Wanted Man
1st February 2007, 15:43
Something I translated follows below. To avoid clogging up AJ's thread on the International Brigades(this is a rather long article), I've made a new thread. It was written by the Anti-Fascist ex-Resistance Fighters of the Netherlands. It is very obviously from a Marxist-Leninist perspective, but I still think it does an infinitely better job at handling this subject matter than most articles from the same point of view. The source: http://afvn.nl/2006_2/afpag12_17.htm
The Spanish Civil War started 70 years ago
The bullets came from all sides
The ideological struggle at and behind the fronts
By Bert Bakkenes
This year, it has been 70 years since the Spanish Civil War broke out. In an earlier article, we described the large jewish part in the struggle, and the general ending of the war.
But the Spanish Civil War was not only a struggle between the fascists and the anti-fascists who defended the Spanish Republic. Both at and behind the fronts, an ideological struggle was raging, which expressed the differences between the leftist currents that had already been fighting each other with words for years. In Spain, these currents stood together under the flag of anti-fascism. But this common goal was eventually not enough to bury old grievances. How this struggle came to be, and what its consequences were, will be at the centre of this article.
The leftist political landscape
Spain had been in turmoil since the early 30s. The old rulers, the church and the nobility, came under increasing pressure, and were really already in decay.
There wasn't much of a bourgeoisie yet, and about 70% of the active population was working in agriculture. The peasants lived in poverty, while the landowners, including the church, constantly saw their wealth increase. In this time, the first modern industrialization slowly got off the ground, first in Catalonia and then in the Basque country, with foreign capital as a driving force. Slowly, a Spanish revolutionary movement starts up, which wants to finish the old structures. This movement leads to a victory for the Republican parties in the 1931 elections. The Spanish king, Alfonso XII, sees his end approach and runs away. This is the beginning of the Spanish Republic.
It goes without saying that this situation should be a perfect feeding ground for the leftist organizations. Sadly, there was a lot of division, so that the many possibilities could only be put into practice for a small part.
There is hardly a workers' movement. Of the existing organizations, the CNT, the National Labour Confederation, is the most important. This was an organization of anarchists and syndicalists founded in 1910. There was another organization, the FAI, the Anarchist Iberian Federation, which started to increasingly influence the CNT. In 1931, the CNT called upon its members to vote for the bourgeois Republican parties. The call was heeded, and this played a great role in the electoral victory of the Republicans.
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The Communist Party of Spain, the PCE, was founded in 1923 by the separated left wing of the Socialist Party and several other communist groups. The party followed an ultra-left course, and was not interested in cooperation. This led to a certain isolation. The party was not big(according to several sources, there were some 800 members), and mostly operated clandestinely.
In 1930 Andres Nin, a former CNT-functionary, returned from Moscow and founded his own party, Communist Left. At that moment, he is already in contact with Trotsky. Meanwhile, the provisional government of conservatives and socialists has been able to execute only a few reforms, and the economy goes backwards quickly. This causes several worker's and peasant's uprisings, which are violently put down. The consequence of the situation was that most militants moved to the CNT. This organization, however, had no revolutionary strategy or program. This lack should have opened the road to the PCE, but because of the ultra-left course of that party, this turned out to not be a possibility. The consequence of this was that even more organizations were added. For example, there was the Workers and Peasants Bloc, the BOC, founded by Joaquin Maurin. Soon the BOC and Communist Left formed the Workers' Alliance.
The division and a CNT boycott in 1933 allowed the right an electoral victory in 1933, and let them push through several measures that made things worse. The result was that the period until the end of 1934 was marked by strikes and uprisings. The military leaders drowned these in blood. 3,000 workers were killed, 7,000 were wounded, and some 40,000 were arrested, many of them tortured.
Allies
Several leftist leaders understood that this could not go on for longer. Alliances had to be made to resist the attacks from the right. Trotsky demanded that Andres Nin establish ties between Communist Left and the radical youths in the Socialist Party. Nin was not interested in this at all. He decided in favour of a fusion with the BOC, and broke with Trotsky. In September 1935, this process leads to the founding of the POUM, the Workers' Party of Marxist Unification.
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Andres Nin
The POUM had about 8,000 members, especially in Catalonia. Meanwhile, the Communist International, the Comintern, has gone another road, that was also followed by the PCE. The tactic of the Popular Front is being executed now, and that gives the PCE the possibility to look for allies. Several fusions take place between communist and socialist organizations and youth leagues. This way, the young communists in Catalonia merge with the young socialists. Eventually, this results in the PSUC. The party joins the Comintern.
When elections are held in 1936, a broad coalition takes part under the name Popular Front. The Popular Front consists of the moderate Republicans, the socialist party PSOE, the PCE, the UGT and the POUM. The coalition wins a resounding victory with a rather progressive program. For the first time in history, Spain has a leftist government. Demonstrations and strikes are held everywhere in Spain to celebrate the victory. Prisoners are liberated and peasants occupy the land of the landowners, who run away. The CNT and FAI are out of the government, but do generally support the politics of the Popular Front.
