Our Spanish comrades, exiled in France since 1939, have always maintained their organised activities. In the shameful system of concentratiom camps, to which they were submitted by the Popular Front leaders of the liquidated 3rd Republic, they established a skeleton organisation which has successfully lasted to the present day.

Throughout the period of German occupation the underground activities of the C.N.T. men were maintained, in spite of terrible reprisals which cost them hundreds of invaluable comrades. However, their main objective--that of maintaining their regular contacts and keeping the organisation alive in preparation for the day when they will be able to resume their revolutionary work in their own country—was achieved with complete satisfaction.

Today they are able to appear openly in France, powerful as ever, and determined to continue the fight to make the old Anarchist slogan:

“ The World is my Fatherland, and Humanity my Family."

a reality.

"They meet in Congress at Toulouse on May Day and we are confident that the spirit of the First International will prevail in any resolutions they make.

Delegations of Spanish comrades in exile and likewise organised in other countries will be present. These comrades, who have not seen each other for more than six years will gather to exchange and study their experiences and ideas. Mexico, Britain, North Africa, etc., will send delegates, and a delegation from the National Committee of the Underground C.N.T. in Spain will be present.

The problems to be dealt with by this Congress concern mainly, as was to be expected, the final reorganisation of the Spanish Libertarian Movement. The “Spanish Question ” takes a prominent place on the Agenda. International cohesion through the I.W.M.A. forms another of the vital points and in all 23 different items constitute the questions in debate.

Three hundred local Federations have taken part in the preliminary study of motions and suggestions for the Agenda.

In all, through the hundreds of delegates attending this Congress, more than 2,000,000 workers will be represented. The enormous significance of such an event today—in the midst of so many pseudo- “ progressive " and -“ democratic " gatherings, speeches and meetings—means that at heart the workers are not deceived by symbolical "freedoms" offered from above by professional politicians, priests and demagogues.

We shall keep readers infonmed of the proceedings and resolutions of our comrades, to whom we have sent the following greetings:

Spanish Libertarian Movement in France.
To the National Congress

Comrades:

The A.F.B. salutes the meeting you are holding. We see, in it, the revival of the invincible "forces of progress and revolutionary justice which Spanish Anarchism has always held. We look forward to the time when you will be able to return to Spain to continue the struggle of July 19th, 1936, for a free system of society. We expect to meet you half-way in the mutual struggle and work towards an effective co-operation of International Anarchism.

Transcribed by Juan Conatz

Two world wars within thirty years: that is the result of the present world order. The European War has ended, but peace is by no means secure. On the contrary, new conflicts of clashing interests are being prepared between the victorious powers; conflicts that may produce new armed strife.

Permanent peace is less likely today than after the first World War, when it was thought that disarmament could be achieved by means of the slow reduction of militarism and the collaboration of states within the society of nations.

Today disarmament is not mentioned; instead the protection of peace by the armed might of the victorious powers is the topical slogan. This means prolonging the existence of militarism as an instrument for preserving national capitalist interests and eventually imperialistic expansion.

Lust and the appetite for power will continue to write history with blood, fire and steel. Militarism will obtain increasing influence on decisions of an international character.

This state of affairs is contrary to popular interests. Peace, not war, is the interest of the people.

For many centuries they have allowed politicians and governments to look after the maintenance of peace, with the result of an interminable series of wars. They have resigned themselves to be cannon-fodder for the governments. This must cease. The maintenance of peace must no longer be left to the organisers of wars. The people themselves must organise peace if they want it to be successful.

In the past it was hoped that the organised working-class would impede the governments from endangering peace by their unbounded appetite for power and greed for financial gain. But as the workers abandoned the theories of internationalism to indulge in nationalist politics, they destroyed the moral foundation which should have been the basis of their struggle against war.

The fraternisation of the people across all national frontiers and the co-operation between the workers of the world were betrayed in favour of collaboration with capitalist politicians against workers of other countries.

The anti-militarist tendency of the working-class movement of the world was abandoned. This produced the first failure of that movement in 1914, and again in 1939. At the end of the second World War the workers international movement must be reorganised on a real internationalist foundation. Fraternisation of the world’s workers will be a strong factor in securing the peace of the future.

