The Spanish Civil War was a confusing war. On one side you had the Republic, represented by a hodge-podge of leftist unions and political groups, and on the other side you had the fascists, represented by General Franco, the Catholic church, and bourgeoisie elements.
The Republic (referred to as the “government”) had help from thousands of foreign volunteers who poured into Spain to defeat the fascists, which were supported by Hitler and Mussolini. George Orwell was one of those volunteers. What started as an idealistic campaign for socialism ended with him rushing to escape the country, not from the fascists but the socialists.
We were getting near the front line now, near the bombs, the machine-guns and the mud. In secret I was frightened. I knew the line was quiet at present, but unlike most of the men about me I was old enough to remember the Great War, though not old enough to have fought in it. War, to me, meant roaring projectiles and skipping shards of steel; above all it meant mud, lice, hunger, and cold. It is curious, but I dreaded the cold much more than I dreaded the enemy. The thought of it had been haunting me all the time I was in Barcelona; I had even lain awake at nights thinking of the cold in the trenches, the stand-to’s in the grisly dawns, the long hours on sentry-go with a frosted rifle, the icy mud that would slop over my boot-tops. I admit, too, that I felt a kind of horror as I looked at the people I was marching among.
[…]
The essential point of the system was social equality between officers and men. Everyone from general to private drew the same pay, ate the same food, wore the same clothes, and mingled on terms of complete equality. If you wanted to slap the general commanding the division on the back and ask him for a cigarette, you could do so, and no one thought it curious. In theory at any rate each militia was a democracy and not a hierarchy. It was understood that orders had to be obeyed, but it was also understood that when you gave an order you gave it as comrade to comrade and not as superior to inferior.
Orwell gave details of fighting in a war so cash-poor war that even bullets had to be rationed. Discipline in such conditions, where homemade grenades were fastened with tape instead of pins, was preserved because of desire to defeat Franco. The destiny of the Spanish people was at stake.
You broke the tape and then got rid of the bomb with the utmost possible speed. It was said of these bombs that they were ‘impartial’; they killed the man they were thrown at and the man who threw them.
[…]
The Fascist guns were of the same make and calibre as our own, and the unexploded shells were often reconditioned and fired back. There was said to be one old shell with a nickname of its own which travelled daily to and fro, never exploding. At night small patrols used
[…]
One evening when it was barely even dusk a sentry let fly at me from a distance of twenty yards; but he missed me by a yard— goodness knows how many times the Spanish standard of marksmanship has saved my life.
[…]
Georges Kopp, on his periodical tours of inspection, was quite frank with us. “This is not a war,” he used to say, “it is a comic opera with an occasional death.” As a matter of fact the stagnation on the Aragon front had political causes of which I knew nothing at that time; but the purely military difficulties— quite apart from the lack of reserves of men— were obvious to anybody.
[…]
There seemed no hope of any real fighting. When we left Monte Pocero I had counted my cartridges and found that in nearly three weeks I had fired just three shots at the enemy. They say it takes a thousand bullets to kill a man, and at this rate it would be twenty years before I killed my first Fascist.
[…]
You always, I notice, feel the same when you are under heavy fire— not so much afraid of being hit as afraid because you don’t know where you will be hit. You are wondering all the while just where the bullet will nip you, and it gives your whole body a most unpleasant sensitiveness.
While Orwell gives a background on the political action, it doesn’t come until the middle of the book. Therefore it’s helpful for you to know that the historical story begins when General Franco attempted a coup with support of the church and nationalistic factions against the leftist government. This caused a spontaneous uprising among anarchists, socialists, and communists centered in Barcelona. The Western media, especially in England, portrayed the war as fascism vs democracy, but the left in Spain believed it to be their workers revolution. They confiscated land, collectivized factories, and set up revolutionary communities.
The Soviets came to help the government, but really they came to help themselves. They wanted Spain to be a reliable Soviet ally for its defense. Instead of helping the workers, they consolidated power, imprisoning and killing many who were fighting against Franco. The Western media did not want to admit their aid to the “democratic” government was actually helping Stalin create a Soviet puppet state.
By supplying arms and airplanes, Stalin was able to dictate terms. He wanted to prevent a full-blown revolution so that control could be maintained and he could slide into a functioning government apparatus, since revolutions are unstable and hard to manage.
The thing for which the Communists were working was not to postpone the Spanish revolution till a more suitable time, but to make sure that it never happened. This became more and more obvious as time went on, as power was twisted more and more out of working-class hands, and as more and more revolutionaries of every shade were flung into jail.