The rightist bloc led by generals and leaning on the catholic church is initially stunned by the great Republican victory. But this does not last long. Rightist officers prepare a coup, and on 17 July 1936 they try to grab power. Combat breaks out in all of Spain. The workers and peasants come into action to defend the Republic. The Spanish Civil War is a fact. Initially, the rightist rebels are not very successful. The fascists suffer painful defeats everywhere. The rising only succeeds in Andalusia. In Barcelona, the workers arm themselves and storm the barracks. A column of the POUM and the Durruti unit of the CNT-FAI march to Zaragossa and liberate Aragon. The army surrenders in Valencia. The march seems unstoppable. But the fascists, now led by Franco, receive support from Italy and Germany, including the delivering of weapons and manpower. The balance turns, and the fascists slowly win terrain.
Points of struggle
Right from the formation of the Popular Front, there was already a certain field of tension between the participating parties. The left socialists, including the POUM, wanted quick radical reforms to unleash a revolutionary situation. But the socialist PSOE called for moderation, and the communist party PCE remained on the sidelines a bit. The party did not want to take the initiative, because it was not yet clear how the situation would turn out. This problem formed the basis of the discussions that would be waged throughout all of the war, and which had a tragic influence on the conclusion of the struggle. A main point of contention was where the priority should lie; on winning the war, or on pushing through revolutionary reforms.
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PCE poster: to win the war is to drive the revolution[/b]
The position of the communists and socialists was that the war had to be won first. Reforms would not be worth anything if the fascists would end up winning the war, after all. The POUM and partly also the CNt had a different opinion. The POUM argued that hesitance to push through reforms would undermine the revolutionary sentiment, and make it impossible to reach socialism. There were too points that discussion was aimed at; the collectivisation and the Republican institutions.
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[i]POUM poster: the land is ours
The POUM and partly also the anarchists felt that general collectivisation of the agrarian grounds was not to be delayed. The Republican government, led by the communists, did let the ground of the landowners get collectivised, but the small farmers were allowed to keep their bit of land. This way, they wanted to keep the small farmers with the anti-fascist front. General collectivisation could lead to a conflict with the small farmers. The POUM did not place much importance on this, and remained headstrong. The Republican institutions also became a point of contention.
After the heated struggle of the first weeks after the fascist rising in July 1936, several new institutions were created which took the place of the machinery of the old regime. Militias, people's police and tribunals were founded, which not only bothered themselves with the defence of the Republic, but also with the country's economy, the formation of leadership and legal judgement. In the first weeks, the militants at the base often made decisions for themselves which seemed best to them under the circumstances. These decisions often went against the guidelines of their own organizations. The government did not have much influence left, and the decisions were taken at the base. Often with plenty of contradictions. As time passed, some rest came, and the question was raised whether it was necessary to return a certain amount of lawfulness. This, among other things, to ensure possible foreign support. In this area, the POUM was also in the way. The communist party PCE had gotten support from the Soviet Union in the meantime, and it soon turned out that only this state and Mexico were prepared to support the Spanish struggle. The PCE did not immediately want to switch to a socialist revolution, because this was not realistic and could lead to conflicts and division within the Popular Front, which could cause a high amount of danger.
The alliance with the Soviet Union gave the PCE more authority, and a greater influence in the Popular Front government. Close ties were forged with the socialists. Both groups wanted to establish a certain normalisation, the argument being that no country would pledge its support if they thought that Spain was a mess. Because of this, they also proposed to convert the militias, which were built up by the several organizations, into a real people's army, including the International Brigades of foreign affairs, which were already under communist leadership for a great part. This army would be more disciplined and also more able to use the already limited weapons. This way of handling things was seen as the only way to bring the fascist assault to a standstill. The POUM and others were not prepared to give up on the militias. There was once again fencing with the argument that this would undermine the revolution.
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Largo Caballero
In September 1936 the left socialist Largo Caballero forms the new Republican Popular Front government which was to start on the course of normalisation.
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The government consists of socialists, communists and bourgeois republicans. Furthermore, there are also ministers of the communist union UGT and four anarchist ministers. For the anarchists of the CNT-FAI, the entire process was a great problem and essentially a defeat for their principles. As anarchists, they stood for a great individual liberty, and were against the dictatorship of the proletariat and the build-up of the government and state. But as the struggle went on, they saw that without a leading government, the fascists could not be stopped, and eventually accepted the responsibility of governing. They were also against the formation of an army. But with every passing day, it became more clear that without an army, the battle could not be won. Moreover, the POUM continuously tried to drag them into their own struggle for power. A struggle that the anarchists were really not interested in waging, because that also went against their principles. The PCE as well as the USSR increasingly started seeing the POUM as the cause of the problems. Their getting in the way of some points and their alleged ties with Trotsky caused the party to increasingly be regarded as a threat. A threat that asked for counter-measures.
The role of the POUM
So what was the truth about the POUM? Has this party, which counted some 30,000 supporters at some point, really betrayed the revolution, as claimed by Moscow and the PCE, or was the organization used as a scapegoat to explain away the shortcomings and defeats? As described above, there was a conflict between the POUM leadership and Trotsky. However, this conflict was more related to tactics than ideological differences. The POUM supported the world revolution, as well as the strategy of permanent revolution. The two main pillars of Trotskyism. But there were also differences. The POUM was sectarian and very much convinced of their own right. Because of this, the leadership also rejected Trotsky's instructions on infiltrating the socialist party and to forge ties with the left socialists. The break-up between Trotsky and the POUM leaders was never restored. This in spite of the pressure upon Trotsky by others in the trotskyist movement to work on this. The feeling was mutual, as the POUM chose to keep Trotsky at a distance time and time again.
