Homage to Catalonia and The Spanish Civil War

The History of Europe from 1715 ^ | November, 1988 | Andrew Weiss

[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).

[Sparta]

If only people would open their damn eyes and compare and contrast Chile with Argentina or Spain with Yugoslavia.

Funny thing you mention the former Yugoslavia. The Croatian leader during Croatia's War of Independence, Tudjman, reminds me of Franco and Pinochet. He killed off the Serbian communists and for a while fought the Al-Qaeda Muslim forces in Bosnia, until Bubba Clinton threatened to bomb Croatian forces unless they joined forces with the Muslims against the Serbs. He also laid the foundations for a free market economy in Croatia, which has been undone by the current left-leaning Croatian government.

[MattinNJ]

Thanks. I will put it on my list of must reads.

[oyez]

bfl.

[HISSKGB]

These accounts of Orwell's make for a very good read. Ronald Radosh, in his story of being a former Red, compliments this.

It was a time of the communists eating their own. There was a split between the Leninists and the Trotskyites. Franco won because Stalin had ordered a purge in Spain of the P.O.U.M. which was the Partido Obero de Unificacion Marxista whom he believed were influenced by Trotsky.

At the same time, 1937, thousands were massing in NYC to hear the protests of Trotsky against the Stalinists/Leninists. Because of the sickening purges in Spain, Moscow and elsewhere, Whitaker Chambers saw the light and finally defected in 1939.

Radosh has published a second book filled with documents relating to these communist crimes in Spain. His uncle was a Trotskyite who left the US to fight in that mess.

[MattinNJ]

Tudjman sounds like a great man. I'm going to do some research on him-thanks for the heads up.

[DPB101]

Eleanor Roosevelt was, of course, a vocal supporter of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade.

[HISSKGB]

Eleanor Roosevelt was very effective in her support of left-wing commie causes. She, as others did, pretended to care for the downtrodden while at the same time aligned herself with Margaret Sanger to further the cause of involuntary sterilizations of blacks,etc.