Anarchism, the Republic and Civil War in Spain: 1931-1939 (Routledge Canada Blanch Studies on Contemporary Spain)

242 Pages·2005·0.98 MB·English

by  Julian Casanova

Anarchism, the Republic and
Civil War in Spain: 1931–1939
This groundbreaking new study, translated for the first time into English, is the
first synthesis to relate and interpret the main evolutionary milestones of anar-
chism in Spain, and is crucial to understanding the social conflict of 1930s
Spain.
Casanova explores the concept of anarchism as both a political ideology and
a social movement during the Second Republic and the Civil War (1931–1939).
Dividing the work into two parts, the author first explores anarchism’s strained
relation with the republican regime. He then goes on to analyse the revolu-
tionary process that broke out in the summer of 1936. This complete new study
also examines possible reasons why anarcho-syndicalism did not resurface after
the death of the Spanish dictator Franco, and offers a commentary on other
writings on anarchism in contemporary Spain.
Casanova’s work will interest historians across a range of disciplines as well as
readers with a general interest in Spain.
Julián Casanovais currently Professor of Modern History at the University of
Zaragoza, Spain.
Routledge/Cañada Blanch Studies on
Contemporary Spain
Series editors Paul Preston and Sebastian Balfour, Cañada
Blanch Centre for Contemporary Spanish Studies, London
1 Spain 1914–1918
Between war and revolution
Francisco J. Romero Salvadó
2 Spaniards in the Holocaust
Mauthausen, horror on the Danube
David Wingeate Pike
3 Conspiracy and the Spanish Civil War
The brainwashing of Francisco Franco
Herbert R. Southworth
4 Red Barcelona
Social protest and labour mobilisation in the twentieth century
Edited by Angel Smith
5 British Women and the Spanish Civil War
Angela Jackson
6 Women and Spanish Fascism
The women’s section of the Falange 1934–59
Kathleen Richmond
7 Class, Culture and Conflict in Barcelona, 1898–1937
Chris Ealham
8 Anarchism, the Republic and Civil War in Spain, 1931–1939
Julián Casanova
9 Catalan Nationalism
Francoism, transition and democracy
Montserrat Guibernau
10 British Volunteers in the Spanish Civil War
The British battalion in the International Brigades, 1936–1939
Richard Baxell
11 The Catholic Church and the Spanish Civil War
Hilari Raguer
12 Nazi Germany and Francoist Spain
Christian Leitz
13 Churchill and Spain
The Survival of the Franco Regime, 1940–45
Richard Wigg
14 Spain and the Great Powers
Edited by Sebastian Balfour and Paul Preston
15 The Politics of Contemporary Spain
Edited by Sebastian Balfour

Anarchism, the
Republic and Civil War
in Spain: 1931–1939
Julián Casanova
Translated from Spanish by Andrew Dowling and Graham Pollok,
fully revised by Paul Preston
London and New York First published 2004 by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Taylor & Francis Inc
270 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016
Routledgeis an imprint of theTaylor & Francis Group
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005.
“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”
Originally published in Spanish as De La Calle Al Frenteby Critica,
Barcelona, 1997
© Julián Casanova 1997
Translation © 2005 Routledge
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,
now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording,
or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
Every effort has been made to ensure that the advice and information in
this book is true and accurate at the time of going to press. However,
neither the publisher nor the authors can accept any legal responsibility or
liability for any errors or omissions that may be made. In the case of drug
administration, any medical procedure or the use of technical equipment
mentioned within this book, you are strongly advised to consult the
manufacturer’s guidelines.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
ISBN 0-203-02280-7 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-203-67059-0 (Adobe eReader Format)
ISBN 0–415–32095–X(Print Edition)
Contents
Acknowledgements viii
Note to the English edition x
Part I
Power in the street 1
1 History accelerates 3
2 The seeds of confrontation 17
3 The symbols of identity 36
A union movement without a party 36
A divided union movement 53
4 On the road to insurrection 64
5 Correcting the route taken 84
Part II
The people in arms 99
6 The summer of 1936 101
7 War and revolution 116
Power 116
The limits of the earthly paradise 130
8 Decline and fall 146
Epilogue: The uprooting 158
Notes 164
Appendix: Anarchism in Spanish contemporary history 215
Works cited in the appendix 219
Index 223
Acknowledgements
The preparation and writing of this book took place over a long period of time
and there are many people to whom I owe a debt of gratitude. Anna Monjo,
Mary Nash, Susanna Tavera, Eulàlia Vega and Mercedes Vilanova were kind
enough to send me some of their work which I had been unable to consult.
Arantxa Sarría and Emilio Blasco sought out and photocopied documents from
the Internationaal Institut voor Sociale Geschiedenis in Amsterdam. In that
archive I was always able to count on the help and advice of Mieke Ijzermans. I
also received professional help from Carlos Gil, who provided me with documen-
tation concerning conflicts and uprisings in La Rioja; from Pilar Maluenda, who
gave me data on the insurrection of December 1933 in Huesca; and from Julita
Cifuentes, who has helped in the correction of the manuscript. In my time in
Salamanca, I recall the hospitality and generosity of Manolo Redero and Gloria
García, as well as the help given by María José Turrión García, librarian of the
Archivo Histórico Nacional in that city. José Álvarez Junco read the first two
chapters, and as has always been the case during our long friendship, his sincere
comments and criticisms have improved the final version.
I have also benefited from the help of institutions, particularly the DGICYT.,
which has provided financial support for my projects in recent years and allowed
me to enjoy a stay during the academic year 1991–2 in the Center for European
Studies at Harvard University. During those twelve months, I met colleagues
who honoured me with both their friendship and professional experience. I
would also like to mention Robert Fishman, Abby Collins, Jürgen Wilzewski, Jos
de Beus, Tom Koelble, Jeff Richter and Charles Maier. It was thanks to Charles
Tilly that I was able to debate and discuss many of the questions that emerged in
the seminar series which he organised in the Center for Studies of Social
Change of the New School for Social Research in New York. To José Casanova,
I owe many things, not only as a brother, but also the intellectual help that he
always gave me when it came to using sociological approaches to historical anal-
ysis. For the confidence that they showed in my work, I would also like to thank
Mari Paz Ortuño and Josep Fontana, of the publishing house Crítica, who made
the publication of the original Spanish version of this book such an easy task.
Finally, I would like to express my thanks to Professor Paul Preston, both a
teacher and friend, with whom I have shared so many things in the past twenty
Acknowledgements ix
years and for the interest that he has consistently shown in bringing this book
before an English-speaking audience.
Julián Casanova
Zaragoza, 1996 and 2004