In fact, there were also contradictions within POUM, and this led to some strange decisions and choices that could hardly be explained. Despite the sectarianism, POUM did elect to enter the Popular Front, and the Catalan government. The party had only a limited base in the unions. It would have been natural for the POUM to join the anarchist union CNT. Instead, it chose the communist-led UGT. What the motives were for these actions is hard to say. But it is clear that POUM showed up wherever trouble did as well. According to Moscow, there were contacts between the POUM and the Franco-fascists. Whether this is true is hard to track down. But it is clear that the methods and activities of POUM caused division in the anti-fascist front. And the only ones who profited from this were the fascists. In November, a USSR spokesman stated that the POUM newspaper "La Batalla" was in the service of the fascists. Moscow saw POUM as a trotskyist organization, regardless of whether there were ties with Trotsky or not, and there were already plenty of problems with Trotskyists inside and outside of the Soviet Union. So the attitude of the USSR is not surprising.
The POUM is in a category that struggled its way through several currents, but were all related to Trotskyism on a certain level. In this category was also the RSAP(Revolutionary Socialist Workers Party) of Henk Sneevliet in the Netherlands, the SAP in Germany and the Independent Labour Party in England. Although there were ties with Trotskyism, all these groups had differences or arguments with Trotsky over matters of principle. What it came down to was that these groups would not let anyone make the rules for them. Something Trotsky found unacceptable.
The aforementioned parties were waging a difficult struggle for maintaining their own independence. The result was them getting isolated in some cases, ended up in the wrong camp, or were annihilated. The often much smaller Trotskyist groups that did remain loyal to Trotsky usually did remain in existance, with their main goal being attacking and undermining the communist parties. There can be no doubt that this also undermined anti-fascist unity.
From several circles, it was attempted to restore the break-up between Trotsky and the POUM. Especially Henk Sneevliet did not want to drop POUM under any circumstances, especially because of its mass support.
The same can be said of Viktor Serge, who was more than tired of the sectarian bumbling of Trotsky and his critiqueless followers. But the split turned out to be permanent. Trotsky called the POUM leader Andres Nin a class collaborator because he had joined the Popular Front government in Catalonia, and called this government 'reactionary'. Nin did not agree with this at all, and struck back by drawing Trotsky as a sectarian. This last opinion was subscribed by Viktor Serge, who found it unacceptable that "small grouplets of foreigners(the followers of Trotsky) were going to force their opinion on the Spanish mass organisations." That there were real differences of opinion showed from the fact that the orthodox trotskyists were expelled from the POUM militias when the war began.
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Barricade children in Barcelona
The Barcelona May days
While combat continued at the fronts, the Republican government kept working to bring all institutions under its control. This was not a problem in most cases, and there was hardly any resistance. After all, there was a common anti-fascist front in which egotistical behaviour had no place. This was at least the theory. That it could also go differently in practice showed in the 1937 May days in Barcelona. Already since the beginning of the struggle in 1936, the Barcelona telephone central was in the hands of the anarchist CNT.
This meant that this organisation had a sort of veto on the communication between the government and local institutions. Especially the PSUC, the regional unity party of communists and socialists, considered this an unacceptable situation.
On 3 May, the head of the police, an active PSUC member, attempted to end the CNT's occupation. With a few others he managed to enter the central, and the CNT members at the first floor were so surprised that they put down their weapons immediately. But the CNT members on the other floorts of the building realised what exactly had happened, and they fought back, causing a firefight. The entire incident came as a surprise, and two police functionaries, also CNT members, managed to end the shootings. The police got control over the central. But the genie was already out of the bottle. The shots were heard outside, and the Barcelona workers thought that a counter-revolution was at hand.
Especially the CNT supporters, actively supported by the POUM, came into action. Barricades were built, and the workers massively started striking. Miltia units of the CNT and POUM attacked the headquarters of the PSUC. The leadership of the CNT tried to end the battle in all sorts of possible ways.
This attitude was not appreciated by the POUM. This group had initially joined the CNT, but immediately rose against any attempt to calm things down. The POUM actually wanted harder action. POUM members everywhere tried to kindle the fire, and called for the founding of a committee in defence of the revolution. But the CNt kept calling for a cease-fire, and the Popular Front tried to restore order. By then, there were already 500 dead and some 1,000 wounded.
After several days of fighting, the leaders got some grip on the situation again, and even POUM leader Andres Nin acted to prevent greater attacks. The hotheads who were dominating on the barricades were made clear that they were playing right into the hands of the fascists. Government troops were now used to end the battles. There was an enormous amount of confusion, and assassinations occured on both sides. The calls from the CNT were finally successful, and the workers abandoned the barricades and went back to work. The POUM claimed that the organisation had gained a victory, because changes had been made to the government. But instead of victory, the fighting in Barcelona were the beginning of the end for the POUM. There were POUM departments who critisised the POUM members in Barcelona and called them adventurers. Nin tried to save what could still be saved, and claimed that POUM had not sought confrontation. He said that his party did not want to abandon the workers once the fighting had begun.