[…]
The whole of Comintern policy is now subordinated (excusably, considering the world situation) to the defence of U.S.S.R., which depends upon a system of military alliances. In particular, the U.S.S.R. is in alliance with France, a capitalist-imperialist country. The alliance is of little use to Russia unless French capitalism is strong, therefore Communist policy in France has got to be anti-revolutionary. This means not only that French Communists now march behind the tricolour and sing the Marseillaise, but, what is more important, that they have had to drop all effective agitation in the French colonies.
Stalin needed allies to preserve his power, and didn’t care whether those allies were communist or not. In Spain, he used his propaganda machine to denigrate other political parties that were also fighting against Franco.
One of the most horrible features of war is that all the war-propaganda, all the screaming and lies and hatred, comes invariably from people who are not fighting.
At the same time the government was fighting Franco, it was also fighting itself to consolidate its power into a Soviet-approved system. But since we know that Franco eventually won, it turns out that Stalin subverted the will of the Spanish people through his meddling and let them be overcome by a dictatorship that lasted nearly four decades.
There was a dreadful moment when I kicked against a tin and thought every Fascist within miles must have heard it. But no, not a sound, no answering shot, no movement in the Fascist lines. We crept onwards, always more slowly. I cannot convey to you the depth of my desire to get there. Just to get within bombing distance before they heard us! At such a time you have not even any fear, only a tremendous hopeless longing to get over the intervening ground. I have felt exactly the same thing when stalking a wild animal; the same agonized desire to get within range, the same dreamlike certainty that it is impossible.
[…]
When you are taking part in events like these you are, I suppose, in a small way, making history, and you ought by rights to feel like an historical character. But you never do, because at such times the physical details always outweigh everything else. Throughout the fighting I never made the correct ‘analysis’ of the situation that was so glibly made by journalists hundreds of miles away. What I was chiefly thinking about was not the rights and wrongs of this miserable internecine scrap, but simply the discomfort and boredom of sitting day and night on that intolerable roof, and the hunger which was growing worse and worse— for none of us had had a proper meal since Monday. It was in my mind all the while that I should have to go back to the front as soon as this business was over.
[…]
The fact is that every war suffers a kind of progressive degradation with every month that it continues, because such things as individual liberty and a truthful press are simply not compatible with military efficiency.
[…]
There was one man wounded in the face and throat who had his head inside a sort of spherical helmet of butter-muslin; his mouth was closed up and he breathed through a little tube that was fixed between his lips. Poor devil, he looked so lonely, wandering to and fro, looking at you through his muslin cage and unable to speak.
[…]
I wonder what is the appropriate first action when you come from a country at war and set foot on peaceful soil. Mine was to rush to the tobacco-kiosk and buy as many cigars and cigarettes as I could stuff into my pockets. Then we all went to the buffet and had a cup of tea, the first tea with fresh milk in it that we had had for many months. It was several days before I could get used to the idea that you could buy cigarettes whenever you wanted them. I always half-expected to see the tobacconists’ doors barred and the forbidding notice ‘No hay tobaco’ in the window.
Orwell didn’t leave the war unscathed: he was shot through the neck and had his vocal cords and right hand permanently damaged. He arrived as an idealistic socialist soldier but left a man jaded by the Soviet style of communism, determined to let the world know what a true danger it was. If you like Orwell and want to learn more about the Spanish Civil War, this book is for you.
Read More: “Homage To Catalonia” on Amazon
Homage to Catalonia is probably my favourite book of all time. I read it when I was 17 or so and a high-school communist, and it did an excellent job of exposing the hypocrisy of Marxism. George Orwell inspired me because he’s simultaneously a guy who obviously cares a lot for the “little man”, but doesn’t let that sympathy interfere with his reason and the clear fact that Marxism doesn’t do a lick of good for anyone, rich or poor.
In my opinion, he’s one of the best minds of the 20th century, a man who’s intellect stands head and shoulders above his peers. It’s a shame that there isn’t anyone as smart and principled in the media today.
I don’t get how anyone can believe in “communism” after reading ‘Animal Farm’ and watching Boxer working himself to death. While the champagne Socialist pigs watch from their “ivory tower” like so many academics… Noam Chomsky.
“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others”
It’s always the have nots trying to overthrow the haves and take the power for themselves, because they can’t compete in a free market.
