The Spanish Civil War and Revolution 1936-1939

When the fascist-backed general Franco in July 1936 led the military coup against the elected Popular Front government, the Spanish working class answered back by taking over control of factories and land in central areas of the country.

- Foreword and Overview articles
- Articles
- Web sites
- Books (or chapters) and pamphlets online
- Films and Posters/Photos
- Songs
- Appendiks 1: On Capas photograph "Falling Soldier"
- Appendiks 2: Ken Loachs film Land and Freedom
- Appendiks 3: Andrés Nin & POUM

Foreword

When the fascist-backed general Franco in July 1936 led the military coup against the elected Popular Front government, the Spanish working class answered back by taking over control of factories and land in central areas of the country.
This response to the raising of the rich and the right put the question on who were to take control of society.
Due to the revolutionary possibilities Spain became in 1936-37 a test for all political tendencies in the labour movement.
The extreme left was unable to develop the revolutionary situation and the dual power between the workers and the state power.
The largest and dominating tendencies in the workers movement had the notion, that the nationalist’s rebellion could be fought without the struggle for social revolution.
To fulfil their re-establishing of the state power and army of the Popular Front government, workers power was crushed; - a defeat that from turning point in the May Days 1937 onward made the civil war to a defensive fight against Franco and his international fascist backers.

This webliography is compiled from a revolutionary socialist angle on the Spanish Civil War. The materials are compiled from the Republican side, and should be covering almost all analysis of the labour movement. The main focus is though on the possibilities for the Spanish revolution and on the politics and debates of the revolutionary left.

The lessons of the Spanish revolution and civil war are important - even today.
Not just for the debates and views of the civil war, but the attitudes and experiences, that demonstrates the idea of socialism and dual power in practice - and how to achieve it.

This webliography was originally made as a leaflet due to the film Land & Freedom in December 1995, that is why some of the materials are not online, but all references are hereby available on the web in a heavily revised online-edition.
Suggestions for sites and articles are welcome.

Jørgen Lund & Bjarne A. Frandsen. July 15, 2006. Revised edition July 2011.

Overview articles

- Spanish Civil War, 1936 (Chronology) (Wikipedia.org)
- The main events of the Spanish Civil War (Chronology)
- Spanish Civil War (Spartacus Educational)
- Spanish Civil War (Wikipedia.org)