Spanish Civil War
Articles about the Spanish Civil War and social revolution from 1936-1939 which was sparked by a military rising lead by right-wing General Franco.
Mohamed, Sail, 1894-1953
A biography of Algerian anarchist, Spanish Civil War fighter and mechanic Sail Mohamed Ameriane ben Amerzaine.
Sail Mohamed
Full name Sail Mohamed Ameriane ben Amerzaine, born 14 October 1894 - Kabylie, Algeria, died April 1953
Sail Mohamed Ameriane ben Amerzaine (pictured above sitting front row centre) was born on 14 October 1894 at Tarbeit-Beni-Ouglis in the Berber region of Kabylie, Algeria.
Montes, Jose Perez 'Pepin', 1915-1947
A biography of Jose Perez Montes, 'Pepin', a Spanish anarchist who fought in the Civil War and then set about organising the clandestine resistance.
Jose Perez Montes
Nicknamed 'Pepin', born 2nd October 1915 - Santander, Spain, died October 1947 - Spain
Solà, Antonio Téllez, 1921-2005
A biography of an anti-Franco guerrilla who became the leading historian of the Spanish Resistance, Antonio Téllez Solà.
Antonio Téllez Solà
Born January 18 1921 - Tarragona, Spain, died March 27 2005 - Perpignan, France.
The Herodotus of the anti-Franco maquis
Homage to Catalonia - George Orwell
George Orwell's famous 1938 account of the Spanish Revolution and Civil War, from his point of view as a volunteer in the POUM militia.
Though the POUM were socialists, he wrote "as far as my purely personal preferences went I would have liked to join the Anarchists."
His vivid descriptions of classless anarchist Barcelona following the revolution and terrorised Stalinist Barcelona after the counter-revolution are a timeless reminder that a 'revolutionary state' is a contradiction in terms.
Looking back on the Spanish War - George Orwell
“In essence it was a class war” - George Orwell reflects on his experiences as a volunteer militiaman in the Spanish Revolution and Civil War. Written in 1943.
[8,000 words]
1
First of all the physical memories, the sounds, the smells and the surfaces of things.
1939-1965: Armed resistance to Franco
An account of the underground guerilla armed struggle of anarchists and anti-fascists against General Franco's regime following the Civil War.
The rattle of the Thompson gun
1868-1936: Anarchism in Spain
A history of the anarchist and workers movements in Spain from its origins in the late 19th century up to the start of the Civil War.
The Spanish branch of the International Workingmen's Association (with Marx, Engels and the anarchist Mikhail Bakunin amongst the founders) was numerically the most substantial section of the International, with 50,000 members. It trod the paths of Bakuninism laid down by the Italian delegate Fanelli.
1939-1943: The Pallarès Action Group
A short history of one of the small groups of anarchist guerrillas who fought in the Resistance to the dictatorship in Spain.
The Pallarés group was one of the very first anti-Franco urban guerrilla groups which sprung up after the end of the Spanish Civil War and Revolution of 1936-9, and the victory of the fascist and right-wing army of General Franco.
1941-1947: The Los Queros guerrillas
A short history of a small band of anarchist rebels who fought in the Resistance to General Franco's dictatorship in Spain.
Part of the widespread armed resistance to the regime, the Los Queros guerilla band operated in the city of Granada and in its environs in the years following the end of the Civil War of 1936-9, and the victory of the fascist and right-wing army of General Franco (pictured).
Spilling the Spanish beans - George Orwell
George Orwell's 1937 essay on the deceptions in the British press which obscured the revolutionary character of events in Spain in favour of a simple story of 'democracy vs fascism', written after his participation in the revolutionary militias and his narrow escape from the Stalinist purges.
He concludes ominously with a prediction that such an ignorance of the real struggle can only lead to more slaughter, and predicts World War Two as the 'war against fascism', a cover for implementing a 'fascism, British variety' at home - with hindsight the British wartime economy could indeed be quite accurately labelled fascist (3,000 words).
Spilling the Spanish beans
