Crying in the Wilderness?: The British Anarchist Movement During the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939

Morris Brodie

Crying in the Wilderness? The British Anarchist Movement During the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939

Queen's University Belfast

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

This article examines the British anarchist movement during the Spanish Civil War. It focuses on activists, rather than intellectual figures, and argues that the tendency to dismiss the work of the movement during the period is misplaced. British anarchists coordinated to organise solidarity for their Spanish comrades through organisations such as the CNT-FAI London Bureau, the AnarchoSyndicalist Union and Solidaridad Internacional Antifascista. Others travelled to Spain to produce propaganda for the CNT-FAI Foreign Language Division or to aid persecuted revolutionaries. The British movement certainly lacked a mass following during this period, but activists maintained a commitment to their ideals and continued to agitate for the cause, carrying on the tradition of anarchism in sometimes difficult circumstances.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	21-40
Number of pages	20
Journal	Anarchist Studies
Volume	27
Issue number	2
Publication status	Published - 2019
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

British anarchism
Spanish Civil War
international solidarity

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https://journals.lwbooks.co.uk/anarchiststudies/vol-27-issue-2/abstract-9357/Licence: Unclear 1

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Cite this

@article{61e0f4092453479a8e8b403e41b80fb5,

title = "Crying in the Wilderness?: The British Anarchist Movement During the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939",

abstract = "This article examines the British anarchist movement during the Spanish Civil War. It focuses on activists, rather than intellectual figures, and argues that the tendency to dismiss the work of the movement during the period is misplaced. British anarchists coordinated to organise solidarity for their Spanish comrades through organisations such as the CNT-FAI London Bureau, the AnarchoSyndicalist Union and Solidaridad Internacional Antifascista. Others travelled to Spain to produce propaganda for the CNT-FAI Foreign Language Division or to aid persecuted revolutionaries. The British movement certainly lacked a mass following during this period, but activists maintained a commitment to their ideals and continued to agitate for the cause, carrying on the tradition of anarchism in sometimes difficult circumstances.",

