The Revolution and the Civil War in Spain 1934-1939 by Pierre Broué and Emile Temine
Haymarket, £30
THE revolution and the civil war in Spain was, like the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan today, pathologically brutal. Religious extremism, political separatism, vicious sectarianism and foreign intervention fuelled the violence, but the key component was a deep-rooted class hatred. More than half of Spain was illiterate, undernourished and landless. the start of the civil war, fascist landowners commonly boasted about lining up their manual workers and shooting them.
On July 18 1936, a significant part of the Spanish military, backed by the aristocratic upper classes, segments of the military and the Roman Catholic church, organised to end the country’s experiment in social democracy. Originally published in French in 1961, this new English edition provides a passionate and erudite account of how Spanish workers and peasants fought a courageous battle against the rising tide of fascism in Europe.
In the early stages of the book, Marxist historian Pierre Broué outlines the social revolution and political evolution of the Republican areas. Prior to this book, many intellectuals and activists were guilty of ignoring or forgetting the great social revolution that swept through Spain in the 1930s. After taking us through the revolutionary process – the collectivisation of industry and agriculture, the creation of workers’ militias and the terror launched against foes of the Republic – we are furnished with a measured analysis of the weaknesses inherent in the workers’ movement. As Broué explains, “the great weakness of the Spanish workers’ revolutionary gains was, even more than their improvised character, their incompleteness”. The grassroots committees that were initiated as a response to the military uprising could have been the basis of a new form of power but the anarcho-syndicalists decided against this and, faced with an urgent need to centralise the war strategy, ended up compromising and working with the Republican state.
Most historians who have covered the revolution and civil war have focused primarily on events in the Republican zones at the expense of the broader context. Temine provides this context. With extensive details and analysis, and considerable historical depth and expert research, he outlines a very wide range of issues including the central role of foreign intervention, the course of the war and the true nature of the fascist regime.
This sophisticated yet accessible book examines the spread of distortions masquerading as history and gives a clear account of the long-misunderstood social revolution and civil war in Spain. Powerful and poetic, this is essential reading for everyone who wants to understand one of the 20th century’s most influential revolutions.
Enrico Tortolano