But the socialists and communists of the PSUC saw this differently, and accused the POUM of provocations and incitement of violence. The government broke all ties with POUM, its paper was illegalised and eventually the whole party was declared illegal. The leaders were arrested and imprisoned. Andres Nin was later found dead. Some say that he was killed by the police, but it never becamer really clear what happened to him. On 15 May 1937, the Caballero government had to step down as a consequence of the debacle. Juan Negrin, a moderate socialist, became prime minister.
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Selling CNT-FAI hats to fill the counter
The consequences
The events in Barcelona threw a long dark shdow over the struggle against the fascists of Franco, which would last until 1939. The role of the Trotskyists was finished, and despite the fact that the anarchists continued to participate, there was a clear break in the anti-fascist unity which was never restored. The interest of the rest of the world also slowly declined. The Soviet Union continued to support the Republicans, but the developments in other parts of Europe played an increasingly large role, and asked for attention. The foreplay to the Second World War had found several other locations. Despite the tough resistance by the Republican forces, the Franco-fascists increasingly got the upper hand, and on 1 April 1939, the rebellious general could celebrate his victory.
Lessons of a difficult battle
The ideological struggle that was waged by leftist parties, organisations and groups in the entire world at the beginning of the previous century reached its highest point in the Spanish Civil War. The distrust and hostility that this struggle brought initially seemed to be pushed to the background in the first period of the struggle against the fascists. But this turned out to not be a constant condition. The communist parties, both national and regionally, mostly played a sober role in which realism had the upperh and. This also had to do with the fact that Moscow, as a large pillar of support for the Republic, could exercise a great deal of influence. During several phases, the Soviet Union gave more priority to the interests of its foreign policy than to what was really necessary to not only keep Spain out of the hands of the fascists, but also to make socialism in Spain a worthwhile reality. Both the PCE and PSUC chose to first win the war and only then move on to actual reforms. Under these circumstances, this was the right choice.
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Militia members in Barcelona
Among the other forces, there was confusion, a lack of a consistent political line and a certain amount of adventurism. In some cases, among others by POUM activities, this caused the anti-fascist unity to be broken. It was certainly not true that all POUM militants were traitors, as some sides have claimed. But in a situation like the civil war in Spain, breaking the unity to serve one's own political interests can undoubtedly be counted as treachery. And in that area, the leaders of POUM were certainly guilty.
One of the points of contention between the different organisations was; how the Republican governments in Madrid and Barcelona should be judged. Of course there were capitalist representatives in these governments, but the workers' organisations with their large support had the upper hand. So it's nonsense to label these governments as reactionary, as the Trotskyists and some other smaller groups did. Taking part in these governments, under the actual conditions, was therefore justified as a step in the direction of a socialist republic. It is true that there was no control over the means of production, with some exceptions. But if the unity had remained intact and the struggle had been decided in favour of the working class, this could definitely have been a possibility.
The greatest problem was that many powers in Europe idd not realise, or did not want to see, that the struggle in Spain was not only against Franco. But that it was all about an international struggle to also stop fascists like Hitler and Mussolini, and in fact to avoid a Second World War. Especially the French Popular Front government has played a sad role in this. Initially, the French government pledged its support to the Republican government in Spain. But nothing came of this in practice. France closed its borders, and at the same time, its eyes. The price paid for this in later years was extremely high.
For the leftist movement of today, the lessons of the Spanish Civil War are still relevant. Especially the importance of unity in struggle must be named here. The ideology must be the most important weapon in this struggle. But it should not become a point of struggle by itself, that all other affairs must be subordinated to. That mostly leads to abuse by small groups with secret agendas. Alliances are important, but eventually victory can only be attained by one's own power, and not by vague promises from foreign entities. It is certain that this power is at hand. The point now is how we can best generate and use this power. That is the challenge that we now face.
Sources:
Die Freiwilligen Steve Nelson – Dietz Verlag Berlijn 1955
Brigada Internacional Hanns Maaßen – Röderberg Verlag GmbH Frankfurt/Main 1976
Band I en II
Revolutie en Contra Revolutie in Spanje Cajo Brendel - Het Wereldvenster Baarn 1977
The ‘May Days’ of 1937 in Barcelona - Pierre Broué
Pionier zonder dogma’s Henk Sneevliet – Jan Willem Stutje
Homage to Catalonia review George Orwell
Notes for an Autobiography S. L. Shneiderman 2001
Reviews: Spanish Marxism versus Soviet Communism: A History of the POUM - Victor Alba and Stephen Schwartz
Revolutie en burgeroorlog in Spanje - Guy Van Sinoy 1997
Victor Serge over Trotsky - Johny Lenaerts
Het Sneevliet archief in Moskou - Mark Goloviznin 2003
The P.O.U.M. in Spain - Albert Weisbord 1937
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Collectivisation in action
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The hard struggle at the front
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George Orwell and the POUM
The positive view of the POUM that appears in a lot of historical writing about the Spanish Civil War is mostly based on the experiences of the English writer George Orwell. He departed for Spain to fight for the International Brigades, and ended up with the POUM. He got wounded and returned to England. He wrote a book about his experiences, 'Homage to Catalonia', that was published in 1938. In this book, POUM is described as an organisation of heroes, while the communist organisations are pictured as oppressive and dictatorial.
Orwell also sharply criticises the policy of the Soviet Union during the Civil War in his book. It later became known that Orwell was an agent of the British secret service. When he offered his services is not entirely clear, but his activities in this terrain do explain his deep hostility to the Soviet Union and the communist movement in general. That his book ended up having so much impact on the historical view of the Spanish Civil War was the consequence of the fact that those in power are the ones who write history. Orwell's book fitted right into their propagandist alley. It has little or nothing to do with real history, based on finding the truth.
