Posted on 05/27/2003 5:09:26 PM PDT by William McKinley
Andrew Weiss
November 29, 1998
The History of Europe from 1715
Homage to Catalonia and The Spanish Civil War
In the 1952 novel, Homage to Catalonia, George Orwell relates his experiences in the Spanish Civil War. In 1937 Orwell traveled to Spain to cover The Spanish Civil War for a British newspaper, but soon after he arrived he joined the P.O.U.M Militia and fought against Franciso Franco. The Spanish Civil War started when Franco, a Spanish general, led a revolt against the republican government. Franco, although not a fascist himself, was backed by Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, the Spanish Church, Fascists in Spain, and large Spanish landowners. A group of leftist parties, know as the Popular Front, which included republicans, communists, socialists, Anarchists, and communist Russia formed a coalition against the Franco's army. Orwell, like Paul from All Quiet on the Western Front, was sent to the front, however Orwell had a much different experience. Unlike the well-trained killers, heavy casualties, and numerous artillery that Paul faced; Orwell describes the front as boring and full of poorly trained men with a lack of decent weapons. However, Orwell still endured the squalor and horrid conditions in trench warfare that Paul live in. During the course of the war Orwell discovers that the internal and international politics behind The Spanish Civil War are far more complicated that he first perceived.
The Spanish Civil war is more complex that than a simply a battle between fascists and republicans or socialists. First, the war might be described as a revolution rather than a civil war. The popular front is mostly made up leftist workers groups, which include the communists, socialists, and Anarchists, rather than republicans. These groups each had different agendas for Spain. The communists (P.S.U.C.), backed by Russia, wanted to set up a centralized communist government, like the one in Russia. The socialists (P.O.U.M) wanted to set up a worked controlled government with the influence of Russia. While the Anarchists (C.N.T.), also know as the Anarcho-syndicalists, wanted to establish a decentralized workers government. Likewise, Franco's collation was not completely unified. He was backed by rich landowners, which wanted to return to feudal Spain, Spanish Fascists, which wanted a Fascist Spain, and the military. In addition, international politics had considerable influence over the Spanish Civil War. Russia, who helped the Popular Front, had several reasons to intervene in the war. Orwell cynically asserts that Russia wanted to help maintain stability and the status quo in Spain because they were allies and had many treaties and alliances. Furthermore, Russia wanted to limit the power of Fascism in Europe. German and Italy backed Franco because they wanted to extent Fascist and authoritarian rule in Europe.
Orwell quickly leans the diverging ideologies of the many groups in the Popular Front have lead to serious tensions and even violent conflict. For example, while Orwell is on leave from the front in Barcelona riots erupt after the Comminutes storm the Anarchist run telephone company. During the next few days that follow there is bitter fight between groups that are supposedly on the same side. Communists, Socialists, and Anarchists, all members of the Popular Front, ware shooting at each other. As the war progress the divisions become more defined. By the end of the book, the P.O.U.M is declared illegal and Socialists and Anarchists are being rounded up and jailed. Luckily Orwell, with aid of British consulate, is able escape to France and eventually back to England.
In Homage to Catalonia Orwell the complexities of the internal and international politics involved in the Spanish Civil War. Both sides of the war, the Popular Front and army of Franco, were hardly unified. Within each group contained several smaller groups, each with their own ideologies and aims. To make maters more complicated there were several foreign countries also involved in the war. Russia, Italy and Germany were each involved, while England and France remained out of the war. Most likely they stayed out of the conflict because each country did not what to get involved in another war so soon after they experienced the horrors of WWI. This type of isolationism was inductive of England and France's policy of appeasement of Germany during the 1930s. Perhaps Orwell summed up the divisions of the Popular Front when he lamented, "'Why can't we drop all of this political nonsense and get on with the war?'" (Orwell 47).
I wish I could have done so.
My father was a Republican broadcaster on the island of Mallorca. He was forced to flee the island when he found out he was on "Franco's list". He made it to Puerto Rico and then to New York and established a new life in America.
He died when I was 4 years old so I never really knew him.
I respect his political beliefs but can never understand his political affiliations.
They say war makes strange bedfellows but I couldn't have slept with his allies. I'd have probably joined up with...
Jeez what a complicated situation...
I'd have held my nose and backed Franco.
You get an "F" for the course. Sign up for remedial history 101 immediately or face suspension.
IMHO, Franco was a hero of Western Civilization.