Intellectualization is the overemphasis on thinking when confronted with an unacceptable impulse, situation or behavior without employing any emotions whatsoever to help mediate and place the thoughts into an emotional, human context. Rather than deal with the painful associated emotions, a person might employ intellectualization to distance themselves from the impulse, event or behavior.
People and countries become communist because they cannot compete in a free market? Are you serious?
Did you learn about politics and economics at your local church?
Can someone please ban this guy?
Yes I’m dead serious.
Seizing private property and wealth to redistribute among the loser masses is always the long game of Commies like you.
No at church you learn theology and faith. I learned politics and economy in school and the library.
Instead of attacking me personally, why don’t you address the points? Or are you just another troll or basement dwelling loser who has debating skills of a little chicken?
“Economy”? Come back when you know the basics of Political Economy (Smith-Ricardo-Marx), the marginalist revolution, etc etc. And no, Mankiew “manual” does not cut it.
Fuck. Let’s solve this shit under MMA rules, Major Harry Poop.
I publicly challenge you to a match of EA Sports MMA Online.
One on one, Major Poop.
What did you say? Cluck Cluck? Why do I only hear chickens?
Who let Tiny Tim out of his mother’s basement. You’re jokes doesn’t compare to your mother’s cooking.
Well threes a crowd so I guess u can tape it while we go at it like chickens.
Lettuce bee cereal video games r 4 kidz.
Homage to Catalonia is the point where Orwell first starts to question socialism.
With “Burma days” you see why, as a young police officer in the far flung outposts of the British Empire his youthful sense of idealism lead him to leftism and in the much later “The lion an the Unicorn” you begin to see his transition away from pure socialism towards a form of nationalism.
To truly understand the epic transition represented in the last two significant works of his life, “Animal farm” and “1984” you have to read all his works.
The novels the non fiction and the reviews across his writing career are the perfect demonstration of why an intelligent man of his age saw Communism as the only answer to the evils of imperialism, and how he changed his view over time so that on his death bed he wrote the finest description of the evils of the Communist totalitarian ideal ever put to paper in “1984”.
It is noteworthy that as a man who escaped “Republican” Spain one step ahead of the NKVD Orwell had no compunctions whatsoever in naming those on the British left that he considered to be Stalinist on a blacklist for employment at the BBC.
Others on the left considered him a traitor for doing so, he considered them traitors to the ideals they professed to hold for cursing him.
You missed the nuance of the book. Orwell was part of the ideology you mentioned, but he was not a fan of what the Russians did. That is what the POUM was all about.
The truth about Civil war. I’m jewish and I live in Granada(Spain). Francisco Franco Bahamonde saved us from a marxism holocaust. Leftist in Spain are and was extremely sheep and hypocrite. They fight against their imaginary enemies.
My grandfather would be killed by his surname like in Hitler’s house. First of all, the first to start violence were leftist: when the conservatives won they started mass street violence. Leftist didn’t want democracy they find the absolute control of human liberty and relationships.Leftist say the miners fight against a democratically elected government are heroes but when peasants fight with Franco for his private property are nazis. Franco was not a fascist, he was a military, a stupid catholic and a very strong anti-comunist and traditionalist. Franco used Falange Española (a fascist movement) against communist but this fact does not make him a fascist, then also they removed(but not in the manner of Stalin, he only ignored them) they of the power. He used Falange specially to create ideology of gender inequality after won.
In Spain being a leftist is fashion! If you’re economic-liberalist you will become automatically in a fascist. Leftist usually humiliate in public conservative people and liberalist people. In the past leftist kill us. Personally I’m very tired about leftist they want things, they want rights, but they don’t like work. I’m a fascism too? People who work are fascism? In Spain there are two worlds: leftist and liberal-conservadurism.When leftist won elections they spend a lot of money in rights, the last leftist president gave money for multiculturalism in Peru, and sex change operation, and lot of stupids things more. In Spain I am a fascist becuase I don’t want to to pay tax to sex change operation.