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The Spanish Civil War started 70 years ago
The bullets came from all sides
The ideological struggle at and behind the fronts
By Bert Bakkenes
This year, it has been 70 years since the Spanish Civil War broke out. In an earlier article, we described the large jewish part in the struggle, and the general ending of the war.
But the Spanish Civil War was not only a struggle between the fascists and the anti-fascists who defended the Spanish Republic. Both at and behind the fronts, an ideological struggle was raging, which expressed the differences between the leftist currents that had already been fighting each other with words for years. In Spain, these currents stood together under the flag of anti-fascism. But this common goal was eventually not enough to bury old grievances. How this struggle came to be, and what its consequences were, will be at the centre of this article.
The leftist political landscape
Spain had been in turmoil since the early 30s. The old rulers, the church and the nobility, came under increasing pressure, and were really already in decay.
There wasn't much of a bourgeoisie yet, and about 70% of the active population was working in agriculture. The peasants lived in poverty, while the landowners, including the church, constantly saw their wealth increase. In this time, the first modern industrialization slowly got off the ground, first in Catalonia and then in the Basque country, with foreign capital as a driving force. Slowly, a Spanish revolutionary movement starts up, which wants to finish the old structures. This movement leads to a victory for the Republican parties in the 1931 elections. The Spanish king, Alfonso XII, sees his end approach and runs away. This is the beginning of the Spanish Republic.
It goes without saying that this situation should be a perfect feeding ground for the leftist organizations. Sadly, there was a lot of division, so that the many possibilities could only be put into practice for a small part.
There is hardly a workers' movement. Of the existing organizations, the CNT, the National Labour Confederation, is the most important. This was an organization of anarchists and syndicalists founded in 1910. There was another organization, the FAI, the Anarchist Iberian Federation, which started to increasingly influence the CNT. In 1931, the CNT called upon its members to vote for the bourgeois Republican parties. The call was heeded, and this played a great role in the electoral victory of the Republicans.
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The Communist Party of Spain, the PCE, was founded in 1923 by the separated left wing of the Socialist Party and several other communist groups. The party followed an ultra-left course, and was not interested in cooperation. This led to a certain isolation. The party was not big(according to several sources, there were some 800 members), and mostly operated clandestinely.
In 1930 Andres Nin, a former CNT-functionary, returned from Moscow and founded his own party, Communist Left. At that moment, he is already in contact with Trotsky. Meanwhile, the provisional government of conservatives and socialists has been able to execute only a few reforms, and the economy goes backwards quickly. This causes several worker's and peasant's uprisings, which are violently put down. The consequence of the situation was that most militants moved to the CNT. This organization, however, had no revolutionary strategy or program. This lack should have opened the road to the PCE, but because of the ultra-left course of that party, this turned out to not be a possibility. The consequence of this was that even more organizations were added. For example, there was the Workers and Peasants Bloc, the BOC, founded by Joaquin Maurin. Soon the BOC and Communist Left formed the Workers' Alliance.
The division and a CNT boycott in 1933 allowed the right an electoral victory in 1933, and let them push through several measures that made things worse. The result was that the period until the end of 1934 was marked by strikes and uprisings. The military leaders drowned these in blood. 3,000 workers were killed, 7,000 were wounded, and some 40,000 were arrested, many of them tortured.
Allies
Several leftist leaders understood that this could not go on for longer. Alliances had to be made to resist the attacks from the right. Trotsky demanded that Andres Nin establish ties between Communist Left and the radical youths in the Socialist Party. Nin was not interested in this at all. He decided in favour of a fusion with the BOC, and broke with Trotsky. In September 1935, this process leads to the founding of the POUM, the Workers' Party of Marxist Unification.
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Andres Nin
The POUM had about 8,000 members, especially in Catalonia. Meanwhile, the Communist International, the Comintern, has gone another road, that was also followed by the PCE. The tactic of the Popular Front is being executed now, and that gives the PCE the possibility to look for allies. Several fusions take place between communist and socialist organizations and youth leagues. This way, the young communists in Catalonia merge with the young socialists. Eventually, this results in the PSUC. The party joins the Comintern.
When elections are held in 1936, a broad coalition takes part under the name Popular Front. The Popular Front consists of the moderate Republicans, the socialist party PSOE, the PCE, the UGT and the POUM. The coalition wins a resounding victory with a rather progressive program. For the first time in history, Spain has a leftist government. Demonstrations and strikes are held everywhere in Spain to celebrate the victory. Prisoners are liberated and peasants occupy the land of the landowners, who run away. The CNT and FAI are out of the government, but do generally support the politics of the Popular Front.
The rightist bloc led by generals and leaning on the catholic church is initially stunned by the great Republican victory. But this does not last long. Rightist officers prepare a coup, and on 17 July 1936 they try to grab power. Combat breaks out in all of Spain. The workers and peasants come into action to defend the Republic. The Spanish Civil War is a fact. Initially, the rightist rebels are not very successful. The fascists suffer painful defeats everywhere. The rising only succeeds in Andalusia. In Barcelona, the workers arm themselves and storm the barracks. A column of the POUM and the Durruti unit of the CNT-FAI march to Zaragossa and liberate Aragon. The army surrenders in Valencia. The march seems unstoppable. But the fascists, now led by Franco, receive support from Italy and Germany, including the delivering of weapons and manpower. The balance turns, and the fascists slowly win terrain.