keywords = "British anarchism, Spanish Civil War, international solidarity",

author = "Morris Brodie",

note = "Funding Information: Spain became the inspiration for another new endeavour pursued by the London anarchists, the Anarcho-Syndicalist Union (ASU), which operated out of Shepherd{\textquoteright}s Bush. This was set up on the initiative of Greville Texidor and Werner Droescher after their return from Spain.55 The ASU set out its aims in Spain and the World in June 1937: firstly, to work for improved conditions for its members; and secondly, to gather {\textquoteleft}information and facts that will be necessary for the workers to possess if the social revolution is to lead to evolution and not merely to substitution of another type of state machine for that which exists at present{\textquoteright}.56 The ASU was an attempt to create a British version of the CNT but was too small to be considered a trade union, and most of its members were unemployed.57 It had about twenty members in March 1938.58 In reality, the ASU was an anarcho-syndicalist propaganda group.59 It organised public meetings at which Goldman and Jack White often spoke detailing the work of the CNT-FAI.60 The ASU, although small, attracted attention across the country. One enthusiastic student at Trinity College Oxford applied to join the ASU and set up a {\textquoteleft}CNT-FAI Oxford Bureau{\textquoteright}, using the machinery of the local Labour Party club to distribute anarchist propaganda. Goldman sent him 100 copies of the pamphlet {\textquoteleft}Dictatorship and an Alternative{\textquoteright} to dispose of.61 There were also anarchist groups outside of London that organised solidarity for Spain. Mat Kavanagh addressed meetings in Southend and other areas of Essex, managing to convince groups of Freethinkers and secularists to send money for Spain to the CNT as opposed to the Communist Party.62 The Plymouth Libertarian Group organised meetings, and sent money to Spain via Spain and the World in addition to selling the newspaper.63 Glasgow had two anarchist groups at the beginning of the civil war: the United Socialist Movement (USM) and the Anti-Parliamentary Communist Federation (APCF). The APCF produced the Fighting Call jointly with the London Freedom group between 1936 and 1937. This newspaper was partially funded by the CNT in Spain.64 The USM, led by veteran anarchist campaigner Guy Aldred, produced Regeneracion!, another newspaper dedicated to Spanish events.65 The two groups cooperated little during the period, with many APCF members (and some former USM members) heavily critical of the role played by Aldred in the anarchist movement. He was regularly characterised as controlling, sectarian and nigh-impossible to work with. Frank Leech of the APCF wrote to one comrade that the USM was {\textquoteleft}a congregation with G.A. [Aldred] as HIGH PRIEST, the members follow him like sheep, accepting his authority without question{\textquoteright}.66 Goldman called him a {\textquoteleft}poisonous reptile{\textquoteright}.67 Aldred, for his part, viewed the role of Goldman and the CNT-FAI London Bureau with contempt. He wrote to Ralph Barr that she simply hoped to {\textquoteleft}exploit the wrongs of Spain for the sake of her petty-bourgeois lecturing{\textquoteright}.68 Two Scottish anarchists, Ethel MacDonald of the USM and Jenny Patrick of the APCF, went to Spain to work for the CNT-FAI Foreign Language Division. MacDonald appeared on Radio CNT-FAI in Barcelona whilst Patrick translated articles for an English-language section in Frente Libertario, an anarchist newspaper printed in Madrid.69 MacDonald also edited the CNT-FAI Bulletin of Information whilst in Catalonia, which had subscribers across Britain. The mailing list included individuals and groups from Bristol, Cheshire, Devon, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Edinburgh, Monmouthshire and Glamorganshire in Wales, even Gibraltar.70 MacDonald achieved international prominence in the summer of 1937 when she was arrested after the infamous {\textquoteleft}May Days{\textquoteright}, when anarchists and communists fought for control of the streets of Barcelona. Thousands of revolutionaries were imprisoned in the fallout, several of whom MacDonald helped to escape Spain before and after her own capture. The APCF formed an Ethel MacDonald Defence Committee (EMDC) to agitate for her release, which the USM also joined. Despite internal problems, mainly over Aldred, the EMDC helped to publicise MacDonald{\textquoteright}s predicament: letters arrived from the United States enquiring about her whereabouts, and questions were asked in the British parliament on the position of {\textquoteleft}The Scots Scarlet Pimpernel{\textquoteright}.71 Although Aldred wrote to the British Consul in Barcelona pleading for her release, MacDonald was quite particular about who she was willing to accept help from. The consul visited her in prison, but Ethel {\textquoteleft}stated that she wished for no official assistance, being quite capable of looking after herself{\textquoteright}.72 She was eventually released with the help of Fenner Brockway, who travelled to Spain in June 1937 in his capacity as ILP general secretary.73 She escaped from Spain via a ship docked in Barcelona, after eventually accepting the support of the British Consul.74 British anarchists also attempted to supply their Spanish comrades with weaponry to break the blockade imposed by the Non-Intervention Agreement strangling the Republic{\textquoteright}s ability to buy arms on the open market.75 Having amassed a fund of £50 for arms purchases through the CNT-FAI London Bureau,76 Goldman was unsure about where to send the money to avoid it falling under suspicion.77 Some London anarchists devised an ingenious scheme to smuggle arms to the CNT. According to Albert Meltzer, a CNT delegate named Blasco Velazquez visited the Freedom group in London and attended one meeting at the home of veteran comrade Alf Rosenbaum. Rosenbaum lived in the attic of a commercial building bought out by a large company, and Velazquez suggested that it would be an impressive address from which to buy arms. Since the route taken was through Hamburg and the Nazis seized any aid for the Republic, orders were placed through an unsuspecting Czechoslovak arms dealer to deliver to Franco. From here, an Irish ship took the shipment to Bilbao, where it was {\textquoteleft}expropriated{\textquoteright} by the local CNT upon docking. This apparently happened three times before the supplier found out and cancelled the orders. This was a relative coup for the British anarchist movement, and embarrassed both the British and German governments.78 Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2019, Lawrence and Wishart. All rights reserved.",

year = "2019",

language = "English",

volume = "27",

pages = "21--40",

journal = "Anarchist Studies",

publisher = "Lawrence and Wishart",

number = "2",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Crying in the Wilderness?

T2 - The British Anarchist Movement During the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939