Politic romaticism is a movement which is the origin of Nazism and fascim in Italy. In Spain romaticism created a fictional nation called Catalonia and potentiated Carlism. Catolina was just a territory between Aragon Kingdom and Barcelona County Catalonia was nothing. Barcelona County is more than 50 percent of the hypothetical “Catalunya”. Catalonian nationalism added this territory long time ago as same Hitler add Austria or Sudetes. In Spain exist idependentist groups that defined themselves as national-socialism. Sabino Arana is a Basque(basque people are ugly and AIDS look like people and their most popular tradition is pick up rocks. Andalusians girls are hottest ) theorist of extreme national racism. Leftist not say nothing about this nazis becuase leftist in Spain identify Spain destrucction with a marxist victory against patriarchal, capitalism, speciesism and religion. Who is it the fascim? romantic-nationalism such Mussolini Hitler and Catalan or Basque nationalism or a catholic, tradicionalist and anti-comunist guy? Sabino Arana said that basque people are angels and other people are monkeys. Jordi Pujol Ferrusola( a multimillion thief and president of the generalitat)said one time that spanish are inferior people like Hitler with Jewish. Don’t be fooled leftist in Europe are a powerful anti-men, anti-capitalism, pro-islam(Islamic groups want to conquer Europe and kill jewish and free people but if I say somethig against Muhammad’s warriors I’m a fascim) , and feminazi force. They hate Franco because was catholic, pseudo-capitalism and anti-feminism. Leftist in Europe demonize all that they don’t like it. They banned freedom of expression. They think that Spain must remove the borderline becuase subsaharians haven’t enough rights. I asked myself, how many people can Europe support ? And the world? What about Malthus? If leftist want to give rights to all people: pay it, BUT NOT OPRESSED ME TO PAY IT. If leftist believe that subsaharians haven’t enough rights and all of us don’t fit in Europe, why leftist don’t leave their homes and go to Africa to make room for subsaharians?
Becuase leftist in a more Darwinian situation would die. Socialist are less intelligent, less beautiful, and more sheep. This is the reason of the comfort-rights Europe.
This is truly a great work, a landmark in twentieth century war commentary. Thanks for posting this, Roosh.
Where else can you find serious books reviewed, alongside other articles of masculine interest except ROK?
Art of Manliness
That site is ok to read about rope tying, high intensity wotkouts and brogue shoes. But they’e stuck in 1950 when it comes to women.
Art of Manliness is put out by a couple, if I remember right. Some husband and wife team. Fuck that. It lacks the edginess, grittiness, and brutal honesty of ROK. We are street fighters, and they are living in ivory towers. No comparison…we rule.
Fascinating.
I agree that the book reviews are one of the strongest features of this site. What I like is that the book reviews delve into ideas at a level you rarely experience in daily conversations with friends, family, and coworkers. I also like the emphasis on manly behaviors and experiences, which are rarely addressed anywhere else.
Other than the reviews on this site, Matt Forney does a lot of book reviews, but I haven’t noticed that many other manosphere sites doing book reviews.
I’ve read that Orwell made up the bit about getting shot through the neck. There’s some question about his “Shooting an Elephant” as well, I seem to recall. I did enjoy “Homage”, but the man was, at the end of the day, a journalist, and a political True Believer. It would be strange if he told the truth very often.
I read Homage to Catalonia in my early 20’s while traveling in Spain. It was a turning point in my views regarding socialism and freedom.
http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/spaindx.html
“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.”
Franco was a Spanish patriot who crushed the international Marxists who attempted to subvert his country. These same Marxists committed numerous atrocities where they murdered Spanish priests and raped and murdered Spanish nuns. All well documented. Don’t believe me? Then google it yourself. Hence the alignment of the Catholic Church with Franco.
Orwell was a genius who at the end of his life incapable of writing anything but the absolute truth about the Marxist scum that plague Western civilization. That is why, to this day, they hate him.
Roosh, like Orwell, is a truth seeker. It is a dangerous path, but a noble one.
A patriot who used 100.000 foreign moorish troops to crush spanish miners and then again half a million spaniards?
The communist were evil, I agree, but Franco didn’t win the war, and didn’t unite the country or solve the problems.
The problem was called, privatizations of communal lands, Spain was rural, “backwards” because we fucking like to live happy in small towns, because we are/were loyal to the life of our ancestors.
Marxism and communism is exaggerated in Spain, half the “republicans” were anarchists, Spaniards didn’t read foreign europeans like Marx, he was a nobody, we had our own traditions and problems.
There was no “war”, but an escalation of the hostilities between the rural peasants and the civil guard, lands were being taken back, rich landowners run away to the cities crying for help, police were shooting daily.
It wasn’t about right or left, that’s secondary talk about who should lead the european model in Spain, we wanted none of it.
Some geneticists and historian affirm Spain (the north specially) is the oldest country and the origin of homo sapiens, therefore the “old continent=europe” and the Jacob’s Way, there are many arguments for it.
In fact, democracy was born and alive in Spain, each town was sovereign in law and in all natural resources around it, only recently around capitals could the military power impose it’s will, slowly, and after it, evolve to imposing coin and market, obviously destroying the local economy through dirty war, dumping, threats and so on.