Points of struggle
Right from the formation of the Popular Front, there was already a certain field of tension between the participating parties. The left socialists, including the POUM, wanted quick radical reforms to unleash a revolutionary situation. But the socialist PSOE called for moderation, and the communist party PCE remained on the sidelines a bit. The party did not want to take the initiative, because it was not yet clear how the situation would turn out. This problem formed the basis of the discussions that would be waged throughout all of the war, and which had a tragic influence on the conclusion of the struggle. A main point of contention was where the priority should lie; on winning the war, or on pushing through revolutionary reforms.
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PCE poster: to win the war is to drive the revolution[/b]
The position of the communists and socialists was that the war had to be won first. Reforms would not be worth anything if the fascists would end up winning the war, after all. The POUM and partly also the CNt had a different opinion. The POUM argued that hesitance to push through reforms would undermine the revolutionary sentiment, and make it impossible to reach socialism. There were too points that discussion was aimed at; the collectivisation and the Republican institutions.
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[i]POUM poster: the land is ours
The POUM and partly also the anarchists felt that general collectivisation of the agrarian grounds was not to be delayed. The Republican government, led by the communists, did let the ground of the landowners get collectivised, but the small farmers were allowed to keep their bit of land. This way, they wanted to keep the small farmers with the anti-fascist front. General collectivisation could lead to a conflict with the small farmers. The POUM did not place much importance on this, and remained headstrong. The Republican institutions also became a point of contention.
After the heated struggle of the first weeks after the fascist rising in July 1936, several new institutions were created which took the place of the machinery of the old regime. Militias, people's police and tribunals were founded, which not only bothered themselves with the defence of the Republic, but also with the country's economy, the formation of leadership and legal judgement. In the first weeks, the militants at the base often made decisions for themselves which seemed best to them under the circumstances. These decisions often went against the guidelines of their own organizations. The government did not have much influence left, and the decisions were taken at the base. Often with plenty of contradictions. As time passed, some rest came, and the question was raised whether it was necessary to return a certain amount of lawfulness. This, among other things, to ensure possible foreign support. In this area, the POUM was also in the way. The communist party PCE had gotten support from the Soviet Union in the meantime, and it soon turned out that only this state and Mexico were prepared to support the Spanish struggle. The PCE did not immediately want to switch to a socialist revolution, because this was not realistic and could lead to conflicts and division within the Popular Front, which could cause a high amount of danger.
The alliance with the Soviet Union gave the PCE more authority, and a greater influence in the Popular Front government. Close ties were forged with the socialists. Both groups wanted to establish a certain normalisation, the argument being that no country would pledge its support if they thought that Spain was a mess. Because of this, they also proposed to convert the militias, which were built up by the several organizations, into a real people's army, including the International Brigades of foreign affairs, which were already under communist leadership for a great part. This army would be more disciplined and also more able to use the already limited weapons. This way of handling things was seen as the only way to bring the fascist assault to a standstill. The POUM and others were not prepared to give up on the militias. There was once again fencing with the argument that this would undermine the revolution.
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Largo Caballero
In September 1936 the left socialist Largo Caballero forms the new Republican Popular Front government which was to start on the course of normalisation.
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The government consists of socialists, communists and bourgeois republicans. Furthermore, there are also ministers of the communist union UGT and four anarchist ministers. For the anarchists of the CNT-FAI, the entire process was a great problem and essentially a defeat for their principles. As anarchists, they stood for a great individual liberty, and were against the dictatorship of the proletariat and the build-up of the government and state. But as the struggle went on, they saw that without a leading government, the fascists could not be stopped, and eventually accepted the responsibility of governing. They were also against the formation of an army. But with every passing day, it became more clear that without an army, the battle could not be won. Moreover, the POUM continuously tried to drag them into their own struggle for power. A struggle that the anarchists were really not interested in waging, because that also went against their principles. The PCE as well as the USSR increasingly started seeing the POUM as the cause of the problems. Their getting in the way of some points and their alleged ties with Trotsky caused the party to increasingly be regarded as a threat. A threat that asked for counter-measures.
The role of the POUM
So what was the truth about the POUM? Has this party, which counted some 30,000 supporters at some point, really betrayed the revolution, as claimed by Moscow and the PCE, or was the organization used as a scapegoat to explain away the shortcomings and defeats? As described above, there was a conflict between the POUM leadership and Trotsky. However, this conflict was more related to tactics than ideological differences. The POUM supported the world revolution, as well as the strategy of permanent revolution. The two main pillars of Trotskyism. But there were also differences. The POUM was sectarian and very much convinced of their own right. Because of this, the leadership also rejected Trotsky's instructions on infiltrating the socialist party and to forge ties with the left socialists. The break-up between Trotsky and the POUM leaders was never restored. This in spite of the pressure upon Trotsky by others in the trotskyist movement to work on this. The feeling was mutual, as the POUM chose to keep Trotsky at a distance time and time again.