The working-class have no interest in war. But it cannot be said that the workers are blameless. In modern industrialised war there are 10-15 workers behind every soldier. War is made possible by their production and operation of the necessary machinery—arms, planes. tanks, explosives.

International organisation must end this. This is the workers' historical mission. They must refuse to continue to provide arms for the slaughter-house of modern war.

Our reorganised international must be the mainstay of the movement of popular resistance which will challenge with real power the manoevres of governments and politicians who are already preparing the next world war.

To make this possible internationally, totalitarianism and state dictatorship must be liquidated wherever they exist. Freedom and the rights of man are the fundamental condition for world fraternisation. Where governments hold control of the press and speech they will abuse it to maintain national fanaticism -which is one of the basic factors of war. Freedom of speech, of the press, of organisation and of assembly are part of these inalienaible rights.

Free relationship between the workers of all countries must be our immediate objective. An end must be made of national prejudice which is opposed to international solidarity.

Workers! Comrades! Within thirty years we have had ten years of war. “Peace” has just come to the people of Europe. We must not permit another war. Let us revive the slogans of international solidarity. It is the workers who must lead the way.

Down with all enmity between workers!

Liberty for all peoplie and all races!

Long live the international fraternity of the workers!

Long live the struggle against militarism and nationalisim!

An end to passive submission to State power which produces war!

Let this second world war be the last profanation of the human cause!

International Working Men’s Association
(Revolutionary Syndicalist International)
Stockholm, May, 1945

Spanish Syndicallst National Congress

Highly satisfactory news has just arrived from France of the results established during the Congress of the delegation of 35,000 Spanish anarcho-syndicalists held in Paris from May 1st onwards.

We shall give in detail all the more important resolutions adopted as soon as we receive them. For the present we can only reproduce a translation of the cablegram just received from our correspondent:

"Congress tasks closed great enthusiasm. Reformist proposals rejected immense majority. Resolved unanimously to ratify principles National Congresses. New national committee elected includes Germinal Esgleas, Federica Montseny, Ruiz Elie. Several committees elected to determine essential points constructive work. Movement has centred itself right way. Details follow post. Yours fraternally, X."

The Voice of Experience

Our comrade Federica Montseny, militant of our movement in Spain, has replied in the following terms in answer to a direct question:

“My experiences in a government in the very critical circumstances for the life of Spain (1936-37) have confirmed my original lbelief that:

“Partial intervention in the state, sharing with the other political sections of the community, the responsibility of the governmental direction of the country can only lead to the failure and discredit of a revolutionary movement.

“The complex and sinuous texture of political collaboration invalidates all revolutionary action, nullifies all efficiency. To be able to do anything profound, serious and of consequence from above’, only the total control of power, would be the solution. That is to say dictatorship. And where would we go that way?

"If we arrived at such a conclusion our reason to exist as libertarians would cease.

"But the C.N.T. and the libertarian movement which for a century past have stimulated and encouraged the Spanish working-class, strengthening and inspiring its class-consciousness, have a greater mission to achieve than the dispute for power. They are entrusted by the small, but confident nucleus of anarchists the world over to fulfil a momentous task—to bridge two stages of civilization through the only possible means—Social Revolution of the Workers.”

Swedish Syndicalists

The annual report for 1944 of our Swedish comrades of the Sveriges Arbetares Centralorganization (SAC), has just been published. The organisation comprises 574 local branches with a total of 21,902 affliliated members, and the record of the year's activity is one of intense agitation and organisational work.

The SAC publishes two daily papers, “Arbetaren” and "Norrlandsfolket”, an industrial periodical "Travarnindiustriarhetaren” and a magazine entitled  "Syndikalismen". The organisation has its own editorial house and printing premises.

The SAC is divided into 18 propaganda districts for agitation and organisational work. During 1944 the local organisations worked effectively for the betterment of wages and working conditions of the members. Strike action was taken on 47 occasions.

With the end of the war out Swedish movement is widening its scope of activities and the prospect for the immediate future seems extremely promising.

