I Made An Anarchist Laugh, And Other Notes on the Spanish Civil War

We joined about a dozen other interested folks on a tour done by Spanish Civil War Tours -- info@spanishcivilwartours.com if you want to contact them about a tour.  Catherine, a passionate young history teacher from the West Coast of Ireland, was our guide.

We learned a lot about the Spanish Civil War, particularly in Barcelona, and well as about modern day anarchists.  The group met just before 10 am outside of Cafe Zurich.  After some chitchat, we all introduced ourselves with our names, where we are from, and our motivation for taking the tour.

Most of the people on the tour were Brits, although there were some who now lived in Barcelona, some who live in Argentina, and a very nice older Canadian gentleman from Toronto.  In our brief chats, he struck me as a retired businessman with a deep interest in history, particularly the Spanish Civil War.  He has done a lot of reading on it.

We were the youngest of the group, until a couple from New York City showed up a bit late.  They looked around 30 years old.  When the guy said he was taking the tour because he's an anarchist, Carol and I thought the worst of him.  As we got to know him through some discussion, we found out anarchism is not what we thought it is.  I had thoughts of Antifa and Occupy Wall Street types, and since they were both dressed all in black, their clothing reinforced my negativity.

The anarchist and his girlfriend are the subplot of this blog post, so let's get back to the main plot. . .the civil war tour.  We then moved across the street to Placa Catalunya, where the first battle of the civil war in Barcelona took place.

The city's history is one of frequent losses and being conquered.  Because of the multiple monuments to a myriad of martyrs, it led me to quip at one point that "winners have heroes and losers have martyrs."  Barcelona was on the Republican side, it was a hotbed stew of anarchists, socialists, pro-Stalin communists, and anti-Stalin communists.  

One of the many tragedies of the Spanish Civil War, of course, is that there were people on different sides of the war living in the same cities, towns, and villages.  In the US, we are still dealing with the legacy of our Civil War, but at least it tended to be divided by geography (yes, there were Confederate sympathizers in the North, but they were generally not being killed/killing Union supporters).

Anyhow, I'm not going to recount the causes of the Spanish Civil War in this blog post.  

Catherine, along with recounting the events of the failed coup (in Barcelona) led by the military, and how the workers of Barcelona were able to stop the coup, also pointed out a key building which ultimately led to the in-fighting between the groups on the Republican side.

We then moved down La Rambla to the hotel George Orwell stayed in when he first came to Barcelona to join the effort.  Catherine was quite good about communicating what happened.  Our 4.5 hour tour turned into 5.5 hours, as lots of people in the group had very interesting questions.

Carol had just finished reading a book on the Spanish Civil War, but I knew very little about it, except for general awareness of the involvement of Hitler and Mussolini.  The rich depth and detail that Catherine went into was quite fascinating.  By the way, not only was she a very passionate tour guide, I was impressed she had everyone's name down after just two introductions (the informal one when we joined the group, and the more formal one where we went around the circle).

Anyhow, as we moved into the hotel entrance way, Catherine asked us all to stand to one side or the other "so the poor people staying here weren't inconvenienced."  I quipped, "there are no poor people staying here," and everyone, including the anarchist laughed.  I started to feel better about him, as anyone willing to laugh at my jokes can't be all bad.  (It's a low bar -- laugh at my jokes, and I'm inclined to like you!).

From there we walked to Sant Felip Neri church, where 42 children hiding in the church crypt were killed during the bombing of Barcelona.  We had been to this little plaza a few times, so when the square was closed for the filming of a movie, it was not a big deal.  The amount of damage done to Barcelona during the relentless bombings was quite significant.  

We then stopped at a bar for refreshments, and so that Catherine could pass around a number of artifacts from the war.  I don't remember all the artifacts, or when they were specifically passed around, but included were a CNT membership card, a CNT beret, an Italian army helmet, shoes, a gas mask, matches, and other items. 

The gas mask was the most appalling item, but the shoes were a tragi-comedy.  They were espadrilles, which is a pathetic thing to be wearing in trenches during the cold of winter.  

I had grabbed the last unoccupied chair.  As I sat, it collapsed underneath me, dropping me unceremoniously to the floor.  The anarchist was quick to try to help me up.  I declined, not for political reasons, but because it was easier for me to get up on my own.  Being pulled up by anyone, regardless of their political beliefs, would have been more difficult and awkward.  After that, I sat on the steps.  I did appreciate his kindness.

During this stop, the anarchist (sorry, I don't remember his name) explained to the group what anarchists believe in.  It's more utopian than dystopian (Editor's Note: Good line.  Did you come up on that yourself?  Blogger, proudly: Yup!).  Basically, they want a society where there is no one in authority, that all decisions are voted upon by everyone, and that everyone is given what they need.  Now, history convincingly shows that doesn't work, but it's a more positive perspective than I had realized.

We had a chance to talk for a bit whilst walking to our next stop.  He had lived for a bit in Charlottesville, which is one of the best small cities in America, and was a big fan of the area.  We also talked about travel.  He's very much a gentle soul, and now runs a foundation in the non-gentrified part of Brooklyn (Brownsville) teaching culinary skills to people, as well as provide healthy food options to the community.  I always had thought anarchists just wanted to blow things up.

The tour finished up in a bar on La Rambla that played a role curing the war (involved Orwell and the police, among other things).  It felt like a very interesting history class.  I have vowed to do more reading on the Spanish Civil War.  All in all, it was a Saturday well spent.  Carol and I always enjoy doing these sorts of activities. 

I didn't even take any pictures, because I didn't want to miss anything that was being said.  That noted, I've already taken pictures of most of the places we went.