In fact, there were also contradictions within POUM, and this led to some strange decisions and choices that could hardly be explained. Despite the sectarianism, POUM did elect to enter the Popular Front, and the Catalan government. The party had only a limited base in the unions. It would have been natural for the POUM to join the anarchist union CNT. Instead, it chose the communist-led UGT. What the motives were for these actions is hard to say. But it is clear that POUM showed up wherever trouble did as well. According to Moscow, there were contacts between the POUM and the Franco-fascists. Whether this is true is hard to track down. But it is clear that the methods and activities of POUM caused division in the anti-fascist front. And the only ones who profited from this were the fascists. In November, a USSR spokesman stated that the POUM newspaper "La Batalla" was in the service of the fascists. Moscow saw POUM as a trotskyist organization, regardless of whether there were ties with Trotsky or not, and there were already plenty of problems with Trotskyists inside and outside of the Soviet Union. So the attitude of the USSR is not surprising.
The POUM is in a category that struggled its way through several currents, but were all related to Trotskyism on a certain level. In this category was also the RSAP(Revolutionary Socialist Workers Party) of Henk Sneevliet in the Netherlands, the SAP in Germany and the Independent Labour Party in England. Although there were ties with Trotskyism, all these groups had differences or arguments with Trotsky over matters of principle. What it came down to was that these groups would not let anyone make the rules for them. Something Trotsky found unacceptable.
The aforementioned parties were waging a difficult struggle for maintaining their own independence. The result was them getting isolated in some cases, ended up in the wrong camp, or were annihilated. The often much smaller Trotskyist groups that did remain loyal to Trotsky usually did remain in existance, with their main goal being attacking and undermining the communist parties. There can be no doubt that this also undermined anti-fascist unity.
From several circles, it was attempted to restore the break-up between Trotsky and the POUM. Especially Henk Sneevliet did not want to drop POUM under any circumstances, especially because of its mass support.
The same can be said of Viktor Serge, who was more than tired of the sectarian bumbling of Trotsky and his critiqueless followers. But the split turned out to be permanent. Trotsky called the POUM leader Andres Nin a class collaborator because he had joined the Popular Front government in Catalonia, and called this government 'reactionary'. Nin did not agree with this at all, and struck back by drawing Trotsky as a sectarian. This last opinion was subscribed by Viktor Serge, who found it unacceptable that "small grouplets of foreigners(the followers of Trotsky) were going to force their opinion on the Spanish mass organisations." That there were real differences of opinion showed from the fact that the orthodox trotskyists were expelled from the POUM militias when the war began.
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Barricade children in Barcelona
The Barcelona May days
While combat continued at the fronts, the Republican government kept working to bring all institutions under its control. This was not a problem in most cases, and there was hardly any resistance. After all, there was a common anti-fascist front in which egotistical behaviour had no place. This was at least the theory. That it could also go differently in practice showed in the 1937 May days in Barcelona. Already since the beginning of the struggle in 1936, the Barcelona telephone central was in the hands of the anarchist CNT.
This meant that this organisation had a sort of veto on the communication between the government and local institutions. Especially the PSUC, the regional unity party of communists and socialists, considered this an unacceptable situation.
On 3 May, the head of the police, an active PSUC member, attempted to end the CNT's occupation. With a few others he managed to enter the central, and the CNT members at the first floor were so surprised that they put down their weapons immediately. But the CNT members on the other floorts of the building realised what exactly had happened, and they fought back, causing a firefight. The entire incident came as a surprise, and two police functionaries, also CNT members, managed to end the shootings. The police got control over the central. But the genie was already out of the bottle. The shots were heard outside, and the Barcelona workers thought that a counter-revolution was at hand.
Especially the CNT supporters, actively supported by the POUM, came into action. Barricades were built, and the workers massively started striking. Miltia units of the CNT and POUM attacked the headquarters of the PSUC. The leadership of the CNT tried to end the battle in all sorts of possible ways.
This attitude was not appreciated by the POUM. This group had initially joined the CNT, but immediately rose against any attempt to calm things down. The POUM actually wanted harder action. POUM members everywhere tried to kindle the fire, and called for the founding of a committee in defence of the revolution. But the CNt kept calling for a cease-fire, and the Popular Front tried to restore order. By then, there were already 500 dead and some 1,000 wounded.
After several days of fighting, the leaders got some grip on the situation again, and even POUM leader Andres Nin acted to prevent greater attacks. The hotheads who were dominating on the barricades were made clear that they were playing right into the hands of the fascists. Government troops were now used to end the battles. There was an enormous amount of confusion, and assassinations occured on both sides. The calls from the CNT were finally successful, and the workers abandoned the barricades and went back to work. The POUM claimed that the organisation had gained a victory, because changes had been made to the government. But instead of victory, the fighting in Barcelona were the beginning of the end for the POUM. There were POUM departments who critisised the POUM members in Barcelona and called them adventurers. Nin tried to save what could still be saved, and claimed that POUM had not sought confrontation. He said that his party did not want to abandon the workers once the fighting had begun.
But the socialists and communists of the PSUC saw this differently, and accused the POUM of provocations and incitement of violence. The government broke all ties with POUM, its paper was illegalised and eventually the whole party was declared illegal. The leaders were arrested and imprisoned. Andres Nin was later found dead. Some say that he was killed by the police, but it never becamer really clear what happened to him. On 15 May 1937, the Caballero government had to step down as a consequence of the debacle. Juan Negrin, a moderate socialist, became prime minister.
