The Spanish Revolution (1936)


The role of anarchism in the Spanish Revolution or Spanish Civil War of 1936 is too often absent from histories of this struggle against fascism. Alongside the war millions of workers collectivised the land and took over industry to pursue their vision of a new society. This page tells their story and the story of those who fought alongside them.

Spanish revolution
 

The Spanish Revolution page has been online for more than a decade and contains dozens of articles on the Spanish Civil War from an anarchist perspective as well as links to many photographs of the civil war. Anarchists seldom use the phrase 'civil war' in relation to the events because it hides the revolutionary nature of the struggle within the republican side, a revolution in which some seven million workers on the land and in industry took over their workplaces. This page has been updated as of late 2007 to fix the many broken links that had accumulated and to add extra explanatory text and links to good books and video on the revolution that are not otherwise available online.

Contents

Introductions

Recommended reading


George Orwell's 'Homage to Catalonia' is an excellent and easy to read, eyewitness introduction to the revolution and counter revolution within the Spanish Civil War

Prelude to Revolution


Latest International anarchist news and discussion from Spain via
Anarkismo.net

The Revolution

Durruti's funeral march - 500,000 attended

Durruti's funeral in Barcelona was attended by 500,000 people

 

Recommended reading


Antony Beevors brilliant military history of the war is written from a stand point that seeks to understand the anarchist political positions and how their military methods related to them.

Eyewitness accounts and studies of the Revolution

 

 

The following books in this section used to be available online and linked here but no longer seem to be so I've a substituted Amazon.com links

 

The International section of the Durruti column?  Assembled from film footage

The above photo is assembled from framegrabs of CNT newsreel of the Durruti Column, I believe this is the International section


PDF file for you to print out and distribute:
Anarchism in Action: The Spanish Civil War

Anarchism in Action cover


Organisations

Front cover of FoD paper El Amigo del Pueblo

Recommended reading


Peirats is widely considered to be the 'offical' historian of the Spanish anarchist movement

PDF file of The revolutionary message of the Friends of Durruti
20 pages booklet on the Spanish anarchist group with introduction by Daniel Guerin

The revolutionary message of the Friends of Durruti

 

The Collectives

 

PDF file of Spanish revolution poster

for you to print out and display

Spanish revolution poster


Spain and the world

Anarchist milita women

Anarchist Women Militia in Spain

Women in the Revolution

Conditions for the vast majority of people in Spain in the 1920s and 1930s were appalling. For women they were especially bad. In the two years before the 1936 revolution, two groups of anarchist women in Barcelona and Madrid had begun organising

Recommended Reading


The best English language source on the Spanish anarchist women's organization Mujeres Libres - the revolution within the revolution

The May Days in Barcelona (1937)


People

Documents

CNT/ FAI Civil War poster 'Workers, Peasants Unity for Victory'

Songs of the Revolution

  • Lyrics of 'Sons of the People' in English and 'Spanish' (ca)
  • Lyrics of 'A las Barricadas' in English and 'Spanish' (ca)
  • Lyrics of the Mujeres Libres anthem in English and 'Spanish' (ca)
  • Lyrics of Los moros que trajo Franco in English and 'Spanish' (ca) 

     

    Anarchist banner


     On-line books/pamphlets on Spain

    Book Reviews

     

    Films on the Spanish revolution