Synclicalist International

The National committee of the SAC held its Annual Conference in Stockholm between March 31st and April 6th. Amongst the questions in debate one of the most important items was that of the reorganisation of our international (IWMA) which has maintained itself during the war years under great difficulties.

The text of the resolution adopted is as follows:

“The end is near of the bloody massacre of a world apparently mad, a world in which the oppressed peoples were forced to fight for their ‘freedom and democracy’. But the people cannot be constantly driven to war to sacrifice their lives in military slaughter to be later thrown again into misery and enslavement. Freedom and democracy must become realities after the war, and this will only be brought about if the people take affairs into their own hands, establishing economic freedom which is the basis of all other liberties.

“The Syndicalist movement of the world was suppressed by violence and disintegrated by repression in this era of terror. The time has now arrived for reorganisation, for a new concentration of all elements of our movement in exile, persecuted and dispersed all over the world.

“We know that we shall face the resistance of the victorious powers. We know that, as ever, it will be a hard struggle, but we also know that anarchosyndicalism has an historical mission to fulfil as the representative of the libertarian cause.

“We must establish immediately new contacts amongst syndicalislt revolutionaries of other countries, and after the necessary work of reorganisation we must convene an international -congress which, on the basis of the terrible experiences of the last decades, will fix the lines of action for the future activity of the anarcho-syndicalist movement internationally."

It is our task here, in Britain, to do our share in helping to rebuild our international of the revolutionary working-class.

Anarchists in France

We've welcomed recently the first numbers of the new series of “Le Libertaire”, the paper of our French comrades, founded 49 years ago by Louise Michel and Sebastian Faure in Paris.

It reappears now as the “Organe Federal du Mouvement Libertaire" into which the two traditional currents of anarchism that existed in the past in France the Union Anarchiste (U.A.) and the Federation Anarchiste Francoise (F.A.F.), have amalgamated during the German occupation.

Transcribed by Juan Conatz

Revolutionary history was made in France last month. For the first time a revolutionary movement in exile held a nation-wide Congress. "Delegates representing 35,000 anarcho-syndicalist militants of the Spanish Libertarian Movement from every corner of France assembled to consider the lines on which their future revolutionary activities should be based. The Congress was a great success and resulted in complete agreement on all points of discussion which ranged from an analysis of the part played by the Spanish Movement during the Civil War to the immediate future.

It was natural that a considerable part of the Congress should have been dedicated to a searching examination of the experience gained during the last nine years since the Fascist insurrection in 1936 as a preliminary to laying down future lines of action. Only by fully understanding the successes as well as the mistakes of the past can we be sure to choose the right way to achieve our aims. At the time our Spanish comrades took an active part in all spheres of life in Spain: economic, political, military, educational. Many divergent views exist to-day as to the success or otherwise of some of their actions during that period. All had a hearing at the Congress. Delegates expressed the view that collaboration with the other social and political organisations of the country had been necessary “because no revolution can be successfully achieved by any single sector of Society without implying a dictatorship” while others held the view that political collaboration had been “the greatest mistake and failure of our Movement."

The final interpretation of the experiences of the past was a unanimous decision that only those actions which arose spontaneously from popular initiative were positive revolutionary contributions. Congress went on to ratify the principles and tactics the Movement as expressed by its Congresses and actions of the past and resolved to continue its historical course of revolutionary and anti-State action. The debates showed that Spanish Anarcho-Syndicalism is a dynamic and versatile force, capable of applying the necessary tactics to the problems of the day without utopian sectarianism and in a constructive spirit. To make the action of the working class more effective Congress resolved to pursue a course of syndicalist unity between the C.N.T. and U.G.T. members, as their class interests in the common struggle have more in common than would appear from their different social doctrines.

Congress also resolved to strengthen the links of solidarity among the workers of the world to ensure universal peace and oppose all wars of aggression or conquest. Another resolution demanded the struggle for Libertarian emancipation in Spain without any outside totalitarian or parliamentarian interference. On such subjects as Federalism, Youth Movement, Culture and Education, Press and Propaganda, Solidarity towards the victims of the Civil War and the international struggle lines of future action were determined. The Congress ratified its adherence to the I.W.M.A. and called for the establishment of a section in France for Spanish militants.