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Selling CNT-FAI hats to fill the counter
The consequences
The events in Barcelona threw a long dark shdow over the struggle against the fascists of Franco, which would last until 1939. The role of the Trotskyists was finished, and despite the fact that the anarchists continued to participate, there was a clear break in the anti-fascist unity which was never restored. The interest of the rest of the world also slowly declined. The Soviet Union continued to support the Republicans, but the developments in other parts of Europe played an increasingly large role, and asked for attention. The foreplay to the Second World War had found several other locations. Despite the tough resistance by the Republican forces, the Franco-fascists increasingly got the upper hand, and on 1 April 1939, the rebellious general could celebrate his victory.
Lessons of a difficult battle
The ideological struggle that was waged by leftist parties, organisations and groups in the entire world at the beginning of the previous century reached its highest point in the Spanish Civil War. The distrust and hostility that this struggle brought initially seemed to be pushed to the background in the first period of the struggle against the fascists. But this turned out to not be a constant condition. The communist parties, both national and regionally, mostly played a sober role in which realism had the upperh and. This also had to do with the fact that Moscow, as a large pillar of support for the Republic, could exercise a great deal of influence. During several phases, the Soviet Union gave more priority to the interests of its foreign policy than to what was really necessary to not only keep Spain out of the hands of the fascists, but also to make socialism in Spain a worthwhile reality. Both the PCE and PSUC chose to first win the war and only then move on to actual reforms. Under these circumstances, this was the right choice.
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Militia members in Barcelona
Among the other forces, there was confusion, a lack of a consistent political line and a certain amount of adventurism. In some cases, among others by POUM activities, this caused the anti-fascist unity to be broken. It was certainly not true that all POUM militants were traitors, as some sides have claimed. But in a situation like the civil war in Spain, breaking the unity to serve one's own political interests can undoubtedly be counted as treachery. And in that area, the leaders of POUM were certainly guilty.
One of the points of contention between the different organisations was; how the Republican governments in Madrid and Barcelona should be judged. Of course there were capitalist representatives in these governments, but the workers' organisations with their large support had the upper hand. So it's nonsense to label these governments as reactionary, as the Trotskyists and some other smaller groups did. Taking part in these governments, under the actual conditions, was therefore justified as a step in the direction of a socialist republic. It is true that there was no control over the means of production, with some exceptions. But if the unity had remained intact and the struggle had been decided in favour of the working class, this could definitely have been a possibility.
The greatest problem was that many powers in Europe idd not realise, or did not want to see, that the struggle in Spain was not only against Franco. But that it was all about an international struggle to also stop fascists like Hitler and Mussolini, and in fact to avoid a Second World War. Especially the French Popular Front government has played a sad role in this. Initially, the French government pledged its support to the Republican government in Spain. But nothing came of this in practice. France closed its borders, and at the same time, its eyes. The price paid for this in later years was extremely high.
For the leftist movement of today, the lessons of the Spanish Civil War are still relevant. Especially the importance of unity in struggle must be named here. The ideology must be the most important weapon in this struggle. But it should not become a point of struggle by itself, that all other affairs must be subordinated to. That mostly leads to abuse by small groups with secret agendas. Alliances are important, but eventually victory can only be attained by one's own power, and not by vague promises from foreign entities. It is certain that this power is at hand. The point now is how we can best generate and use this power. That is the challenge that we now face.
Sources:
Die Freiwilligen Steve Nelson – Dietz Verlag Berlijn 1955
Brigada Internacional Hanns Maaßen – Röderberg Verlag GmbH Frankfurt/Main 1976
Band I en II
Revolutie en Contra Revolutie in Spanje Cajo Brendel - Het Wereldvenster Baarn 1977
The ‘May Days’ of 1937 in Barcelona - Pierre Broué
Pionier zonder dogma’s Henk Sneevliet – Jan Willem Stutje
Homage to Catalonia review George Orwell
Notes for an Autobiography S. L. Shneiderman 2001
Reviews: Spanish Marxism versus Soviet Communism: A History of the POUM - Victor Alba and Stephen Schwartz
Revolutie en burgeroorlog in Spanje - Guy Van Sinoy 1997
Victor Serge over Trotsky - Johny Lenaerts
Het Sneevliet archief in Moskou - Mark Goloviznin 2003
The P.O.U.M. in Spain - Albert Weisbord 1937
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Collectivisation in action
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The hard struggle at the front
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George Orwell and the POUM
The positive view of the POUM that appears in a lot of historical writing about the Spanish Civil War is mostly based on the experiences of the English writer George Orwell. He departed for Spain to fight for the International Brigades, and ended up with the POUM. He got wounded and returned to England. He wrote a book about his experiences, 'Homage to Catalonia', that was published in 1938. In this book, POUM is described as an organisation of heroes, while the communist organisations are pictured as oppressive and dictatorial.
Orwell also sharply criticises the policy of the Soviet Union during the Civil War in his book. It later became known that Orwell was an agent of the British secret service. When he offered his services is not entirely clear, but his activities in this terrain do explain his deep hostility to the Soviet Union and the communist movement in general. That his book ended up having so much impact on the historical view of the Spanish Civil War was the consequence of the fact that those in power are the ones who write history. Orwell's book fitted right into their propagandist alley. It has little or nothing to do with real history, based on finding the truth.
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