Franco had no ideology, no popular support, no social system, nothing, only connections with the king (best friend) and with the republic (he was clever in politics), the war in morocco was a failure, the military was a corrupt class full of half-retired officers earning too much, too many officers, too few soldiers, that’s why the military suffer a brutal defeat in north africa and like cowards went with gas bombings.
The military in Spain of that time was shooting daily against farmers who were reclaiming their ancestral lands, used by them freely for centuries and recently privatized to rich politicians.
That was the war, an excuse to commit genocide town by town, slowly, under martial law. The republican politicians safely escaped to other countries.
The problem was that stupid anarchist allowed commie rats near them, and a commie government (with a jew-soviet foreigner always in every ministerial meeting, always, giving the orders).
And that ignorant nationalists, like Falange believed in a traitor like Franco, and in the military class, who was build against the local iberians, they were mercenaries, traitors.
Similarly, the Republic was the continuation of a terrible regime that had too many enemies, like Carlists who took the opportunity as personal revenge, joining even Franco.
The Republic was a chaos, and consciously or unconsciously invoked the military to restore order, either the native one, or the big modern and power of the time, the soviet machine, the local class of politicians were loosing power in the land, that’s it, not left or right.
And there were few attacks against the church, and they desire it, churches here were build by the towsnfolk together, 99% were popularly build, and weren’t religious at the beginning but places of assembly, market, law discussions, and even orgies, the dogmatic catholicism is very recent, they privatized the popular buildings known as churches and gave them to the foreign power called vatican, they force baptism and naming (church equals crony capitalism, it’s the basics of it all, name=register, holy see = sea of commerce, admiralty law, etc…)
At least 50% unadulterated complete complete bullshit. Spain itself was created by “dogmatic Catholicism”, before Catholicism Iberia/Hispania was no more than a group of disjointed territories with a common enemy, the romans, different languages, different customs no commonality, easy prey to the militant Islam which in fact easily conquered most of those lands. And few attacks? Como on, everyone with a bit of knowledge of history knows even secular persons who dared to claim being practising Christians were tortured and killed in any kind of imaginable ways.
Franco was a sell-out but the godless leftist rats were even worse.
There were no romans, read Fomenko.
There was no police in Spain until 1844, before that, only Royal Protection service, that is, nothing, a small regime in a few coastal cities, with no power over the country itself.
Only cannons, rifles gave the necessary advantage to take over the peninsula and the whole world to a small minority, the military complex, with it’s technicians, civil servants, and the rest.
The military wanted complete dominion, and easy access to all resources, so they could keep the absolute necessity of superior technology, logistic, etc, that is, they couldn’t just tax/demand cows, they needed everything easily available to them and in a logistic way, that is, money, market, everything on the market, ready to be sold to…those who print money.
There are no “ancient coins”, it’s bullshit to sell their paper, look at any XIXth coin, the kings will appear as roman caesars, there was no ancient roman empire, they just use propaganda, spam, millions of paintings, to create the illusion of a continuous ruling and status quo, so the new system based on raw force could be seen as a legit continuation of the “rule of history”.
The church created nothing physical, and had no power until they had workable police departments in every town, that means, railway for support, telegraph and the rest.
Can you imagine our world without technology, no cars, phones… do you believe the police would be able to control the towns? No, they would be alone and with no backup.
Basic strategy, you don’t deploy your troops alone behind enemy lines, where you don’t have a line of support, you would loose them!
“Nationalists” in Spain, and I KNOW what I speak of, confused nationalism it’s love for the people, not the military-political class that claim to represent them.
Of course the commie were worse, and?
It was the same system, the slow path to world government, a controlled nationalism (that’s why Franco was left alone, unlike Hitler or Mussolini), or the fast route to hell/NWO.
Many in the left fought the commies, did they get support from Franco?
When the commies attack their “allies” in May 37, did Franco offered help, amnesty, protection to those who defied the soviet rule of the republican side?
No, he killed them all. He saw no distinction between angry farmers with no ideology, anarchist farmers and commies, they were the same, those who didn’t obey him.
Any nationalists knows what Franco did to get into power, kill the competition, other generals, leaders of nationalists parties, like Hedilla, the same with the Carlists, he was a politician, with no honor, or ideology, he was the perfect guy of the hidden government, they didn’t care really, Franco or Stalin, it was unimportant.
France for example, only open the frontier when the “republic” was loosing, so we could destroy each other longer, the system was on both sides.