Notice how the article fails to include outraged Catholics who fought alongside Franco. It seems they were quite upset about the murder, raping and torturing of priests, nuns, and church goers.
What the leftists never tell you is that Franco resisted the militarys urging to join up with them until the last minute. He wanted to stay true to Spain, whatever form the government was to take. He was stationed in the Canary Islands when the communists dragged the leader of Parliament (his name escapes me) out in the middle of the night and shot him. That was the equivalent for us of taking Dennis Hastert or Bill Frist out from his home in the middle of the night and shooting him. That was the straw that broke the camel's back for Franco. He went down to Morrocco and got all of his old muslim hunting club boys together and crossed over to Spain. I believe there were 4 main generals but it soon became evident that "Francito" (he was short and several years there junior) was most qualified to lead them.
While history is unkind to him we must remember that HE WAS THE FIRST AND ONLY LEADER TO BEAT BACK THE COMMUNISTS OUT OF HIS COUNTRY IN BLOODY STREET TO STREET FIGHTING. No cold war for him-he just hauled off and kicked their asses.
After the war, he was mostly magnanimous in victory. He buried the dead from both sides in the Valley of the Fallen (Magnificent memorial-I was there in 98). He may have executed a few murdering communist thugs, but which one of us wouldn't in his shoes. He made the eventual peaceful transfer to a democracy. While some would indict him for that, history again proves him correct. The socialists promptly screwed things up until Aznar (our staunch ally) took over.
FWIW, Churchill said if he was a Spaniard he would have fought for Franco, Ike loved him, and despite massive help from the Nazi's, Franco managed to rebuff Hitler. Hitler wanted to go down to Gibraltar and cut off the British. Franco said no and was prepared to fight the Germans despite having just been bled white. He did, however, send the famed Blue Division to fight for the Germans. Man, did they kill a lot of Communist troops.
Think how different Europe would have looked if Stalin had successfully installed a puppet government.
Anyone looking for an objective account of Franco and the Spanish Civil War should read a book (title escapes me) by Stanley Payne.
Flame away.
Learning more about Franco was one reason for doing the research. He was the 'good' guy out of all the factions involved, but even back then propaganda from the left became accepted wisdom to the masses.
To cite an example closer to home, the name Pinochet causes a reflexive response of "bad." Yet he saved his country from communism and returned it to full democracy in 15 years.
Castro overthrew an autocrat and is still a dictator 44 years later.
The liberal press have never had a good word to say about Pinochet, yet Chile is a success story. Castro gets kid glove treatment and Cubans are trying to swim to Florida to get away from the conditions there.
And had himself buried there as well.
Couldn't have said it better myself. Pinochet was another hero that the left has managed to villify.
Castro gets kid glove treatment and Cubans are trying to swim to Florida to get away from the conditions there.
Yup. My father-in-law had to do two years in a labor camp to get his family out. Franco took the Cubans in with open arms. They all were given jobs (not welfare) and medical care (my wife was born in Madrid). I guess thats why I am partial to Franco. To this day my father-in-law thanks Franco every day for his kindness and curses Castro for ruining his beloved Havana.
I tend to be an isolationist, but I have yet to figure out why we just don't take him out. Especially now that the Russians aren't there to back him up and his air force is down to a few crop dusters. He is due for a little "Shock and Awe".
You can't beat a well orgaized and financed communist takeover by sending nicely worded diplomatic notes.
You have to choke their windpipes before they drive their dagger into your heart.
Oh for a Cuban Franco!
There were Cuban Franco's. They were stabbed in the back and led to the slaughter by JFK. Castro held his troops back from attacking during the Bay of Pigs because we had a carrier right off the coast to support the revolt. When it became obvious that we were not going to launch any planes he moved his armor in for the slaughter. I remember reading a first hand account of a crewman on the bridge who saw the Admiral BEG "Please, Mr. President, just one plane." The Admiral broke down in tears.
Despite no air cover, the Cubans put up a fierce resistance. With air cover, most military analysts say that Castro would have hid in the hills and 40 plus years of suffering could have been avoided.
Oops. Forget to add "Well put". If only people would open their damn eyes and compare and contrast Chile with Argentina or Spain with Yugoslavia.
Be forewarned: Rodriguez dealt with Ollie North on a number of occasions vis-a-vis the contras, and Ollie comes off as a self-righteous, arrogant, blowhard naif who was in way over his head.
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