If anyone has read anything on George Orwell you know that the great writer/thinker became disillusioned with communism and his fellow travelers after fighting alongside his comrades-in-arms in the Spanish Civil War. As Orwell noted in his masterful book Homage to Catalonia, he decided to split ways with his communist brethren after he witnessed the totalitarian nature of the Soviet commanders who rounded up and executed various members of the Spanish Republican army and members of the International brigades because they weren't as devoted to the Soviet cause as they were. Now while a lot of folks in Hollywood, academia and the left seem to go on and on about the horrific nature of Franco and his allies while noting how the Spanish republic and its allies fought a gallant fight against the fascists, they seem to have erased from their memory banks the fact that the Soviet commanders were not only fighting Franco but were also conducting a purge of their allies who were deemed enemies of the cause. Luckily, British historian Antony Beevor seems to be uncovering the horrific nature and intentions of the Soviet commanders by researching the various records of the Soviet Union. Beevor presented his most recent findings in an opinion piece in today's edition of The Times in which he noted the following:
Even before most volunteers reached Spain, Soviet advisers were planning to destroy their left-wing allies. In September 1936 General Gorev reported to Moscow: "“A struggle against the anarchists is absolutely inevitable after victory over the Whites. This struggle will be very severe."” André Marty, the Comintern representative, wrote in October: "After victory we will get even with them, all the more so since at that point we will have a strong army."” And Pravda declared openly in December that the “"cleaning up of Trotskyist and anarcho-syndicalist elements will be carried out with the same energy as in the USSR"”. The Popular Front alliance was merely a tactic "“for the moment". Stalinists were not prepared to share power with anybody else.It's rather amazing how a totalitarian state like the Soviets, Nazis, and Chicoms seems to be at keeping records of their horrible crimes committed against their fellow man. Thankfully, historians have decided to dive head-first into these massive files to reveal the true nature of these regimes. So enjoy reading the true history of the Soviet regime during its eighty year reign. You'll learn a lot.
Although Stalin had said that he wanted "“to prevent the enemies of Spain from seeing her as '‘a communist republic'"”, Comintern representatives sought total control. Spanish Communists had infiltrated the directorate of personnel in the Ministry of Defence from the start of the war. By March 1937 party members held 27 out of the 38 key posts, and sympathisers held several more. A report to Moscow that month claimed: "“The party now has hegemony in the army, and this hegemony is developing and becoming firmly established more and more each day."”
Marty wrote about the socialist prime minister in a revealing report to Moscow. Largo Caballero, having been a Communist sympathiser and hailed by their press as the Spanish Lenin, had discovered the reality of their tactics. "“Caballero does not want defeat,"” Marty wrote to Dimitrov, "“but he is afraid of victory . . . Victory means an even greater strengthening of the position of the Communist Party. A final military victory over the enemy means for Caballero and the whole world the political hegemony of the Communist Party in Spain. This is a natural and indisputable thing . . . a republican Spain, raised from the ruins of fascism and led by Communists, a free Spain of a new republican type, will be a great economic and military power, carrying out a policy of solidarity and close connection with the Soviet Union."” Comintern bosses evidently saw the Spanish Republic as a future Soviet satellite state despite Stalin'’s desire to hide his involvement.
Non-Communist International Brigaders, believing the slogans of anti-fascist unity, were dismayed by Communist hatred of Leftist allies, but party members swallowed the line of the Moscow show trials that "“Troskyist-Fascists"” were secret Gestapo agents. Stalinist paranoia was exported to Spain, yet Russian historians are starting to believe that the conspiracy theories manufactured in Spain served to accelerate the purges in the Soviet Union.
The greatest shock for these "“volunteers for freedom"”, as the International Brigaders were called, came with the Soviet style of discipline, selecting men at random and shooting them through the back of the head. When one division retreated during the Segovia offensive, General Walter also ordered "the machine-gunning of those who pull back, executions on the spot, and the beating of stragglers"”. Even the elite Spanish Communist formation, the 11th Division, was not spared. After it collapsed during the Battle of Brunete, the chief Soviet adviser reported to Moscow: "“Lister'’s division lost its head and fled. We managed with great difficulty to bring it back under control. The toughest repressive measures had to be applied. About 400 of those fleeing were shot on 24 July."”
**Check out Orwell's Homage to Catalonia, Beevor's The Battle for Spain, and Ronald Radosh's Spain Betrayed.
1 comment:
Interesting piece, however there is a factual error in there. Orwell was already in opposition to Stalinist Communists prior to reaching Barcelona. His fighting with the P.O.U.M, as opposed to the PCE would seem to bear this out.ALso, Orwell's clear admiration for tne anarchists (see his description of Barcelona under the anarchists) would also seem to pinpoint his political position. I would think that his experiences in Spain merely confirmed his opinions of the communists.
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