And Franco tortured, a lot, and killed, without trials, and evacuated thousands of towns to destroy the rural class so he could move us, like the soviets, to ugly industrial-made buildings in modern ant-colonies, so we could prepare us for this ugly system he knew was coming.
Franco was a Stalin of the opposite ideology, he had the same hate, the same lack of honor, God knows how many hundreds of thousands are without a tomb, executed by the “morally superior”, the victors, forgotten, nobody knows where they rest.
It wasn’t a “nationalist” crusade, but a cleaning of native insurrection, with foreign mercenaries (100.000 moorish troops), and with the inconvenient of a competing would-be dictator, the soviet, but both were united in shooting the real spaniards and the real opposition in both sides.
That’s why the cleverest of all the spaniards left to America, they knew both were fakes, the “legit” government, and the “supposed saviors”, which was the same rich corrupt class of always who was both loosing power in the ground and also unwilling to obey the orders of the NWO.
Because in the NWO (=jews) the ruling majority was the euro-askenazi, while Spain still had a big local pseudo-nationalist sephardic crypto-jewish community, of course still in power, but more hidden/disguised that the european ones.
So Franco, a jew, was the leader of the local Jews, and had a slightly different approach on how to control the goyim here. The big central of international Jewry/NWO didn’t care much of this small discussion, they just took advantage of the situation and did as much as possible to bleed us, making the war as longest as possible.
And many anarchist were theists and at that time had very good values, they were old-style anarchist, read what they wrote.
The problem was, there were no good leaders, or better said, they were all shoot and executed by their “friends”, either military “nationalists” or “legit govt” = commies / “incoming help to support the revolution” = commies.
But go on believing there were good and bads, even when the most brilliant spaniards abandoned in tears the country to exile, seeing the biggest leaders were brothers of the same system.
Well, Franco was great if you were a Swede taking vacations in that Third World country called Spain at the time. Now, if you were Spanish, you were fucked.
Bias.
Spanish Republic was doomed because west refused to intervene. France had a land border with Spain and it only provided space for IB to retreat after defeat. On the other side, German and Italian aircraft provided direct help, precisely where it was needed.
However, Battle of the Ebro was probably the most dramatic and climatic event of the war – desperation, hastily organized army, surprise attack, initial success, agonizing multiple-month combat, and eventually, disaster and retreat. An epic struggle, but also a fatal blow to the Republic.
Should have the “West” intervened to create another Soviet satellite? No wonder our countries are so fucked if common sense seems to be absent…
Republic was a parliamentary democracy
If you believe that I have bridge to sell you in Venice…The “Republic” was voted for on good intentions by most people but the execution proved what was in the mind of the politics, were they really in favour of a republic, the aggressive atheism and “assistance” from Soviet advisers would have never been received. The religious persecution alone belies the whole charade of a Republic. Only ignorants in history deny that such an episode really happened.
I’m not sure that your response has much to do with my statement: Second Spanish Republic was parliamentary democracy, with president, prime minister and a congress. The problems within it were significant, but that doesn’t mean that it was a Soviet satellite. Leftist factions were significant, but fighter were not all communists and leftists.
What I mean is that, should the Republic have had survived, it would have become a satellite of Soviet Union and even prompted an invasion from Germany producing even more suffering than the Spanish civil war already had caused. The Republic was already infiltrated by communist elements in the lower, middle and upper levels as well as the partisans, the greatest proof of what I am saying is that most of the leaders of the Republican side fled to the Soviet Union once they saw the war was lost.
I don’t think either Soviet or German direct control of Spain was possible. However, Republican cause was lost as much on the battlefield, as it was logistically and diplomatically. Unlike other fascist rulers, Franco’s rule did not prove to be disastrous after the war, yet, that does not mean i can be supportive or sympathetic towards fascist ideas.
there are people here who are confused, george orwell never stopped being socialist
I need to read this. It’s on that ever-growing mental list.
Roosh. if you are interested in this period (or any other in Spanish history) I’d suggest Pío Moa’s books but, alas, they aren’t available in English.
Pío was a member of a Communist terrorist group who evolved towards the right. Predictably, leftists consider him a Fascist madman.
Roosh, you say: “Therefore it’s helpful for you to know that the historical story begins when General Franco attempted a coup with support of the church and nationalistic factions against the leftist government. This caused a spontaneous uprising among anarchists, socialists, and communists centered in Barcelona.”