AU - Brodie, Morris

N1 - Funding Information: Spain became the inspiration for another new endeavour pursued by the London anarchists, the Anarcho-Syndicalist Union (ASU), which operated out of Shepherd’s Bush. This was set up on the initiative of Greville Texidor and Werner Droescher after their return from Spain.55 The ASU set out its aims in Spain and the World in June 1937: firstly, to work for improved conditions for its members; and secondly, to gather ‘information and facts that will be necessary for the workers to possess if the social revolution is to lead to evolution and not merely to substitution of another type of state machine for that which exists at present’.56 The ASU was an attempt to create a British version of the CNT but was too small to be considered a trade union, and most of its members were unemployed.57 It had about twenty members in March 1938.58 In reality, the ASU was an anarcho-syndicalist propaganda group.59 It organised public meetings at which Goldman and Jack White often spoke detailing the work of the CNT-FAI.60 The ASU, although small, attracted attention across the country. One enthusiastic student at Trinity College Oxford applied to join the ASU and set up a ‘CNT-FAI Oxford Bureau’, using the machinery of the local Labour Party club to distribute anarchist propaganda. Goldman sent him 100 copies of the pamphlet ‘Dictatorship and an Alternative’ to dispose of.61 There were also anarchist groups outside of London that organised solidarity for Spain. Mat Kavanagh addressed meetings in Southend and other areas of Essex, managing to convince groups of Freethinkers and secularists to send money for Spain to the CNT as opposed to the Communist Party.62 The Plymouth Libertarian Group organised meetings, and sent money to Spain via Spain and the World in addition to selling the newspaper.63 Glasgow had two anarchist groups at the beginning of the civil war: the United Socialist Movement (USM) and the Anti-Parliamentary Communist Federation (APCF). The APCF produced the Fighting Call jointly with the London Freedom group between 1936 and 1937. This newspaper was partially funded by the CNT in Spain.64 The USM, led by veteran anarchist campaigner Guy Aldred, produced Regeneracion!, another newspaper dedicated to Spanish events.65 The two groups cooperated little during the period, with many APCF members (and some former USM members) heavily critical of the role played by Aldred in the anarchist movement. He was regularly characterised as controlling, sectarian and nigh-impossible to work with. Frank Leech of the APCF wrote to one comrade that the USM was ‘a congregation with G.A. [Aldred] as HIGH PRIEST, the members follow him like sheep, accepting his authority without question’.66 Goldman called him a ‘poisonous reptile’.67 Aldred, for his part, viewed the role of Goldman and the CNT-FAI London Bureau with contempt. He wrote to Ralph Barr that she simply hoped to ‘exploit the wrongs of Spain for the sake of her petty-bourgeois lecturing’.68 Two Scottish anarchists, Ethel MacDonald of the USM and Jenny Patrick of the APCF, went to Spain to work for the CNT-FAI Foreign Language Division. MacDonald appeared on Radio CNT-FAI in Barcelona whilst Patrick translated articles for an English-language section in Frente Libertario, an anarchist newspaper printed in Madrid.69 MacDonald also edited the CNT-FAI Bulletin of Information whilst in Catalonia, which had subscribers across Britain. The mailing list included individuals and groups from Bristol, Cheshire, Devon, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Edinburgh, Monmouthshire and Glamorganshire in Wales, even Gibraltar.70 MacDonald achieved international prominence in the summer of 1937 when she was arrested after the infamous ‘May Days’, when anarchists and communists fought for control of the streets of Barcelona. Thousands of revolutionaries were imprisoned in the fallout, several of whom MacDonald helped to escape Spain before and after her own capture. The APCF formed an Ethel MacDonald Defence Committee (EMDC) to agitate for her release, which the USM also joined. Despite internal problems, mainly over Aldred, the EMDC helped to publicise MacDonald’s predicament: letters arrived from the United States enquiring about her whereabouts, and questions were asked in the British parliament on the position of ‘The Scots Scarlet Pimpernel’.71 Although Aldred wrote to the British Consul in Barcelona pleading for her release, MacDonald was quite particular about who she was willing to accept help from. The consul visited her in prison, but Ethel ‘stated that she wished for no official assistance, being quite capable of looking after herself’.72 She was eventually released with the help of Fenner Brockway, who travelled to Spain in June 1937 in his capacity as ILP general secretary.73 She escaped from Spain via a ship docked in Barcelona, after eventually accepting the support of the British Consul.74 British anarchists also attempted to supply their Spanish comrades with weaponry to break the blockade imposed by the Non-Intervention Agreement strangling the Republic’s ability to buy arms on the open market.75 Having amassed a fund of £50 for arms purchases through the CNT-FAI London Bureau,76 Goldman was unsure about where to send the money to avoid it falling under suspicion.77 Some London anarchists devised an ingenious scheme to smuggle arms to the CNT. According to Albert Meltzer, a CNT delegate named Blasco Velazquez visited the Freedom group in London and attended one meeting at the home of veteran comrade Alf Rosenbaum. Rosenbaum lived in the attic of a commercial building bought out by a large company, and Velazquez suggested that it would be an impressive address from which to buy arms. Since the route taken was through Hamburg and the Nazis seized any aid for the Republic, orders were placed through an unsuspecting Czechoslovak arms dealer to deliver to Franco. From here, an Irish ship took the shipment to Bilbao, where it was ‘expropriated’ by the local CNT upon docking. This apparently happened three times before the supplier found out and cancelled the orders. This was a relative coup for the British anarchist movement, and embarrassed both the British and German governments.78 Publisher Copyright: © 2019, Lawrence and Wishart. All rights reserved.

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N2 - This article examines the British anarchist movement during the Spanish Civil War. It focuses on activists, rather than intellectual figures, and argues that the tendency to dismiss the work of the movement during the period is misplaced. British anarchists coordinated to organise solidarity for their Spanish comrades through organisations such as the CNT-FAI London Bureau, the AnarchoSyndicalist Union and Solidaridad Internacional Antifascista. Others travelled to Spain to produce propaganda for the CNT-FAI Foreign Language Division or to aid persecuted revolutionaries. The British movement certainly lacked a mass following during this period, but activists maintained a commitment to their ideals and continued to agitate for the cause, carrying on the tradition of anarchism in sometimes difficult circumstances.

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