On July 19, 1936 the Fascist general, Francisco Franco, lead the Spanish army in an attempted coup d'etat against the republic established two years previously. In one half of Spain, his revolt was successful and an authoritarian regime was established, mirroring many aspects of similar authoritarian regimes in Germany and Italy, including a mystical "blood and soil" philosophy and the raised open-palm salute synonymous with Adolf Hitler and Nazism.

In the half of Spain where the rising was unsuccessul - that is to say, the half where Franco's forces were crushed by the popular organisations, most conspicuous of which being the anarcho-syndicalist CNT and anarchist FAI - a vacuum of power came into being. Rather than being immediately reestablished, the collapse of the institutions of the state paved the way for one of the first major experiments in human history of workers' self-management of production, bossless, leaderless organisation in the workplace and community. Thus, in the midst of the Spanish Civil War, the Spanish Revolution was born.

Local Resources

After the Revolution - by Diego Abad de Santiallan, theoretical text written by Spanish author in the leadup to the Civil War, discussing ways in which production, distribution and consumption could be organised according to anarcho-syndicalist principles.

Anarchists in the Spanish Revolution - by Jose Pierats.

Collectives in the Spanish Revolution - by Gaston Leval, French Anarchist who travelled to Spain during the revolution to document what happened.

The Tragedy of Spain - by Rudolf Rocker.

An Overview of the Spanish Libertarian Movement - by Murray Bookchin, discusses the development of the Spanish Anarchist and Anarcho-Syndicalist movement and what happened during the Civil War.

Workers Power and the Spanish Revolution - by Tom Wetzel, a reply to Trotskyist arguments against the behaviour of the Spanish anarchists during the Civil War.

With the Peasants of Aragon - by Augustin Souchy, description of the anarchist collectives by a former secretary of the International Workers' Association.

Photos from the Spanish Civil War and Revolution

Posters from the Spanish Civil War and Revolution

Other Resources

Anarchism in the Spanish Revolution of 1936 - Excellent site documenting the historical, social and military aspects of the Spanish Civil War and Revolution, created as part of the Revolt collection.

The Bilbao Armoured Car

Barcelona, 1936, from Homage to Catalonia, by George Orwell.

Civil War Index at Directory Spain, massive list of links to information

A Spanish Crossfire

Civil War - History by Topic Resources at Google

Civil War - Histor by Region Resources at Google

Anarchist History Resources at Google

Durruti Resources at Google

http://www.tac.com.au/~sljenkins/magazine/issue198.jpg

http://www.tracks-n-troops.com/72401.jpg

http://www.tin-soldier.com/sg/IZarmoredcar.htm

Military History, Spanish Civil War

Spanish Civil War - Encyclopaedia Britannica

South Wales Coalfield Collection, Welsh volunteers in the International Brigades

The Gauntlet, Spanish Civil War

Civil War at typicallyspanish.com, Spain and Spanish Search Engine Directory

Spanish Civil War Factbook

Spanish Civil War links from the Normandy Scholars Program at UT Knoxville

Spanish Civil War & Wound Badges

Italian Intervention in the Spanish Civil War

- The Spanish Civil War: Anarchism in Action, pamphlet from the Workers Solidarity Movement in Ireland

THE SPANISH REVOLUTION & CIVIL WAR 1936-1939