That is indeed the official story and certainly what you can expect from Orwell. But the truth is that, encouraged by Russia’s so-called October Revolution, the Spanish left had pushed hard for a Civil War in the previous years. Pablo Iglesias, the founder of the Spanish Worker’s Socialist Party (today leading the opposition) told his political (conservative) adversary: “we will chase you inside and outside legality, including the personal assault”.
In 1934 the leftist Frente Popular tried to start the civil war with an uprising in Asturias. The leftists burnt convents, including tens of thousands of books and invaluable works of art, nuns were raped, conservatives were murdered.
Some generals sent a letter to Franco (who was stationed in Africa) calling him to an insurrection. Franco answered (among other things) that if the King had agreed to a Republic, then so be it. Thing kept getting worse. They sent him another letter, and a third.
The night of July 12th 1936, Calvo Sotelo, the leader of the conservatives was murdered by a leftist gang. The police did nothing. Nothing against the murderers, that is. Actually, the police harassed several conservatives, including breaking into their homes. This had happened before when other conservatives had been murdered by the leftists. When conservatives protested in the streets, the police shot at them.
General Mola attempted an uprising that quickly failed. Then and only then did Franco lead the Uprising from Africa. (And when the devastating war ended, Franco granted safe passage to leftists who wanted to leave Spain).
It was only one year after the war had started that the Catholic church decided to support Franco’s uprising.
I once asked a just and honorable man who fought in that war (when the Reds sentenced his father to death for leading a Catholic organization) what he thought of it, if it could have been prevented. “It was a sad necessity,” he said.
Long live Franco.
In Spain, White Terror (also known as Represión Franquista) refers to acts of politically motivated violence, rape, and other crimes committed by the Nationalist movement during the Spanish Civil War (17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939) and during Francisco Franco’s dictatorship (1 October 1936 – 20 November 1975).[1] The mass executions started at the beginning of the civil war on July 1936 and continued after the war until 1945.
Most historians agree that the death toll of the White Terror was much higher than that of the Red Terror, as the White Terror occurred over a much longer period, continuing after the end of Spanish Civil War in 1936 until 1945. While most estimates of the Red Terror range from 38,000[6] to 72,344 lives[7] (the collective work:Victimas de la guerra civil: 50,000,[8] Hugh Thomas: 55,000,[9] and Julián Casanova: fewer than 60,000[10]) most of the estimates of the White Terror, such as Paul Preston’s 200,000[11] range from 150,000[12] to 400,000.
As I said, long live Franco. Pussy.
P.S. Dead Leftists are not a tragedy.
Homage to Catalonia is Orwell’s best work and is the most personal of his better known books. It is in Catalonia where Orwell’s idealism ran into the brick wall of realism in the form of Stalinism. Orwell was a member of the POUM militia, which was considered by many to be Trotskyite. These charges were enough to condemn the group to its eventual fate.
To see a very good film depiction of Orwell’s story, check out Ken Loach’s “Land and Freedom”. It’s “Homage to Catalonia’” in everything but name.
For those interested, there is a great six-part documentary on the Spanish Civil War in English which was produced by Granada TV (British) circa 1980. It leans towards the Republic but is much more balanced than anything that would be produced on the subject today. Lots of first person interviews with key figures on all sides. It’s a must see.
Here is the first episode – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81RhewkQbOk
The civil war was inescapable as dividing lines throughout Spanish society continued to harden through the years of the Republic. It’s unfortunate for the field workers that the Falangistas did not manage to take control of the rebellion as they would have treated them better than Franco who despite his lack of political philosophy is still Spain’s saviour.
Even in the present era one can see what Spain’s socialists have to the country, and they are watered-down compared to their predecessors in the 1930s.
Leftist garbage …. most of what is written about the Civil War in English is heavily flawed and biased toward the (far) Left. Stanley Payne and the rest of them.
Such a brilliant writer, see Shooting an Elephant or Politics and the English Language.
Anecdotally it would seem that Mao, Stalin, Pol Pot… The Left killed more in the 20th c. than did the right. Interestingly, The Left killed their own people. No love for the fascists but it’s always interesting to me to see how hardcore leftists usually kill millions of their own and soft core lefties just screw up everything they touch i.e. The Great Society, affirmative action and more recently Obamacare. “The road to hell…” Just a casual observation.
hommage to catalonia is a pile of worthless shit, despite the author litterary talent. FUll of lies, “international troops” were spolied with the latest equipments while the real fighters were doing their best, with much more bravery, with the shitty gears sold by those traitor russian communists.
