 2006 14:41

A short biography of Spanish anarchist and last surviving member of the Friends of Durruti, Joaquín Pérez Navarro.

In the late 1980s I attended a film in London about the achievements of anarchism and the Spanish civil war. At one point the elderly man sitting next to me began weeping quietly. Suddenly, the passion and the conviction of those events and commitments became manifest.

Durruti, Buenaventura, 1896-1936

Submitted by Steven. on Sep 27 2006 10:20

A biography of legendary Spanish anarchist and Civil War fighter Buenaventura Durruti.

To reduce to a few hundred words the life story of an almost mythic figure is not an easy task. It can be said, without fear of exaggeration, that Buenaventura Durruti symbolised in his person the courageous struggle of workers and peasants in that country, and more specifically symbolises the spirit of Spanish anarchism.