If you want to learn about the civil war, pass your way and find something by a real spanish veteran, not some socialist tourist (nor some fascist)
If the Communists would have won they would have been obliged to join the Soviet Union in their war against Germany – also Communism would have been worse than Franco- so, all in all, the right side won.
The truth about Civil war. I’m jewish and I live in Granada(Spain). Francisco Franco Bahamonde saved us from a marxism holocaust. Leftist in Spain are and was extremely sheep and hypocrite. They fight against their imaginary enemies.
My grandfather would be killed by his surname like in Hitler’s house. First of all, the first to start violence were leftist: when the conservatives won they started mass street violence. Leftist didn’t want democracy they find the absolute control of human liberty and relationships.Leftist say the miners fight against a democratically elected government are heroes but when peasants fight with Franco for his private property are nazis. Franco was not a fascist, he was a military, a stupid catholic and a very strong anti-comunist and traditionalist. Franco used Falange Española (a fascist movement) against communist but this fact does not make him a fascist, then also they removed(but not in the manner of Stalin, he only ignored them) they of the power. He used Falange specially to create ideology of gender inequality after won.
In Spain being a leftist is fashion! If you’re economic-liberalist you will become automatically in a fascist. Leftist usually humiliate in public conservative people and liberalist people. In the past leftist kill us. Personally I’m very tired about leftist they want things, they want rights, but they don’t like work. I’m a fascism too? People who work are fascism? In Spain there are two worlds: leftist and liberal-conservadurism.When leftist won elections they spend a lot of money in rights, the last leftist president gave money for multiculturalism in Peru, and sex change operation, and lot of stupids things more. In Spain I am a fascist becuase I don’t want to to pay tax to sex change operation.
Politic romaticism is a movement which is the origin of Nazism and fascim in Italy. In Spain romaticism created a fictional nation called Catalonia and potentiated Carlism. Catolina was just a territory between Aragon Kingdom and Barcelona County Catalonia was nothing. Barcelona County is more than 50 percent of the hypothetical “Catalunya”. Catalonian nationalism added this territory long time ago as same Hitler add Austria or Sudetes. In Spain exist idependentist groups that defined themselves as national-socialism. Sabino Arana is a Basque(basque people are ugly and AIDS look like people and their most popular tradition is pick up rocks. Andalusians girls are hottest ) theorist of extreme national racism. Leftist not say nothing about this nazis becuase leftist in Spain identify Spain destrucction with a marxist victory against patriarchal, capitalism, speciesism and religion. Who is it the fascim? romantic-nationalism such Mussolini Hitler and Catalan or Basque nationalism or a catholic, tradicionalist and anti-comunist guy? Sabino Arana said that basque people are angels and other people are monkeys. Jordi Pujol Ferrusola( a multimillion thief and president of the generalitat)said one time that spanish are inferior people like Hitler with Jewish. Don’t be fooled leftist in Europe are a powerful anti-men, anti-capitalism, pro-islam(Islamic groups want to conquer Europe and kill jewish and free people but if I say somethig against Muhammad’s warriors I’m a fascim) , and feminazi force. They hate Franco because was catholic, pseudo-capitalism and anti-feminism. Leftist in Europe demonize all that they don’t like it. They banned freedom of expression. They think that Spain must remove the borderline becuase subsaharians haven’t enough rights. I asked myself, how many people can Europe support ? And the world? What about Malthus? If leftist want to give rights to all people: pay it, BUT NOT OPRESSED ME TO PAY IT. If leftist believe that subsaharians haven’t enough rights and all of us don’t fit in Europe, why leftist don’t leave their homes and go to Africa to make room for subsaharians?
Becuase leftist in a more Darwinian situation would die. Socialist are less intelligent, less beautiful, and more sheep. This is the reason of the comfort-rights Europe.
Jaume-are you Sefardi? I ask because I have never met a Jew in the US- who wasn’t a leftist.
I am both, Ashkenazi and Sephardic but I am not a member of the Judaism cult or the new modern religion called “equalitarism”.
This is because will convert us in Africa. I know about evolution and essentially the function of equalitarism is swap our K-selected world for a R-selected world.
The majority of Jewish don’t see it becuase they are empowered being leftists and they are in post-holocaust hatred but over the time if the things remain so for a long time our civilization is absolutely condemned.
The Republic would have collapsed anyhow and the Stalinists would have turned Spain into a Soviet state. Franco broke some eggs, but the Left would have killed the hen.
Most of what is written about the Civil War in English is written by Irish or English fellow travellers (of the Left). Be warned..